ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

1 Peter 2.5

Book: 1 Peter · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

3. if ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious: 4. unto whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God elect, precious,

5. ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

  1. Because it is contained in scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: And he that believeth on him shall not be put to shame. 7. For you therefore that believe is the preciousness: but for such as disbelieve, The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner; (1 Peter 2:3-7, ASV)
WEB

3. if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious: 4. coming to him, a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God, precious.

5. You also, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

  1. Because it is contained in Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, chosen, and precious: He who believes in him will not be disappointed.” 7. For you who believe therefore is the honor, but for those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected, has become the chief cornerstone,” (1 Peter 2:3-7, WEB)
KJV

3. If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 4. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,

5. Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. are: or, be ye

  1. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. 7. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, precious: or, an honour (1 Peter 2:3-7, KJV)
YLT

3. if so be ye did taste that the Lord [is] gracious, 4. to whom coming, a living stone, by men, indeed, having been disapproved of, but with God choice, precious,

5. and ye yourselves, as living stones, are built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

  1. Wherefore, also, it is contained in the Writing: 'Lo, I lay in Zion a chief corner-stone, choice, precious, and he who is believing on him may not be put to shame;' 7. to you, then, who are believing [is] the preciousness; and to the unbelieving, a stone that the builders disapproved of, this one did become for the head of a corner, (1 Peter 2:3-7, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Peter the apostle, writing with the help of Silvanus (1 Pet 5:12).
  • Audience: Christians described as "those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia" (1 Pet 1:1), five Roman provinces in northern and central Asia Minor. The audience is largely Gentile (1 Pet 1:18, a futile way of life inherited from their forefathers; 4:3-4).
  • Location: Written from "Babylon" (1 Pet 5:13), which the great majority of interpreters read as a cipher for Rome, as in Revelation 17:5.
  • Time period: c. AD 62-64 on the traditional authorship, before or at the very beginning of the Neronian persecution. The hostility the letter addresses is social and local, slander, exclusion, and abuse, rather than empire-wide legal prosecution.

Theological reading

"You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

"Are being built up." Oikodomeisthe can be read as indicative (you are being built) or imperative (be built up); most translations take the indicative, and the passive either way locates the builder elsewhere. The tense is present and continuous.

A house made of stones that are alive. Peter has just called Christ a living stone (verse 4), and the readers share the description. What is being built is not a metaphor for a building but a people: the temple language of the Old Testament reassigned to a scattered, marginal, largely Gentile church that owned no property.

"A holy priesthood." Hierateuma hagion, echoing Exodus 19:6, where Israel as a whole is called a kingdom of priests. Peter says it twice, here and at verse 9 as "a royal priesthood". Together with Revelation 1:6 and Revelation 5:10, this is the New Testament basis for the priesthood of all believers, a doctrine the Reformers pressed hard and which does not by itself settle questions of ordained ministry, since the same letter addresses elders as a distinct group at 1 Peter 5:1-4.

"Spiritual sacrifices... through Jesus Christ." The final phrase is not decorative. Even the offerings of a holy priesthood are acceptable through a mediator, which keeps the priesthood-of-all-believers claim from becoming a claim of direct self-sufficiency.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Lexicon:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.