1 Peter 1:13-2:12

New International Version

Be Holy

¹³Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober,^(A) set your hope^(B) on the grace to be brought to you^(C) when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.^(D) ¹⁴As obedient^(E) children, do not conform^(F) to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.^(G) ¹⁵But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;^(H) ¹⁶for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”^[a]^(I)

¹⁷Since you call on a Father^(J) who judges each person’s work^(K) impartially,^(L) live out your time as foreigners^(M) here in reverent fear.^(N) ¹⁸For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed^(O) from the empty way of life^(P) handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹but with the precious blood^(Q) of Christ, a lamb^(R) without blemish or defect.^(S) ²⁰He was chosen before the creation of the world,^(T) but was revealed in these last times^(U) for your sake. ²¹Through him you believe in God,^(V) who raised him from the dead^(W) and glorified him,^(X) and so your faith and hope^(Y) are in God.

²²Now that you have purified^(Z) yourselves by obeying^(AA) the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply,^(AB) from the heart.^[b] ²³For you have been born again,^(AC) not of perishable seed, but of imperishable,^(AD) through the living and enduring word of God.^(AE) ²⁴For,

“All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
²⁵ but the word of the Lord endures forever.”^[c]^(AF)

And this is the word that was preached to you.

2 Therefore, rid yourselves^(AG) of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander^(AH) of every kind. ²Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk,^(AI) so that by it you may grow up^(AJ) in your salvation, ³now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.^(AK)

The Living Stone and a Chosen People

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

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

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

“The stone the builders rejected^(AU)
has become the cornerstone,”^[f]^(AV)

⁸and,

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

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

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

Living Godly Lives in a Pagan Society

¹¹Dear friends,^(BE) I urge you, as foreigners and exiles,^(BF) to abstain from sinful desires,^(BG) which wage war against your soul.^(BH) ¹²Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds^(BI) and glorify God^(BJ) on the day he visits us.