Christ the Living Stone and a Chosen People
1 Peter 2:4-12
1Pet.2.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Προς: PREP
- ον: PART,pres,act,nom,sg,m
- προσερχομενοι: VERB,pres,mid,ptc,nom,pl,m
- λιθον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- ζωντα: ADJ,acc,sg,m
- υπο: PREP
- ανθρωπων: NOUN,gen,pl,m
- μεν: PART
- αποδεδοκιμασμενον: VERB,perf,pass,part,acc,sg,m
- παρα: PREP
- δε: CONJ
- θεω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- εκλεκτον: ADJ,acc,sg,m
- εντιμον: ADJ,acc,sg,m
Parallels
- Isaiah 28:16 (allusion): God’s laying a ‘precious cornerstone’ in Zion—the imagery of a chosen, precious stone that becomes foundation echoes the ‘living stone’ chosen by God.
- Psalm 118:22 (quotation): “The stone which the builders rejected…”—the motif of a rejected stone that becomes central corresponds directly to ‘rejected by men’ yet honored by God.
- Matthew 21:42 (quotation): Jesus cites Psalm 118:22 about the rejected stone becoming the cornerstone, applying the rejected-yet-exalted stone image to himself—paralleling Peter’s portrayal of Christ.
- Acts 4:11 (quotation): Peter (and the early church) applies Psalm 118:22 to Jesus as the stone rejected by builders but chosen by God, reflecting the same contrast of human rejection and divine esteem.
- Ephesians 2:20 (structural): Christ as the cornerstone of the church’s structure—the building metaphor (cornerstone/foundation) aligns with Peter’s ‘living stone’ imagery and the church’s corporate identity built on him.
Alternative generated candidates
- As you come to him—a living Stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God's sight—
- As you come to him—the living Stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious—
1Pet.2.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- αυτοι: PRON,nom,pl,3
- ως: ADV
- λιθοι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- ζωντες: PART,pres,act,nom,pl,m
- οικοδομεισθε: VERB,pres,pas,ind,2,pl
- οικος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- πνευματικος: ADJ,nom,sg,m
- εις: PREP
- ιερατευμα: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- αγιον: ADJ,acc,sg,neut
- ανενεγκαι: VERB,aor,act,inf
- πνευματικας: ADJ,acc,pl,f
- θυσιας: NOUN,acc,pl,f
- ευπροσδεκτους: ADJ,acc,pl,m
- θεω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- δια: PREP
- Ιησου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- Χριστου·: NOUN,gen,sg,m
Parallels
- Exodus 19:5-6 (allusion): OT designation of Israel as a 'kingdom of priests and a holy nation' provides the background for Peter's description of believers as a priestly, holy community.
- 1 Peter 2:9 (structural): Neighboring verse in Peter's argument that likewise calls the readers 'a chosen people... a royal priesthood, a holy nation,' repeating and developing the same priestly identity.
- Revelation 5:10 (verbal): Speaks of God making believers 'a kingdom and priests to our God,' directly echoing the New Testament priesthood language applied to the people of God.
- Romans 12:1 (verbal): Exhorts believers to offer their bodies as 'a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,' paralleling the ideas of 'living' members and 'spiritual sacrifices' presented in 1 Peter 2:5.
- Hebrews 13:15 (thematic): Calls Christians to offer 'the sacrifice of praise' through Jesus, resonating with Peter's notion of offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Christ.
Alternative generated candidates
- you yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, that you may offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
- you yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1Pet.2.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- διοτι: CONJ
- περιεχει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- εν: PREP
- γραφη·Ιδου: NOUN,dat,sg,f;INTJ
- τιθημι: VERB,pres,act,ind,1,sg
- εν: PREP
- Σιων: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- λιθον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- ακρογωνιαιον: ADJ,acc,sg,m
- εκλεκτον: ADJ,acc,sg,m
- εντιμον: ADJ,acc,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- πιστευων: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,sg,m
- επ᾽αυτω: PREP+PRON,dat,sg,m
- ου: PART,neg
- μη: PART
- καταισχυνθη: VERB,aor,pass,subj,3,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 28:16 (quotation): Direct scriptural source Peter cites — God laying a chosen, precious cornerstone in Zion and the promise that whoever believes will not be put to shame.
