A Living Stone and a Holy People

2 ^(A)So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.

7 Since we have these promises, beloved, ^(A)let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body^[a] and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

^8 (A)Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. ^(B)Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and ^(C)purify your hearts, ^(D)you double-minded.

¹⁴ I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of ^(A)the great tribulation. ^(B)They have washed their robes and ^(C)made them white ^(D)in the blood of the Lamb.

²² to ^(A)put off ^(B)your old self,^[a] which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through ^(C)deceitful desires, ²³ and ^(D)to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴ and to put on ^(E)the new self, ^(F)created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

²⁵ Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you ^(G)speak the truth with his neighbor, for ^(H)we are members one of another. ^26 (I)Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷ and ^(J)give no opportunity to the devil. ²⁸ Let the thief no longer steal, but rather ^(K)let him labor, ^(L)doing honest work with his own hands, so ^(M)that he may have something to share with anyone in need. ^29 (N)Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give ^(O)grace to those who hear.

¹¹ For ^(A)the grace of God ^(B)has appeared, bringing salvation ^(C)for all people, ¹² training us to renounce ungodliness and ^(D)worldly passions, and ^(E)to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in ^(F)the present age, ^13 (G)waiting for our blessed ^(H)hope, the ^(I)appearing of the glory of our great ^(J)God and Savior Jesus Christ, ^14 (K)who gave himself for us to ^(L)redeem us from all lawlessness and ^(M)to purify for himself ^(N)a people for his own possession who are ^(O)zealous for good works.