1 Peter 2:2-10

New International Version

²Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk,^(A) so that by it you may grow up^(B) in your salvation, ³now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.^(C)

The Living Stone and a Chosen People

⁴As you come to him, the living Stone^(D)—rejected by humans but chosen by God^(E) and precious to him— ⁵you also, like living stones, are being built^(F) into a spiritual house^[a]^(G) to be a holy priesthood,^(H) offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.^(I) ⁶For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,^(J)
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”^[b]^(K)

⁷Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,^(L)

“The stone the builders rejected^(M)
has become the cornerstone,”^[c]^(N)

⁸and,

“A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”^[d]^(O)

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.^(P)

⁹But you are a chosen people,^(Q) a royal priesthood,^(R) a holy nation,^(S) God’s special possession,^(T) that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.^(U) ¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God;^(V) once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.