¹³ “‘This is the special gift you are to offer: a sixth of an ephahThat is, probably about 6 pounds or about 2.7 kilograms from each homer of wheat and a sixth of an ephahThat is, probably about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms from each homer of barley.¹⁴ The prescribed portion of olive oil, measured by the bath, is a tenth of a bathThat is, about 2 1/2 quarts or about 2.2 liters from each cor (which consists of ten baths or one homer, for ten baths are equivalent to a homer).¹⁵ Also one sheep is to be taken from every flock of two hundred from the well-watered pastures of Israel. These will be used for the grain offerings, burnt offeringsS Lev 1:4 and fellowship offerings to make atonementLev 6:30 for the people, declares the Sovereign Lord.¹⁶ All the people of the land will be required to give this special offering to the prince in Israel.¹⁷ It will be the duty of the prince to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings and drink offerings at the festivals, the New MoonsS Nu 10:10 and the SabbathsS Lev 23:38; Isa 66:23—at all the appointed festivals of Israel. He will provide the sin offerings,Or purification offerings; also in verses 19, 22, 23 and 25 grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to make atonement for the Israelites.S 1Ki 8:62; S 2Ch 31:3; Eze 46:4-12

¹⁸ “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In the first monthEx 12:2 on the first day you are to take a young bull without defectS Lev 22:20; Heb 9:14 and purify the sanctuary.S Lev 16:16, 33¹⁹ The priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the upper ledgeS Eze 43:17 of the altarLev 16:18-19 and on the gateposts of the inner court.²⁰ You are to do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins unintentionallyLev 4:27 or through ignorance; so you are to make atonement for the temple.

²¹ “‘In the first month on the fourteenth day you are to observe the Passover,S Ex 12:11 a festival lasting seven days, during which you shall eat bread made without yeast.²² On that day the prince is to provide a bull as a sin offering for himself and for all the people of the land.Lev 4:14²³ Every day during the seven days of the festival he is to provide seven bulls and seven ramsS Nu 22:40; S Job 42:8 without defect as a burnt offering to the Lord, and a male goat for a sin offering.Nu 28:16-25²⁴ He is to provide as a grain offeringNu 28:12-13 an ephah for each bull and an ephah for each ram, along with a hinThat is, about 1 gallon or about 3.8 liters of olive oil for each ephah.Eze 46:5-7

²⁵ “‘During the seven days of the festival,Dt 16:13 which begins in the seventh month on the fifteenth day, he is to make the same provision for sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings and oil.Lev 23:34-43; Nu 29:12-38

46 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The gate of the inner courtS Eze 40:19 facing eastS 1Ch 9:18 is to be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moonver 6; Isa 66:23 it is to be opened.² The prince is to enter from the outside through the porticover 8 of the gateway and stand by the gatepost. The priests are to sacrifice his burnt offeringEze 40:39 and his fellowship offerings. He is to bow down in worship at the threshold of the gateway and then go out, but the gate will not be shut until evening.ver 12; S Eze 44:3³ On the SabbathsS Isa 66:23 and New Moons the people of the land are to worship in the presence of the Lord at the entrance of that gateway.Lk 1:10⁴ The burnt offering the prince brings to the Lord on the Sabbath day is to be six male lambs and a ram, all without defect.⁵ The grain offering given with the ram is to be an ephah,That is, probably about 35 pounds or about 16 kilograms; also in verses 7 and 11 and the grain offering with the lambs is to be as much as he pleases, along with a hinThat is, about 1 gallon or about 3.8 liters; also in verses 7 and 11 of olive oil for each ephah.ver 11⁶ On the day of the New Moonver 1; S Nu 10:10 he is to offer a young bull, six lambs and a ram, all without defect.S Lev 22:20⁷ He is to provide as a grain offering one ephah with the bull, one ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as he wants to give, along with a hin of oil for each ephah.Eze 45:24⁸ When the prince enters, he is to go in through the porticover 2 of the gateway, and he is to come out the same way.Eze 44:3

⁹ “‘When the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed festivals,S Ex 23:14; S 34:20 whoever enters by the north gate to worship is to go out the south gate; and whoever enters by the south gate is to go out the north gate. No one is to return through the gate by which they entered, but each is to go out the opposite gate.¹⁰ The prince is to be among them, going in when they go in and going out when they go out.2Sa 6:14-15; Ps 42:4¹¹ At the feasts and the appointed festivals, the grain offering is to be an ephah with a bull, an ephah with a ram, and with the lambs as much as he pleases, along with a hin of oil for each ephah.ver 5

