New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.
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So clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy and hurtful talk.
2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment,
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Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God's pure kindness. Then you'll grow up mature and whole in God.
3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.
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You've had a taste of God.
4 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.
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Welcome to the living Stone, the source of life. The workmen took one look and threw it out; God set it in the place of honor.
5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.
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Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you'll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God.
6 As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”
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The Scriptures provide precedent: Look! I'm setting a stone in Zion, a cornerstone in the place of honor. Whoever trusts in this stone as a foundation will never have cause to regret it.
7 Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.”
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To you who trust him, he's a Stone to be proud of, but to those who refuse to trust him, The stone the workmen threw out is now the chief foundation stone.
8 And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.
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For the untrusting it's . . . a stone to trip over, a boulder blocking the way. They trip and fall because they refuse to obey, just as predicted.
9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
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But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you -
10 “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.”
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from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.
11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.
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Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul.
12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.
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Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they'll be won over to God's side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.
13 For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state,
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Make the Master proud of you by being good citizens. Respect the authorities, whatever their level;
14 or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right.
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they are God's emissaries for keeping order.
15 It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you.
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It is God's will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you're a danger to society.
16 For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.
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Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules.
17 Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king.
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Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government.
18 You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel.
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You who are servants, be good servants to your masters - not just to good masters, but also to bad ones.
19 For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment.
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What counts is that you put up with it for God's sake when you're treated badly for no good reason.
20 Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you.
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There's no particular virtue in accepting punishment that you well deserve. But if you're treated badly for good behavior and continue in spite of it to be a good servant, that is what counts with God.
21 For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.
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This is the kind of life you've been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step.
22 He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone.
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He never did one thing wrong, Not once said anything amiss.
23 He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.
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They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right.
24 He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.
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He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing.
25 Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.
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You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you're named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.