⁷ put fire in them and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow, and it shall be that the man whom the Lord chooses is the holy one. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!”

^3 (A)They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You ^[a]take too much upon yourselves, for ^(B)all the congregation is holy, every one of them, ^(C)and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”

⁹ But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of ^(A)darkness into His marvelous light;

Stand Fast

¹³ But we are ^[a]bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God ^(A)from the beginning ^(B)chose you for salvation ^(C)through ^[b]sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,

⁴ just as ^(A)He chose us in Him ^(B)before the foundation of the world, that we should ^(C)be holy and without blame before Him in love,

Jesus’ Authority Questioned^(A)

^23 (B)Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and ^(C)said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”

²⁴ But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: ²⁵ The ^(D)baptism of ^(E)John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?”

And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we ^(F)fear the multitude, ^(G)for all count John as a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.”

And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

¹⁷ Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, ^(A)“Is that you, O ^(B)troubler of Israel?”

¹⁸ And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, ^(C)in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals.

⁵ and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is ^(A)His and who is ^(B)holy,^[a] and will cause him to come near to Him. That one whom He chooses He will cause to ^(C)come near to Him.