¹² “‘When the prince providesS Eze 45:17 a freewill offeringS Lev 7:16 to the Lord—whether a burnt offering or fellowship offerings—the gate facing east is to be opened for him. He shall offer his burnt offering or his fellowship offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he has gone out, the gate will be shut.ver 2

¹³ “‘Every day you are to provide a year-old lamb without defect for a burnt offering to the Lord; morning by morningS Ps 5:3 you shall provide it.Ex 29:38; S Nu 28:3¹⁴ You are also to provide with it morning by morning a grain offering, consisting of a sixth of an ephahThat is, probably about 6 pounds or about 2.7 kilograms with a third of a hinThat is, about 1 1/2 quarts or about 1.3 liters of oilNu 15:6 to moisten the flour. The presenting of this grain offering to the Lord is a lasting ordinance.Da 8:11¹⁵ So the lamb and the grain offering and the oil shall be provided morning by morning for a regularS Ex 29:42 burnt offering.S Ex 29:38; Nu 28:5-6

¹⁶ “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: If the prince makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his sons, it will also belong to his descendants; it is to be their property by inheritance.2Ch 21:3¹⁷ If, however, he makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, the servant may keep it until the year of freedom;S Lev 25:10 then it will revert to the prince. His inheritance belongs to his sons only; it is theirs.¹⁸ The prince must not take1Sa 8:14 any of the inheritanceS Lev 25:23; Eze 45:8; Mic 2:1-2 of the people, driving them off their property. He is to give his sons their inheritance out of his own property, so that not one of my people will be separated from their property.’”

¹⁹ Then the man brought me through the entranceS Eze 42:9 at the side of the gate to the sacred rooms facing north,Eze 42:4 which belonged to the priests, and showed me a place at the western end.²⁰ He said to me, “This is the place where the priests are to cook the guilt offering and the sin offeringOr purification offering and bake the grain offering, to avoid bringing them into the outer court and consecratingS Lev 6:27 the people.”ver 24; Zec 14:20

²¹ He then brought me to the outer court and led me around to its four corners, and I saw in each corner another court.²² In the four corners of the outer court were enclosedThe meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. courts, forty cubits long and thirty cubits wide;That is, about 70 feet long and 53 feet wide or about 21 meters long and 16 meters wide each of the courts in the four corners was the same size.²³ Around the inside of each of the four courts was a ledge of stone, with places for fire built all around under the ledge.²⁴ He said to me, “These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple are to cook the sacrifices of the people.”

Special Offerings and Celebrations

¹³ “You must give this tax to the prince: one bushel of wheat or barley for every 60Hebrew 1⁄6 of an ephah from each homer of wheat and 1⁄6 of an ephah from each homer of barley. you harvest,¹⁴ one percent of your olive oil,Hebrew the portion of oil, measured by the bath, is 1⁄10 of a bath from each cor, which consists of 10 baths or 1 homer, for 10 baths are equivalent to a homer.¹⁵ and one sheep or goat for every 200 in your flocks in Israel. These will be the grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings that will make atonement for the people who bring them, says the Sovereign Lord.¹⁶ All the people of Israel must join in bringing these offerings to the prince.¹⁷ The prince will be required to provide offerings that are given at the religious festivals, the new moon celebrations, the Sabbath days, and all other similar occasions. He will provide the sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, liquid offerings, and peace offerings to purify the people of Israel, making them right with the Lord.Or to make atonement for the people of Israel.

¹⁸ “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In early spring, on the first day of each new year,Hebrew On the first day of the first month, of the Hebrew calendar. This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in March or April. sacrifice a young bull with no defects to purify the Temple.¹⁹ The priest will take blood from this sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the Temple, the four corners of the upper ledge of the altar, and the gateposts at the entrance to the inner courtyard.²⁰ Do this also on the seventh day of the new year for anyone who has sinned through error or ignorance. In this way, you will purifyOr will make atonement for. the Temple.

