1st Peter 2

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¹Therefore put ye away all malice, and all guile, and feignings or simulations, and envies, and all backbitings or detractions;

²as now born young children, reasonable, without guile, covet ye milk of full teaching, that in it ye wax into health;

³if nevertheless ye have tasted, that the Lord is sweet.

⁴And nigh ye to him, that is a living stone, and reproved of men, but chosen of God, and honoured;

⁵and ye yourselves as quick stones, be ye above builded into spiritual houses, and an holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

⁶For which thing the scripture saith, Lo! I shall set or put in Zion the highest cornerstone, chosen and precious; and he that shall believe in him, shall not be confounded.

⁷Therefore honour to you that believe; but to men that believe not, the stone whom the builders reproved, this is made into the head of the corner;

⁸and the stone of hurting, and the stone of stumbling, to them that offend to the word, neither believe it, in which they be set.

⁹But ye be a chosen kin or ye be a kind chosen, a kingly priesthood, holy folk, a people of purchasing, that ye tell the virtues of him, that called you from darknesses into his wonderful light.

¹⁰Which sometime were not a people of God, but now ye be the people of God; which had not mercy, but now ye have mercy.

¹¹Most dear, I beseech you, as comelings or as guests, and pilgrims, to abstain you from fleshly desires, that fight against the soul;

¹²and have ye your conversation or your life good among heathen men, that in that thing that they backbite of you, as of mis-doers, they behold you of good works, and glorify God in the day of visitation.

¹³Be ye subject to each creature of man, for God; either to the king, as to him that is higher or is more worthy in state,

¹⁴either to dukes, as to those that be sent of him to the vengeance of mis-doers, and to the praising of good men or of good deeds.

¹⁵For so is the will of God, that ye do well, and make the unknowing-ness of unprudent or unwise men to be dumb.

¹⁶As free men, and not as having freedom the covering of malice, but as the servants of God.

¹⁷Honour ye all men, love ye brotherhood, dread ye God, honour ye the king.

¹⁸Servants, be ye subject in all dread to lords, not only to good and to mild, but also to tyrants.

¹⁹For this is grace, if for conscience of God any man suffereth heavinesses or sorrows, and suffereth unjustly.

²⁰For what grace is it, if ye sin, and be buffeted, and suffer? But if ye do well, and suffer patiently, this is grace with God.

²¹For to this thing ye be called. For also Christ suffered for us, and left ensample to you, that ye follow the steps of him.

²²Which did not sin, neither guile was found in his mouth.

²³And when he was cursed, he cursed not; when he suffered, he menaced not; but he betook himself to him, that deemed him unjustly.

²⁴And he himself bare or suffered our sins in his body on a tree, that we be dead to sins, and live to rightwiseness, by whose wan wound ye be healed.

²⁵For ye were as sheep erring, but ye be now turned to the shepherd or but ye be converted now to the shepherd, and bishop of your souls.