³ and say to the priest in office at the time, “I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.”

⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built^(A) into a spiritual house^[a](B) to be a holy priesthood,^(C) offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.^(D)

¹⁵ Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice^(A) of praise—the fruit of lips^(B) that openly profess his name.

²¹ and since we have a great priest^(A) over the house of God,^(B)

²⁶ Such a high priest^(A) truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners,^(B) exalted above the heavens.^(C)

¹⁶ People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.^{(A) 17} Because God wanted to make the unchanging^(B) nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised,^(C) he confirmed it with an oath. ¹⁸ God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie,^(D) we who have fled to take hold of the hope^(E) set before us may be greatly encouraged.

¹⁷ the two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges^(A) who are in office at the time.