²¹ “On the fourteenth day of the first month,This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in late March, April, or early May. you must celebrate the Passover. This festival will last for seven days. The bread you eat during that time must be made without yeast.²² On the day of Passover the prince will provide a young bull as a sin offering for himself and the people of Israel.²³ On each of the seven days of the feast he will prepare a burnt offering to the Lord, consisting of seven young bulls and seven rams without defects. A male goat will also be given each day for a sin offering.²⁴ The prince will provide a basket of flour as a grain offering and a gallon of olive oilHebrew an ephah [20 quarts or 22 liters] of flour . . . and a hin [3.8 liters] of olive oil. with each young bull and ram.

²⁵ “During the seven days of the Festival of Shelters, which occurs every year in early autumn,Hebrew the festival which begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month (see Lev 23:34). This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in late September, October, or early November. the prince will provide these same sacrifices for the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the grain offering, along with the required olive oil.

46 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The east gateway of the inner courtyard will be closed during the six workdays each week, but it will be open on Sabbath days and the days of new moon celebrations.² The prince will enter the entry room of the gateway from the outside. Then he will stand by the gatepost while the priest offers his burnt offering and peace offering. He will bow down in worship inside the gateway passage and then go back out the way he came. The gateway will not be closed until evening.³ The common people will bow down and worship the Lord in front of this gateway on Sabbath days and the days of new moon celebrations.

⁴ “Each Sabbath day the prince will present to the Lord a burnt offering of six lambs and one ram, all with no defects.⁵ He will present a grain offering of a basket of choice flour to go with the ram and whatever amount of flour he chooses to go with each lamb, and he is to offer one gallon of olive oilHebrew an ephah [20 quarts or 22 liters] of choice flour . . . a hin [3.8 liters] of olive oil; similarly in 46:7, 11. for each basket of flour.⁶ At the new moon celebrations, he will bring one young bull, six lambs, and one ram, all with no defects.⁷ With the young bull he must bring a basket of choice flour for a grain offering. With the ram he must bring another basket of flour. And with each lamb he is to bring whatever amount of flour he chooses to give. With each basket of flour he must offer one gallon of olive oil.

⁸ “The prince must enter the gateway through the entry room, and he must leave the same way.⁹ But when the people come in through the north gateway to worship the Lord during the religious festivals, they must leave by the south gateway. And those who entered through the south gateway must leave by the north gateway. They must never leave by the same gateway they came in, but must always use the opposite gateway.¹⁰ The prince will enter and leave with the people on these occasions.

¹¹ “So at the special feasts and sacred festivals, the grain offering will be a basket of choice flour with each young bull, another basket of flour with each ram, and as much flour as the worshiper chooses to give with each lamb. Give one gallon of olive oil with each basket of flour.¹² When the prince offers a voluntary burnt offering or peace offering to the Lord, the east gateway to the inner courtyard will be opened for him, and he will offer his sacrifices as he does on Sabbath days. Then he will leave, and the gateway will be shut behind him.

¹³ “Each morning you must sacrifice a one-year-old lamb with no defects as a burnt offering to the Lord.¹⁴ With the lamb, a grain offering must also be given to the Lord—about three quarts of flour with a third of a gallon of olive oilHebrew 1⁄6 of an ephah [3.7 liters] of flour with 1⁄3 of a hin [1.3 liters] of olive oil. to moisten the choice flour. This will be a permanent law for you.¹⁵ The lamb, the grain offering, and the olive oil must be given as a daily sacrifice every morning without fail.

¹⁶ “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: If the prince gives a gift of land to one of his sons as his inheritance, it will belong to him and his descendants forever.¹⁷ But if the prince gives a gift of land from his inheritance to one of his servants, the servant may keep it only until the Year of Jubilee, which comes every fiftieth year.Hebrew until the Year of Release; see Lev 25:8-17. At that time the land will return to the prince. But when the prince gives gifts to his sons, those gifts will be permanent.¹⁸ And the prince may never take anyone’s property by force. If he gives property to his sons, it must be from his own land, for I do not want any of my people unjustly evicted from their property.”

The Temple Kitchens

¹⁹ In my vision, the man brought me through the entrance beside the gateway and led me to the sacred rooms assigned to the priests, which faced toward the north. He showed me a place at the extreme west end of these rooms.²⁰ He explained, “This is where the priests will cook the meat from the guilt offerings and sin offerings and bake the flour from the grain offerings into bread. They will do it here to avoid carrying the sacrifices through the outer courtyard and endangering the people by transmitting holiness to them.”