- Psalm 118:22 (allusion): The image of 'the stone the builders rejected becoming the cornerstone' provides the cornerstone motif echoed throughout the NT and presupposed by Peter.
- Matthew 21:42 (quotation): Jesus quotes Psalm 118:22 and applies the rejected/appointed stone to himself, paralleling Peter's application of cornerstone language to Christ.
- Romans 10:11 (verbal): Paul cites the same Isaianic promise ('Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame'), echoing the language Peter uses from Scripture.
- Ephesians 2:20 (structural): Describes Christ as the cornerstone of the church (built on the apostles and prophets), paralleling Peter's theological use of the cornerstone image for Jesus.
Alternative generated candidates
- For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."
- For Scripture says, “Behold, I lay in Zion a cornerstone, chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
1Pet.2.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- υμιν: PRON,dat,pl,2
- ουν: CONJ
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- τιμη: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- τοις: ART,dat,pl,n
- πιστευουσιν·απιστουσιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,pl
- δε: CONJ
- λιθος: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- ον: PART,pres,act,nom,sg,m
- απεδοκιμασαν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- οικοδομουντες: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,pl,m
- ουτος: PRON,nom,sg,m
- εγενηθη: VERB,aor,pass,ind,3,sg
- εις: PREP
- κεφαλην: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- γωνιας: NOUN,gen,sg,f
Parallels
- Psalm 118:22 (quotation): “The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” — the exact image/wording Peter echoes, applying the psalm to Christ.
- Isaiah 28:16 (quotation): Speaks of a tested, chosen stone laid as a foundation; 1 Peter 2:6–7 draws on this cornerstone motif from Isaiah.
- Matthew 21:42 (quotation): Jesus cites Psalm 118:22 (the rejected stone becoming the cornerstone) and applies it to himself — the same citation 1 Peter reiterates.
- Acts 4:11 (quotation): Peter explicitly applies the Psalm’s rejected-stone imagery to Jesus as the cornerstone, paralleling 1 Peter’s use.
- Romans 9:33 (verbal): Paul echoes the ‘stone’ language (a stone of stumbling/rock of offense drawn from Isaiah/psalmic traditions), reflecting the theme of Christ as accepted by some and rejected by others.
Alternative generated candidates
- So to you who believe he is precious; but to those who disobey, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,"
- So for the one who believes he is precious; but for those who disobey, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the very cornerstone,”
1Pet.2.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- λιθος: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- προσκομματος: NOUN,gen,sg,n
- και: CONJ
- πετρα: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- σκανδαλου·οι: NOUN,gen,sg,n + PRON,nom,pl,m
- προσκοπτουσιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,pl
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- λογω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- απειθουντες·εις: PART,pres,act,nom,pl,m + PREP
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- ετεθησαν: VERB,aor,pass,ind,3,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 8:14 (quotation): Uses the exact imagery 'a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense'—the prophetic source Peter alludes to for those who reject God.
- Isaiah 28:16 (allusion): Speaks of God laying a tested, precious cornerstone in Zion—background for the contrasting roles of the stone as foundation and as cause of stumbling.
- Psalm 118:22 (quotation): 'The stone the builders rejected' language (explicitly cited in 1 Peter 2:7) forms the complementary motif of the rejected/precious stone referenced in verse 8.
- Romans 9:33 (verbal): Paul cites Isaiah's wording ('a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense') to describe Christ as both a stumbling stone to unbelief and a foundation for the faithful, closely paralleling Peter's use.
- 1 Corinthians 1:23 (thematic): Paul's description of Christ as 'a stumbling block' to some echoes the theme of Christ provoking rejection and offense among those who do not believe.
