1 Peter 2:1-5

Context

2:1 So get rid of¹ all evil and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2:2 And² yearn³ like newborn infants for pure, spiritual milk,⁴ so that by it you may grow up to⁵ salvation,⁶ 2:3 if you have experienced⁷ 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 but¹⁰ chosen and priceless¹¹ 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 offer¹² spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

[2:1] ¹tn Or “put away.”

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

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

[2:2] ⁴tn 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] ⁵tn 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] ⁶tc 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] ⁷tn Grk “have tasted that the Lord is kind.”

[2:3] ⁸sn A quotation from Ps 34:8.

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

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

[2:4] ¹¹tn Grk “chosen, priceless.”

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