1 Peter 2:1-12

2:1 So get rid of ¹  all evil and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2:2 And ²  yearn ³  like newborn infants for pure, spiritual milk, ⁴  so that by it you may grow up to ⁵  salvation, ⁶  2:3 if you have experienced ⁷  the Lord’s kindness. ⁸ 

A Living Stone, a Chosen People

2:4 So as you come to him, ⁹  a living stone rejected by men but ¹⁰  chosen and priceless ¹¹  in God’s sight, 2:5 you yourselves, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood and to offer ¹²  spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 2:6 For it says ¹³  in scripture, “Look, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and priceless cornerstone, ¹⁴  and whoever believes ¹⁵  in him ¹⁶  will never ¹⁷  be put to shame.” ¹⁸  2:7 So you who believe see ¹⁹  his value, ²⁰  but for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the ²¹  cornerstone, ²²  2:8 and a stumbling-stone ²³  and a rock to trip over. ²⁴  They stumble ²⁵  because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. ²⁶  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 ²⁷  of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 2:10 You ²⁸  once were not a people, but now you are God’s people. You were shown no mercy, ²⁹  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 ³⁰  among the non-Christians, ³¹  so that though ³²  they now malign you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God when he appears. ³³ 

[2:1]  ¹ tn Or “put away.”

[2:2]  ² tn Here “And” has been supplied in the translation to show clearly the connection between vv. 1 and 2.

[2:2]  ³ tn Grk “getting rid of…yearn for.”

[2:2]  ⁴ tn The word for spiritual in Greek is λογικός (logikos), which is a play on words with the reference in 1:23-25 to the living and enduring word (λόγος, logos) of God, through which they were born anew. This is a subtle indication that the nourishment for their growth must be the word of God.

[2:2]  ⁵ tn Or “in, in regard to.” But the focus of “salvation” here, as in 1:5, 9, is the future deliverance of these who have been born anew and protected by God’s power.

[2:2]  ⁶ tc The Byzantine text lacks εἰς σωτηρίαν (ei" swthrian, “to salvation”), while the words are found in the earliest and best witnesses (Ì⁷² א A B C K P Ψ 33 81 630 1241 1505 1739 al latt sy co). Not only is the longer reading superior externally, but since the notion of growing up [in]to salvation would have seemed theologically objectionable, it is easy to see why some scribes would omit it.

[2:3]  ⁷ tn Grk “have tasted that the Lord is kind.”

[2:3]  ⁸ sn A quotation from Ps 34:8.

[2:4]  ⁹ tn Grk “to whom coming…you are built up…” as a continuation of the reference to the Lord in v. 3.

[2:4]  ¹⁰ tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two phrases more than can be easily expressed in English.

[2:4]  ¹¹ tn Grk “chosen, priceless.”

[2:5]  ¹² tn Grk “unto a holy priesthood to offer.”

[2:6]  ¹³ tn Grk “it contains,” “it stands.”

[2:6]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “chosen, priceless.”

[2:6]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the one who believes.”

[2:6]  ¹⁶ tn Grk either “in him” or “in it,” but the OT and NT uses personify the stone as the King, the Messiah whom God will establish in Jerusalem.

[2:6]  ¹⁷ tn The negative (οὐ μή, ou mh) is emphatic: “will certainly not.”

[2:6]  ¹⁸ sn A quotation from Isa 28:16.

[2:7]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “to you who believe is the value,” referring to their perception of the stone in contrast to those who reject (vv. 7b-8). But the expression may also be translated as “to you who believe is this honor,” referring to the lack of shame cited in v. 6b.

[2:7]  ²⁰ tn Grk “the value” or “the honor,” but the former is preferred since it comes from the same root as “priceless” in vv. 4, 6, and it is in contrast to the negative estimate of the stone by those who reject (vv. 7b-8).

[2:7]  ²¹ tn Grk “the head of the corner.”

[2:7]  ²² sn A quotation from Ps 118:22 (cf. Matt 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11).

[2:8]  ²³ tn Grk “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” The latter phrase uses the term σκάνδαλον (skandalon), denoting an obstacle to faith, something that arouses anger and rejection.

[2:8]  ²⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 8:14.

[2:8]  ²⁵ tn Grk “who stumble,” referring to “those who do not believe” in vs. 7. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[2:8]  ²⁶ tn Grk “to which they were also destined.”

[2:9]  ²⁷ sn This verse contains various allusions and quotations from Exod 19:5-6; 23:22 (LXX); Isa 43:20-21; and Mal 3:17.

[2:10]  ²⁸ 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.

[2:10]  ²⁹ sn The quotations in v. 10 are from Hos 1:6, 9; 2:23.

[2:12]  ³⁰ tn Grk “keeping your conduct good.”

[2:12]  ³¹ tn Grk “the Gentiles,” used here of those who are not God’s people.

[2:12]  ³² tn Grk “in order that in what they malign you.”

[2:12]  ³³ 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).