1 jEph. 4:22, 25, 31; Col. 3:8 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 kSee Matt. 18:3 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spirituall1 Cor. 3:2; Heb. 5:12, 13 milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation— 3 if indeed you havemPs. 34:8; Heb. 6:5 tasted that the Lord is good.
4 As you come to him, a living stonenver. 6, 7 rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,
5 oEph. 2:20-22; [1 Cor. 3:9] you yourselves like living stones are being built up aspHeb. 3:4, 6 a spiritual house, to beqver. 9 a holy priesthood,rIsa. 56:7; Mal. 1:11; Rom. 12:1; Heb. 13:15 to offer spiritual sacrificessRom. 15:16; Phil. 4:18 acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6 For it stands in Scripture:
tCited from Isa. 28:16 “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
uRom. 9:33; 10:11 and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. ”
7 So the honor is for you whov[2 Cor. 2:16] believe, but for those whov[2 Cor. 2:16] do not believe,
wCited from Ps. 118:22 “The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone, ”
8 and
xRom. 9:33; Cited from Isa. 8:14 “A stone of stumbling,
and a rock of offense. ” They stumble because they disobey the word,y[Rom. 9:22; Jude 4] as they were destined to do.
9 But you arezDeut. 10:15; Isa. 43:20 a chosen race,aEx. 19:6; Rev. 1:6; 5:10 a royalbIsa. 61:6; 66:21 priesthood,cDeut. 7:6 a holy nation,dEx. 19:5; Deut. 7:6; Isa. 43:21; Mal. 3:17 a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called youe[Isa. 42:16]; See Acts 26:18 out of darkness intofPs. 36:9 his marvelous light. 10 gHos. 1:6, 9, 10; 2:23; Rom. 9:25, 26; 10:19 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11 Beloved, I urge youhSee Lev. 25:23 as sojourners and exilesiRom. 13:14; Gal. 5:24 to abstain from the passions of the flesh,jJames 4:1 which wage war against your soul. 12 k[ch. 3:16; 2 Cor. 8:21; Phil. 2:15; Titus 2:8] Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers,lMatt. 5:16; 2 Cor. 9:13; Gal. 1:24 they may see your good deeds and glorify God onmIsa. 10:3; Luke 19:44 the day of visitation.
13 nRom. 13:1; Titus 3:1 Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution,1Or every institution ordained for people whether it be to the emperor2Or king; also verse 17 as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by himoRom. 13:4 to punish those who do evil andpRom. 13:3 to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God,qver. 12 that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 rSee James 1:25 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, buts1 Cor. 7:22; [Rom. 6:22] living as servants of God. 17 tRom. 12:10; 13:7 Honor everyone.uSee Heb. 13:1 Love the brotherhood.vProv. 24:21 Fear God. Honor the emperor.
18 wEph. 6:5; Col. 3:22; 1 Tim. 6:1; Titus 2:9 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19 For this is a gracious thing, when,xch. 3:14, 17; [ch. 4:16] mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? Butych. 3:17, 18; 4:13, 16 if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 Forzch. 3:9; See Acts 14:22 to this you have been called,y[See ver. 20 above] because Christ also suffered for you,aSee Matt. 11:29 leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 bIsa. 53:9; [2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 1 John 3:5] He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 cch. 3:9; Isa. 53:7; Heb. 12:3 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten,dLuke 23:46 but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 eIsa. 53:4, 11; Matt. 8:17; Heb. 9:28 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that wefRom. 6:2, 11; 7:4, 6; Col. 2:20; 3:3 might die to sin andgRom. 6:13 live to righteousness.hIsa. 53:5 By his wounds you have been healed. 25 ForiIsa. 53:6; [Ps. 119:176; Ezek. 34:6; Luke 15:4] you were straying like sheep, but have now returned tojSee John 10:11 the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.