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rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, and the, and every kind of slander. 2 Like newborn babies, desire the pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
4 As you come to Him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious— 5 you also, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it is also contained in the Scripture:
“Behold, I lay a stone in Zion,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in Him
will never be put to shame”.
7 Therefore, for you who believe, this is indeed precious. But for those who do not believe,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the very cornerstone”,
8 and,
“A stone to stumble over,
and a rock to trip over”.
They stumble because they disobey the message, which is what they were destined to do.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light. 10 Once you are not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and pilgrims to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Conduct yourselves honourably among the Gentiles, so that if they speak of you as evildoers, they may see your good works and glorify God on the day of visitation.
13 So submit yourselves to every human authority the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, as those sent out by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is the will of God that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16 As servants of God, live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a way to cover up evil.
17 Honour all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the Emperor.
18 Slaves, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are harsh. 19 For it is commendable for someone to endure grief from suffering unjustly because he is conscious of God. 20 Four credit if there if you receive a beating for doing wrong, and you endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and endure it, this is commendable before God. 21 For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, laying down an example for you, so you should follow in His steps.
22 “He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in His mouth”.
23 When He was subject to insults, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He did not make threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. 24 He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live by righteousness; for you have been healed by His wounds. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.