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¹ Having put aside, then, all evil, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envyings, and all evil speakings,² as newborn babies, desire the reasonable, unspoiled milk, so that you may grow up to salvation,³ if [it] so be [that] you tasted that the LORD [is] good,

⁴ to whom coming—a living stone—having indeed been disapproved of by men, but with God—choice [and] precious,⁵ and you yourselves are built up as living stones [into] a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.⁶ For this reason, also, it is contained in the Writing: "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, choice, precious, and he who is believing on Him may not be put to shame";⁷ to you, then, who are believing—the preciousness; but to the unbelieving, [the] stone that the builders disapproved of—this One has become the head of [the] corner,⁸ and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense—who are stumbling at the word, being unbelieving—to which they were also set.⁹ But you [are] a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired, that you may show forth the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light,¹⁰ who [were] once not a people, but [are] now the people of God; who had not found mercy, but now have found mercy.¹¹ Beloved, I call on [you], as strangers and sojourners, to keep from the fleshly desires that war against the soul,¹² having your behavior right among the nations, so that whenever they speak against you as evildoers, seeing [your] good works, they may glorify God in [the] day of inspection.

¹³ Be subject, then, to every human creation, because of the LORD, whether to a king, as the highest,¹⁴ whether to governors, as to those sent through him, for punishment, indeed, of evildoers, and a praise of those doing good;¹⁵ because, so is the will of God, doing good, to put to silence the ignorance of the foolish men—¹⁶ as free, and not having freedom as the cloak of evil, but as servants of God;¹⁷ give honor to all; love the brotherhood; fear God; honor the king.¹⁸ Servants, be subject in all fear to the masters, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the crooked;¹⁹ for this [is] grace: if anyone endures sorrows because of conscience toward God, suffering unrighteously;²⁰ for what renown [is it], if sinning and being battered, you endure [it]? But if, doing good and suffering [for it], you endure, this [is] grace with God,²¹ for to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving to you an example, that you may follow His steps,²² who did not commit sin, nor was guile found in His mouth,²³ who being reviled—was not reviling again, suffering—was not threatening, and was committing Himself to Him who is judging righteously,²⁴ who Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree that having died to sins, we may live to righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed;²⁵ for you were as sheep going astray, but now you turned back to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.