²¹ Then he brought me back to the outer courtyard and led me to each of its four corners. In each corner I saw an enclosure.²² Each of these enclosures was 70 feet long and 52 1⁄2 feet wide,Hebrew 40 [cubits] [21.2 meters] long and 30 [cubits] [15.9 meters] wide. surrounded by walls.²³ Along the inside of these walls was a ledge of stone with fireplaces under the ledge all the way around.²⁴ The man said to me, “These are the kitchens to be used by the Temple assistants to boil the sacrifices offered by the people.”

¹³ This is the oblation that ye shall offer; the sixth part of an ephah of an homer of wheat, and ye shall give the sixth part of an ephah of an homer of barley:

¹⁴ Concerning the ordinance of oil, the bath of oil, ye shall offer the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, which is an homer of ten baths; for ten baths are an homer:

¹⁵ And one lamb out of the flock, out of two hundred, out of the fat pastures of Israel; for a meat offering, and for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make reconciliation for them, saith the Lord God.

¹⁶ All the people of the land shall give this oblation for the prince in Israel.

¹⁷ And it shall be the prince's part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel.

¹⁸ Thus saith the Lord God; In the first month, in the first day of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary:

¹⁹ And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put it upon the posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the settle of the altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court.

²⁰ And so thou shalt do the seventh day of the month for every one that erreth, and for him that is simple: so shall ye reconcile the house.

²¹ In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.

²² And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin offering.

²³ And seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the Lord, seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering.

²⁴ And he shall prepare a meat offering of an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and an hin of oil for an ephah.

²⁵ In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, shall he do the like in the feast of the seven days, according to the sin offering, according to the burnt offering, and according to the meat offering, and according to the oil.

46 Thus saith the Lord God; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened.

² And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening.

³ Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the Lord in the sabbaths and in the new moons.

⁴ And the burnt offering that the prince shall offer unto the Lord in the sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish.

⁵ And the meat offering shall be an ephah for a ram, and the meat offering for the lambs as he shall be able to give, and an hin of oil to an ephah.

⁶ And in the day of the new moon it shall be a young bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram: they shall be without blemish.

⁷ And he shall prepare a meat offering, an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs according as his hand shall attain unto, and an hin of oil to an ephah.

⁸ And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of that gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof.

⁹ But when the people of the land shall come before the Lord in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it.

¹⁰ And the prince in the midst of them, when they go in, shall go in; and when they go forth, shall go forth.

¹¹ And in the feasts and in the solemnities the meat offering shall be an ephah to a bullock, and an ephah to a ram, and to the lambs as he is able to give, and an hin of oil to an ephah.

¹² Now when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering or peace offerings voluntarily unto the Lord, one shall then open him the gate that looketh toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he did on the sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate.

¹³ Thou shalt daily prepare a burnt offering unto the Lord of a lamb of the first year without blemish: thou shalt prepare it every morning.

¹⁴ And thou shalt prepare a meat offering for it every morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of an hin of oil, to temper with the fine flour; a meat offering continually by a perpetual ordinance unto the Lord.

¹⁵ Thus shall they prepare the lamb, and the meat offering, and the oil, every morning for a continual burnt offering.

¹⁶ Thus saith the Lord God; If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, the inheritance thereof shall be his sons'; it shall be their possession by inheritance.

¹⁷ But if he give a gift of his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his to the year of liberty; after it shall return to the prince: but his inheritance shall be his sons' for them.

¹⁸ Moreover the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession; but he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession: that my people be not scattered every man from his possession.

¹⁹ After he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers of the priests, which looked toward the north: and, behold, there was a place on the two sides westward.

²⁰ Then said he unto me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, where they shall bake the meat offering; that they bear them not out into the utter court, to sanctify the people.

²¹ Then he brought me forth into the utter court, and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and, behold, in every corner of the court there was a court.

²² In the four corners of the court there were courts joined of forty cubits long and thirty broad: these four corners were of one measure.

²³ And there was a row of building round about in them, round about them four, and it was made with boiling places under the rows round about.

²⁴ Then said he unto me, These are the places of them that boil, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people.