Alternative generated candidates
- and "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." They stumble because they disobey the word; to this they were appointed.
- and “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, to which they were appointed.
1Pet.2.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Υμεις: PRON,nom,pl,2
- δε: CONJ
- γενος: NOUN,nom,sg,n
- εκλεκτον: ADJ,nom,sg,n
- βασιλειον: NOUN,nom,sg,n
- ιερατευμα: NOUN,nom,sg,n
- εθνος: NOUN,nom,sg,n
- αγιον: ADJ,acc,sg,neut
- λαος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- εις: PREP
- περιποιησιν: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- οπως: CONJ
- τας: ART,acc,pl,f
- αρετας: NOUN,acc,pl,f
- εξαγγειλητε: VERB,aor,act,subj,2,pl
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- εκ: PREP
- σκοτους: NOUN,gen,sg,n
- υμας: PRON,acc,pl,2
- καλεσαντος: VERB,aor,act,ptcp,gen,sg,m
- εις: PREP
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- θαυμαστον: ADJ,nom,sg,n
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,m
- φως·: NOUN,acc,sg,n
Parallels
- Exodus 19:5-6 (structural): Explicit background for the labels 'a chosen race... a royal priesthood, a holy nation' — Israel at Sinai described as a 'kingdom of priests and a holy nation,' language Peter reapplies to the church.
- Isaiah 43:21 (thematic): Speaks of God forming a people 'that they might declare my praise' (or 'proclaim my excellencies'), matching Peter's purpose clause that believers should proclaim God's praises after being called from darkness into light.
- Revelation 1:6 (verbal): Uses the same priestly-kingly language — Jesus has 'made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father' — echoing Peter's description of believers' identity and function.
- Revelation 5:10 (verbal): The Lamb's people are said to be 'made them a kingdom and priests to our God,' a direct theological parallel to Peter's depiction of the church as royal priests.
- Hosea 2:23 (cf. Hosea 1:10) (allusion): Old Testament oracle about a people formerly 'not my people' now called 'my people' and 'children of the living God' — echoed in 1 Pet 2:9–10's emphasis on being God's chosen possession and people.
Alternative generated candidates
- But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
- But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
1Pet.2.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- ποτε: ADV
- ου: PART,neg
- λαος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- νυν: ADV
- δε: CONJ
- λαος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- θεου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- ουκ: PART,neg
- ηλεημενοι: VERB,perf,pass,ptc,nom,pl,m
- νυν: ADV
- δε: CONJ
- ελεηθεντες: VERB,aor,pass,ptc,nom,pl,m
Parallels
- Hosea 1:10 (MT) / 2:23 (LXX) (quotation): Direct Vorlage: Hosea speaks of those who were 'not my people' becoming 'my people' (and being shown mercy). 1 Peter 2:10 echoes this exact reversal of status and mercy language, drawing on the Hosea tradition.
- Romans 9:25-26 (verbal): Paul explicitly cites the Hosea passage ('I will call them “my people” who were not my people…') to describe Gentile inclusion. Verbal affinity with 1 Pet 2:10 shows the same scriptural source and pattern of reversal.
- Romans 11:30-31 (thematic): The thematic parallel is the reversal and extension of mercy to outsiders: Paul states that Gentiles, once without mercy, have now received mercy because of Israel’s disobedience — echoing 1 Peter's 'once not a people, now the people of God; once not pitied, now pitied.'
- 1 Peter 2:9 (structural): Immediate literary parallel within the same epistle: v.9 proclaims the believers' new identity ('a chosen race, a royal priesthood…'), while v.10 frames that identity as a reversal (from not-a-people to God’s people) and together they form a unified christological/covenantal argument about new status.
Alternative generated candidates
- 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.
- Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
1Pet.2.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Αγαπητοι: ADJ,voc,pl,m
- παρακαλω: VERB,pres,act,ind,1,sg
- ως: ADV
- παροικους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- και: CONJ
- παρεπιδημους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- απεχεσθαι: VERB,pres,mid,inf
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- σαρκικων: ADJ,gen,pl,f
- επιθυμιων: NOUN,gen,pl,f
- αιτινες: PRON,nom,pl,f
- στρατευονται: VERB,pres,mid,ind,3,pl
- κατα: PREP
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- ψυχης·: NOUN,gen,sg,f
Parallels
- James 4:1 (verbal): Uses nearly identical language about 'lusts that war in your members'—the idea of inward passions waging war is closely parallel to 'fleshly desires which wage war against the soul.'
- Galatians 5:16-17 (thematic): Contrasts life in the flesh and life in the Spirit; speaks of opposing desires of the flesh that produce conflict—theme of fleshly passions opposing true spiritual life.
- Romans 13:14 (thematic): Commands believers to 'put on the Lord Jesus Christ' and 'make no provision for the flesh'—echoes Peter's exhortation to abstain from fleshly desires.
- 1 Peter 4:2 (structural): Within the same epistle urges believers not to live in human passions but for God's will—develops the same call to renounce fleshly desires as fitting for Christian conduct.
- 1 John 2:16 (thematic): Identifies 'the lust of the flesh' as a worldly temptation distinct from the Father—reflects the Johannine theme that bodily desires oppose fellowship with God, paralleling Peter's warning.
Alternative generated candidates
- Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against the soul.
- Beloved, I appeal to you as sojourners and exiles: abstain from the desires of the flesh, which wage war against the soul.
1Pet.2.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- αναστροφην: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- υμων: PRON,gen,pl,2
- εν: PREP
- τοις: ART,dat,pl,n
- εθνεσιν: NOUN,dat,pl,n
- εχοντες: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,pl,m
- καλην: ADJ,acc,sg,f
- ινα: CONJ
- εν: PREP
- ω: PRON,dat,sg,m
- καταλαλουσιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,pl
- υμων: PRON,gen,pl,2
- ως: ADV
- κακοποιων: VERB,pres,act,part,gen,pl,m
- εκ: PREP
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- καλων: ADJ,gen,pl,n
- εργων: NOUN,gen,pl,n
- εποπτευοντες: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,pl,m
- δοξασωσι: VERB,aor,act,subj,3,pl
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- θεον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- εν: PREP
- ημερα: NOUN,dat,sg,f
- επισκοπης: NOUN,gen,sg,f
Parallels
- Matthew 5:16 (thematic): Urges believers to let their good deeds shine before others so that people may see and glorify God—parallel purpose to honorable conduct before Gentiles leading to God’s praise.
- Philippians 2:15 (verbal): Calls Christians to be blameless and innocent, “shine as lights in the world,” echoing the image of good behavior observable by outsiders.
- Titus 2:7-8 (verbal): Exhorts leaders to be an example in good works and sound teaching so that opponents are ashamed—close verbal and ethical parallel about good deeds silencing critics.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:12 (thematic): Encourages Christians to live properly toward outsiders so their behavior reflects well before non‑believers, resonating with conduct among Gentiles in 1 Pet 2:12.
- 1 Peter 3:16 (structural): Within the same epistle: keeping a good conscience so that those who slander may be put to shame—structurally linked goal of good conduct producing the silencing of malicious speech and glorifying God.
Alternative generated candidates
- Keep your conduct among the nations honorable, so that, though they malign you as wrongdoers, by your good deeds they may see and glorify God on the day of his visitation.
- Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that though they malign you as evildoers, they may, by seeing your good deeds, glorify God on the day of visitation.
As you come to him—the living Stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God's sight—
and you, like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
For Scripture says, “Behold, I lay a stone in Zion, a cornerstone, chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So to you who believe he is precious; but to those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the very cornerstone,” and “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.”
They stumble because they disobey the word; to this they were appointed. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against the soul.
Keep your conduct among the nations honorable, so that, though they slander you as evildoers, by observing your good deeds they may glorify God on the day of his visitation.