1 Peter 2:9-12

2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues ¹  of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 2:10 You ²  once were not a people, but now you are God’s people. You were shown no mercy, ³  but now you have received mercy.

2:11 Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to keep away from fleshly desires that do battle against the soul, 2:12 and maintain good conduct ⁴  among the non-Christians, ⁵  so that though ⁶  they now malign you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God when he appears. ⁷ 

¹ sn This verse contains various allusions and quotations from Exod 19:5-6; 23:22 (LXX); Isa 43:20-21; and Mal 3:17.

² tn Grk “who,” continuing the description of the readers from vs. 9. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

³ sn The quotations in v. 10 are from Hos 1:6, 9; 2:23.

⁴ tn Grk “keeping your conduct good.”

⁵ tn Grk “the Gentiles,” used here of those who are not God’s people.

⁶ tn Grk “in order that in what they malign you.”

⁷ tn Or “when he visits.” Grk “in the day of visitation,” denoting a time when God intervenes directly in human affairs, either for blessing (Luke 1:68, 78; 7:16; 19:44) or for judgment (Isa 10:3; Jer 6:15). This phrase may be a quotation from Isa 10:3, in which case judgment is in view here. But blessing seems to be the point, since part of the motive for good behavior is winning the non-Christian over to the faith (as in 3:1; also apparently in 3:15; cf. Matt 5:16).