Be Holy

¹³ Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober,S Ac 24:25 set your hopever 3, 21; S Heb 3:6 on the grace to be brought to youver 10 when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.ver 7; S 1Co 1:7¹⁴ As obedientver 2, 22 children, do not conformRo 12:2 to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.Eph 4:18¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;Isa 35:8; 1Th 4:7; 1Jn 3:3¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”Lev. 11:44,45; 19:2Lev 11:44, 45; 19:2; 20:7

¹⁷ Since you call on a FatherS Mt 6:9 who judges each person’s workS Mt 16:27 impartially,S Ac 10:34 live out your time as foreignersS Heb 11:13 here in reverent fear.Heb 12:28¹⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemedS Mt 20:28; S 1Co 6:20 from the empty way of lifeGal 4:3 handed down to you from your ancestors,¹⁹ but with the precious bloodS Ro 3:25 of Christ, a lambS Jn 1:29 without blemish or defect.Ex 12:5²⁰ He was chosen before the creation of the world,Eph 1:4; S Mt 25:34 but was revealed in these last timesHeb 9:26 for your sake.²¹ Through him you believe in God,Ro 4:24; 10:9 who raised him from the deadS Ac 2:24 and glorified him,Php 2:7-9; Heb 2:9 and so your faith and hopever 3, 13; S Heb 3:6 are in God.

²² Now that you have purifiedJas 4:8 yourselves by obeyingver 2, 14 the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply,S Jn 13:34; S Ro 12:10 from the heart.Some early manuscripts from a pure heart²³ For you have been born again,ver 3; S Jn 1:13 not of perishable seed, but of imperishable,Jn 1:13 through the living and enduring word of God.S Heb 4:12²⁴ For,

And this is the word that was preached to you.

2 Therefore, rid yourselvesS Eph 4:22 of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slanderS Jas 4:11 of every kind.² Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk,1Co 3:2; Heb 5:12, 13 so that by it you may grow upEph 4:15, 16 in your salvation,³ now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.Ps 34:8; Heb 6:5

The Living Stone and a Chosen People

⁴ As you come to him, the living Stonever 7—rejected by humans but chosen by GodIsa 42:1 and precious to him—⁵ you also, like living stones, are being builtPr 9:1; 1Co 3:9; Eph 2:20-22 into a spiritual houseOr into a temple of the Spirit1Ti 3:15 to be a holy priesthood,ver 9; Ex 19:6; Isa 61:6; Rev 1:6; 5:10; 20:6 offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.Php 4:18; Heb 13:15⁶ For in Scripture it says:

⁷ Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,2Co 2:16

⁸ and,

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.Ro 9:22

⁹ But you are a chosen people,Dt 10:15; 1Sa 12:22 a royal priesthood,ver 5 a holy nation,Ex 19:6; Dt 7:6; Isa 62:12 God’s special possession,S Tit 2:14 that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.S Ac 26:18¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God;Hos 1:9, 10; 2:23; Ro 9:25, 26 once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

A Call to Holy Living

¹³ So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.¹⁴ So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then.¹⁵ But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.¹⁶ For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”Lev 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7.

¹⁷ And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.”¹⁸ For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value.¹⁹ It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.²⁰ God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.

²¹ Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.

²² You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters.Greek must have brotherly love. Love each other deeply with all your heart.Some manuscripts read with a pure heart.

²³ For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.²⁴ As the Scriptures say,

And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.

2 So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.² Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment,³ now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

Living Stones for God’s House

⁴ You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.

⁵ And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests.Greek holy priesthood. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.⁶ As the Scriptures say,

⁷ Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him.Or Yes, for you who believe, there is honor. But for those who reject him,

⁸ And,

They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.

⁹ But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests,Greek a royal priesthood. a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

¹³ Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

¹⁴ As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

¹⁵ But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

¹⁶ Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

¹⁷ And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:

¹⁸ Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

¹⁹ But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

²⁰ Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

²¹ Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

²² Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

²³ Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

²⁴ For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

²⁵ But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

2 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

² As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

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.

⁶ 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,

⁸ And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

⁹ But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

¹⁰ Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

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³³ Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.

³⁴ Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.

³⁵ Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.

³⁶ Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.

³⁷ Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.

³⁸ Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear.

³⁹ Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good.

⁴⁰ Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.

⁴¹ Let thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, even thy salvation, according to thy word.

⁴² So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word.

⁴³ And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in thy judgments.

⁴⁴ So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever.

⁴⁵ And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.

⁴⁶ I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.

⁴⁷ And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved.

⁴⁸ My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes.

¹¹ The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.