1 Peter 2:4-12 - A Living Stone, A Chosen People

⁴ Coming to Him, a living stone—rejected by men but chosen and valuable to God— ⁵ you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For it is contained in Scripture:

Look! I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and honored cornerstone,
and the one who believes in Him
will never be put to shame!

⁷ So honor will come to you who believe, but for the unbelieving,

The stone that the builders rejected—
this One has become the cornerstone,

⁸ and

A stone to stumble over,
and a rock to trip over.

They stumble because they disobey the message; they were destined for this.

⁹ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people for His possession,
so that you may proclaim the praises
of the One who called you out of darkness
into His marvelous light.
¹⁰ Once you were not a people,
but now you are God’s people;
you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.

¹¹ Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and temporary residents to abstain from fleshly desires that war against you. ¹² Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that in a case where they speak against you as those who do what is evil, they will, by observing your good works, glorify God on the day of visitation.