Friday, January 31, 2025

^1:1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen ones who are living as foreigners in the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ²according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. ¹⁰Concerning this salvation, the prophets sought and searched diligently. They prophesied of the grace that would come to you, ¹¹searching for who or what kind of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them pointed to when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow them. ¹²To them it was revealed that they served not themselves, but you, in these things, which now have been announced to you through those who preached the Good News to you by the Holy Spirit sent out from heaven; which things angels desire to look into. ^2:6Because 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.” ⁷For you who believe therefore is the honor, but for those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,” ⁸and, “a stumbling stone and a rock of offense.” For they stumble at the word, being disobedient, to which also they were appointed. ⁹But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. ¹⁰In the past, you were not a people, but now are God’s people, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

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^12:1He began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a pit for the wine press, built a tower, rented it out to a farmer, and went into another country. ²When it was time, he sent a servant to the farmer to get from the farmer his share of the fruit of the vineyard. ³They took him, beat him, and sent him away empty. ⁴Again, he sent another servant to them; and they threw stones at him, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. ⁵Again he sent another, and they killed him, and many others, beating some, and killing some. ⁶Therefore still having one, his beloved son, he sent him last to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷But those farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸They took him, killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. ⁹What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers, and will give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰Haven’t you even read this Scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected was made the head of the corner. ¹¹This was from the Lord. It is marvelous in our eyes’?” ¹²They tried to seize him, but they feared the multitude; for they perceived that he spoke the parable against them. They left him and went away.

WEB, public domain