1 Petrus 2:2-5

2:2 And ¹  yearn ²  like newborn infants for pure, spiritual milk, ³  so that by it you may grow up to ⁴  salvation, ⁵  2:3 if you have experienced ⁶  the Lord’s kindness. ⁷ 

A Living Stone, a Chosen People

2:4 So as you come to him, ⁸  a living stone rejected by men but ⁹  chosen and priceless ¹⁰  in God’s sight, 2:5 you yourselves, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood and to offer ¹¹  spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

[2:2]  ¹ tn Here “And” has been supplied in the translation to show clearly the connection between vv. 1 and 2.

[2:2]  ² tn Grk “getting rid of…yearn for.”

[2:2]  ³ tn The word for spiritual in Greek is λογικός (logikos), which is a play on words with the reference in 1:23-25 to the living and enduring word (λόγος, logos) of God, through which they were born anew. This is a subtle indication that the nourishment for their growth must be the word of God.

[2:2]  ⁴ tn Or “in, in regard to.” But the focus of “salvation” here, as in 1:5, 9, is the future deliverance of these who have been born anew and protected by God’s power.

[2:2]  ⁵ tc The Byzantine text lacks εἰς σωτηρίαν (ei" swthrian, “to salvation”), while the words are found in the earliest and best witnesses (Ì⁷² א A B C K P Ψ 33 81 630 1241 1505 1739 al latt sy co). Not only is the longer reading superior externally, but since the notion of growing up [in]to salvation would have seemed theologically objectionable, it is easy to see why some scribes would omit it.

[2:3]  ⁶ tn Grk “have tasted that the Lord is kind.”

[2:3]  ⁷ sn A quotation from Ps 34:8.

[2:4]  ⁸ tn Grk “to whom coming…you are built up…” as a continuation of the reference to the Lord in v. 3.

[2:4]  ⁹ tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two phrases more than can be easily expressed in English.

[2:4]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “chosen, priceless.”

[2:5]  ¹¹ tn Grk “unto a holy priesthood to offer.”