¹Therefore, having put aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisies and envies and all evil speakings,

²like newborn babies, crave the reasonable pure milk, so that by it you may grow up in respect to salvation,

³if you have tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴To whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed by men but chosen and precious in the sight of God,

⁵you yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus the Anointed One.

⁶Therefore it is contained in the Scripture: Behold, I lay in Zion a cornerstone, a chosen, precious stone, and the one who trusts on Him certainly will not be put to shame.

⁷Therefore to you who trust is the preciousness; however for those disbelieving, the stone which those building rejected, this has become into the head of the corner,

⁸and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; they stumble at the word, being disobedient, to which also they were appointed;

⁹however you yourselves are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of the One having called you out of darkness to his marvelous light;

¹⁰who once were not a people, however now the people of God; those who had not received mercy, however now having received mercy.

¹¹Beloved, I exhort you as aliens and sojourners to abstain from the fleshly desires, which war against the being;

¹²keeping your conduct among the nations honorable, so that wherein they speak against you as evildoers, through the good deeds having witnessed they may glorify God in the day of visitation.

¹³Therefore be subjected to every human institution for the sake of the Lord; whether to the king as being supreme,

¹⁴or to governors as being sent through him for vengeance indeed to evildoers, however praise to well-doers;

¹⁵because this is the will of God, doing good to put to silence the ignorance of foolish men;

¹⁶as free, and not having the freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as slaves of God.

¹⁷Honor everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.

¹⁸You who are servants, be subject with all fear to the masters, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unreasonable.

¹⁹For this is acceptable, if for the sake of conscience toward God anyone endures griefs, suffering unjustly.

²⁰For what kind of credit is it if, sinning and being struck, you will endure? But if, doing good and suffering, you will endure, this is commendable before God.

²¹For to this you have been called, because the Anointed One also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you may follow after his steps:

²²who did not commit sin, neither was trickery found in his mouth,

²³who, being reviled, was not reviling back; suffering, was not threatening; but was delivering Himself to the One judging justly;

²⁴who Himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that, having been dead to sins, we may live to righteousness; by whose wounds you have been healed.

²⁵For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.