2:7–8
In 2:7–8, Peter continued to use the metaphor of a cornerstone for Jesus Christ. He contrasted the positive result for any person who believes in Jesus Christ (2:7a) with the negative result for people who do not believe (2:7b–2:8). To prove his point, Peter quotes from two OT passages, Psalm 118:22 (in 2:7) and Isaiah 8:14 (in 2:8).
2:7a
To you who believe, then, this stone is precious: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as precious can mean either “honor” or “value/worth/preciousness.” The Greek literally says, “to you therefore the honor/value to the believing ones.” English versions interpret this clause in two ways:
(1) Believers receive honor from the stone. For example:
To you believers it brings honor (New Jerusalem Bible)
(God’s Word, New Jerusalem Bible, New Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version)
(2) The stone has value to the believers. It is precious to them. Translations that follow this interpretation often supply the words this stone, which are not in the Greek text. For example:
This stone is of great value for you that believe (Good News Translation)
(Berean Standard Bible, Contemporary English Version, King James Version, New Century Version, NET Bible, New International Version, New Living Translation (2004), Revised English Bible, Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New American Bible, Revised Edition, New American Standard Bible)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The great majority of commentators understand this word to mean “honor” in this context. Peter was saying that God honors those who believe in Jesus Christ. The New Jerusalem Bible is therefore used as the Source Line in the Display. Here are some other ways to translate this:
This honor, then, is for you who believe (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
This honor belongs to those who believe. (God’s Word)
-or-
So the honor is for you who believe (English Standard Version)
believe: In some languages it may be necessary to make the object of the belief explicit. For example:
believe ⌊in this stone⌋
then: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as then is literally “therefore.” It is not a time word but connects this sentence with the last part of the quotation in 2:6. Some English models to follow include:
So (NET Bible)
-or-
Therefore (Revised Standard Version)
2:7b
But to those who do not believe: In 2:7b Peter stopped writing about believers and started writing about people who did not believe in Jesus Christ. Through the end of 2:8, Peter discussed what happens to unbelieving people.
Other ways to translate this verse part include:
But for unbelievers (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
but for those who have no faith (Revised English Bible)
-or-
But to/for the ⌊people⌋ who do not believe ⌊in him⌋
But: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But in this context marks contrast. Peter contrasted the bad result of unbelief (2:7b–8) with what he had just written about the good result for those people who believed in Jesus Christ (2:6c–7a).
believe: In some languages it may be necessary to make the object of the belief explicit. If that is the case in your language, it is recommended that you use the same pronoun that you used in 2:6d:
believe ⌊in him⌋
2:7c
Here in 2:7c, Peter quoted from Psalm 118:22.
The stone the builders rejected: Peter continued using the metaphor of a stone to represent Jesus Christ. Here the metaphor is of builders who rejected this stone as if it were unfit for them to use. It may be more natural in your language to make explicit why they rejected the stone. For example:
The stone which the builders rejected as worthless (Good News Translation)
Your translation should not imply that The stone was actually unfit for use. Peter did not mean there was something wrong with Christ. Instead, Peter meant that there was something wrong with the decision of the builders. You may be able to say:
The builders would not use a certain stone
-or-
The stone that the builders refused to use
the builders: Writers of the Gospels also quoted Psalm 118:22. They too used it as a metaphor concerning Jesus Christ. In their writings, the builders represented the religious leaders of the Jews (see Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17). In Acts 4:11, Peter himself spoke of the Jewish authorities who had Christ killed as the builders. In this context, however, the builders refers to anyone who rejected Jesus Christ. Some other ways to translate builders are:
workmen
-or-
those who make houses
rejected: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as rejected is in the past tense. The Old Testament prophets often wrote about a future event as if it had already happened.
When you translate this verb, you should use a tense that is natural for this situation in your language. For some languages, it is natural to use a future tense. For example:
will reject
A form of this same Greek verb is found at 2:4b. See the note at 2:4b for other ways to translate this verb.
has become the cornerstone: Peter continued the metaphor of the stone. Even though the builders rejected this stone, it became the most important stone.
Neither Peter nor Psalm 118:22 that Peter quoted said how the rejected stone became so important in the building. If your language requires you to specify an agent, then you may make God explicit as the agent. For example:
⌊God⌋ has made it the capstone
-or-
⌊God⌋ used it as the cornerstone ⌊of his house⌋
If it is natural in your language to translate 2:7c as a continuation of God talking in 2:6, then you may be able to say:
⌊I⌋ made it the cornerstone
-or-
⌊I⌋ used it as the cornerstone ⌊of the building⌋
the cornerstone: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as cornerstone may be translated literally as “the head of the corner.” There are two ways of interpreting this phrase:
(1) It means “the cornerstone.” A cornerstone is a bottom stone where two walls meet. For example:
the cornerstone (New Century Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, God’s Word, New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Living Translation (2004), Revised English Bible, New Century Version)
(2) It means “the capstone.” A capstone is the top stone of a wall or arch. For example:
the capstone (New International Version)
(New International Version, compare Revised Standard Version “the head of the corner”)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and the majority of English versions. See how you translated “cornerstone” in 2:6b.
General Comment on 2:7c
In some languages it may be more natural to reorder the phrase in 2:7c. Reordering may also make the transition to the quotation in 2:8 more natural. For example:
The most important stone of all is the one the builders rejected.
-or-
The stone that is now the main foundation stone ⌊of my/the house/temple⌋ is the ⌊same⌋ stone that the builders rejected.
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