1 Peter 2:10-12
J.B. Phillips New Testament
8a And he is, to them, ‘a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence’.
8b-10 Yes, they stumble at the Word of God for in their hearts they are unwilling to obey it—which makes stumbling a foregone conclusion. But you are God’s “chosen generation”, his “royal priesthood”, his “holy nation”, his “peculiar people”—all the old titles of God’s people now belong to you. It is for you now to demonstrate the goodness of him who has called you out of darkness into his amazing light. In the past you were not “a people” at all: now you are the people of God. In the past you had no experience of his mercy, but now it is intimately yours.
Your behaviour to the outside world
11 I beg you, as those whom I love, to live in this world as strangers and “temporary residents”, to keep clear of the desires of your lower natures, for they are always at war with your souls.
12 Your conduct among the surrounding peoples in your different countries should always be good and right, so that although they may in the usual way slander you as evil-doers yet when disasters come, they may glorify God when they see how well you conduct yourselves.
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1 Peter 2:10-12
New International Version
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God;(A) once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Living Godly Lives in a Pagan Society
11 Dear friends,(B) I urge you, as foreigners and exiles,(C) to abstain from sinful desires,(D) which wage war against your soul.(E) 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds(F) and glorify God(G) on the day he visits us.
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