1 Peter 2:4

1 Peter 2:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
• New International Version (NIV)As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—
• English Standard Version (ESV)As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,

Context of 1 Peter 2:4

2Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation, 3if you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone — rejected by people but chosen and honored by God — 5you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For it stands in Scripture: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and honored cornerstone, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.

1 Peter 2:4 word by word

πρὸς ὃν προσερχόμενοι λίθον ζῶντα, ὑπὸ ἀνθρώπων μὲν ἀποδεδοκιμασμένον παρὰ δὲ θεῷ ἐκλεκτὸν ἔντιμον,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Toπρόςpros · to/withG4314
• whomὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• comingπροσέρχομαιproserchomai · to come near/agreeG4334
• a livingζάωzaō · to liveG2198
• stoneλίθοςlithos · stoneG3037
• disallowedἀποδοκιμάζωapodokimazō · to rejectG593
• indeedμένmen · on the other handG3303
• ofὑπόhupo · by/under: byG5259
• menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• butδέde · thenG1161
• chosenἐκλεκτόςeklektos · selectG1588
• ofπαράpara · from/with/besideG3844
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• preciousἔντιμοςentimos · valued/honoredG1784

Cross-references for 1 Peter 2:4

• Isaiah 55:3Pay attention and come to me; listen, so that you will live. I will make a permanent covenant with you on the basis of the faithful kindnesses of David.
• Jeremiah 3:22Return, you faithless children. I will heal your unfaithfulness. “Here we are, coming to you, for you are the Lord our God.
• Matthew 11:28“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
• John 5:40But you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life.
• John 6:37Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out.
• John 5:26For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he has granted to the Son to have life in himself.
• John 6:57Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.
• John 11:25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live.
• John 14:6Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
• Romans 5:10For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.
• Colossians 3:4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
• Isaiah 28:16Therefore the Lord God said: “Look, I have laid a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will be unshakable.
• Daniel 2:34As you were watching, a stone broke off without a hand touching it, struck the statue on its feet of iron and fired clay, and crushed them.
• Zechariah 3:9Notice the stone I have set before Joshua; on that one stone are seven eyes. I will engrave an inscription on it” — this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies — “and I will take away the iniquity of this land in a single day.
• Zechariah 4:7‘What are you, great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain. And he will bring out the capstone accompanied by shouts of: Grace, grace to it! ’”
• Psalms 118:22The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

Commentaries on 1 Peter 2:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4To whom coming, as unto a living stone - This is a reference to Isaiah 28:16; : Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation. Jesus Christ is, in both the prophet and apostle, represented as the foundation on which the Christian Church is built, and on which it must continue to rest: and the stone or foundation is called here living, to intimate that he is the source of life to all his…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4To whom coming - To the Lord Jesus, for so the word “Lord” is to be understood in 1 Peter 2:3. Compare the notes at Acts 1:24. The idea here is, that they had come to him for salvation, while the great mass of people rejected him. Others “disallowed” him, and turned away from him, but they had seen that he was the one chosen or appointed of God, and had come to him in order to be saved. Salvation is often represented as corning to Christ. See Matthew…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight: This refers to Psalm 118:22, which is quoted in 1 Peter 2:7.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. coming--drawing near (same Greek as here, He 10:22) by faith continually; present tense: not having come once for all at conversion. stone--Peter (that is, a stone, named so by Christ) desires that all similarly should be living stones BUILT ON Christ, the true foundation-stone; compare his speech in Ac 4:11. An undesigned coincidence and mark of genuineness. The Spirit foreseeing the Romanist perversion of Mt 16:18 (compare Mt 16:16, "Son of the…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Peter 2:4

• Jesus Continued
• Stones

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Bishop
• Chosen
• Cloke
• Disallow
• Fleshly
• Offer
• Sincere
• Spiritual

Commentaries on 1 Peter 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings