56 Bible Verses about Holiness,  Worldly Separation

And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nations which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. But I have said to you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, who have separated you from other people. Ye shall therefore distinguish between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast or by fowl, or by any manner of living animal that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.read more.
And ye shall be holy to me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.

And he said to him, If thy presence shall not attend me, conduct us not hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? Is it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.

Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness: that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.

For whoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. Therefore shall ye keep my ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves in them; I am the LORD your God.

When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perrizites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee, thou shalt smite them and utterly destroy them, thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give to his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take to thy son.read more.
For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly. But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. For thou art a holy people to the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people to himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

When the host goeth forth against thy enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing. If there shall be among you any man that is not clean by reason of uncleanness that chanceth to him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp: But it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again.read more.
Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad: And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon: and it shall be when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig with it, and shalt turn back, and cover that which cometh from thee: For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thy enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he may see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.

Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.

This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth; To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.

And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them. Speak to the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye may eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. Whatever parteth the hoof, and is cloven-footed, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that shall ye eat.read more.
Nevertheless, these shall ye not eat, of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean to you. And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean to you. And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof: he is unclean to you. And the swine, though he divideth the hoof, and is cloven-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you. These shall ye eat, of all that are in the waters: whatever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. And all that have not fins nor scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living animal which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination to you: They shall be even an abomination to you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcasses in abomination. Whatever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination to you. And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, And the vultur, and the kite after his kind; Every raven after his kind; And the owl, and the night-hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier-eagle, And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination to you. Yet these may ye eat, of every flying creeping animal that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap with upon the earth; Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after its kind, and the bald locust after its kind, and the beetle after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind. But all other flying creeping animals, which have four feet, shall be an abomination to you.

Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing. These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow-deer, and the wild-goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois.read more.
And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat. Nevertheless, these ye shall not eat, of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean to you. And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, is unclean to you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass. These ye shall eat, of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat: And whatever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean to you. Of all clean birds ye shall eat. But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, And the glede, and the kite, and the vultur after his kind, And every raven after his kind, And the owl, and the night-hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan, And the pelican, and the gier-eagle, and the cormorant, And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. And every creeping animal that flieth is unclean to you: they shall not be eaten. But of all clean fowls ye may eat.

And when he had called all the people to him, he said to them, Hearken to me every one of you, and understand. There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him, can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If any man hath ears to hear, let him hear.read more.
And when he had entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. And he saith to them, Are ye so void of understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him. Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all kinds of food.

But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.

When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons the priests: And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight is deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.

This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest:

The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether a woolen garment, or a linen garment; Whether in the warp, or woof, of linen, or of woolen: whether in a skin, or in any thing made of skin: And if the plague is greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the skin, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin: it is a plague of leprosy, and shall be shown to the priest:

And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, When ye shall have come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession; And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, it seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the house:read more.
Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest shall enter to see the plague, that all that is in the house may not be made unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house:

Speak to the children of Israel, saying, If a woman hath conceived seed, and borne a male-child; then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean.

Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean.

Or if a soul shall touch any unclean thing, whether a carcass of an unclean beast, or a carcass of unclean cattle, or the carcass of unclean creeping animals, and it shall be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty. Or if he shall touch the uncleanness of man, whatever uncleanness it may be that a man shall be defiled with, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty.

These are unclean to you among all that creep: whoever doth touch them, when they are dead, shall be unclean until the evening. And upon whatever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it is any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatever vessel it is, in which any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; so it shall be cleansed. And every earthen vessel, into which any of them falleth, whatever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it.read more.
Of all meat which may be eaten, that on which such water cometh shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drank in every such vessel, shall be unclean. And every thing on which any part of their carcass falleth, shall be unclean; whether an oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you. Nevertheless, a fountain or pit, in which there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcass shall be unclean. And if any part of their carcass shall fall upon any sowing-seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean. But if any water shall be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcass shall fall on it, it shall be unclean to you. And if any beast, of which ye may eat, shall die; he that toucheth its carcass shall be unclean until the evening. And he that eateth of its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening; he also that beareth its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.

And the LORD said to Moses, Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:

And that ye may make a difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken to them by the hand of Moses.

And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

Crying out, Men of Israel, help. This is the man that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further, hath brought Greeks also into the temple; and hath polluted this holy place.

We are confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the LORD'S house.

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whoever is defiled by the dead: Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst of which I dwell.

And Ezra the priest stood up, and said to them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken foreign wives to increase the trespass of Israel. Now therefore make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the foreign wives.

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat. And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used for any other purpose; but ye shall in no wise eat of it.read more.
For whoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people. Moreover, ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings. Whatever soul it may be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.

And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. All the days in which the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone, without the camp shall his habitation be.

And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace-offerings to the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will. It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if aught shall remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire. And if it shall be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted.read more.
Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

Whoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.

If there shall be among you any man that is not clean by reason of uncleanness that chanceth to him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp: But it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again. Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad:read more.
And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon: and it shall be when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig with it, and shalt turn back, and cover that which cometh from thee: For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thy enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he may see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

And Uzziah the king was a leper to the day of his death, and dwelt in a separate house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.

But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace-offerings that pertain to the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. Moreover, the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace-offerings which pertain to the LORD, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.

Say to them, Whoever he may be of all your seed among your generations, that approacheth the holy things, which the children of Israel hallow to the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from my presence: I am the LORD. Whatever man of the seed of Aaron is a leper, or hath a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he is clean. And whoever toucheth any thing that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goeth from him; Or whoever toucheth any creeping animal, by which he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatever uncleanness he hath:read more.
The soul which hath touched any such shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he shall wash his flesh with water.

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, If a soul shall commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the LORD; then he shall bring for his trespass to the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass-offering: And he shall make amends for the harm that he hath done in the holy thing, and shall add to it the fifth part, and give it to the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass-offering, and it shall be forgiven him.

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow to me: I am the LORD.

And the LORD said to Moses, Go to the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their clothes, And be ready against the third day: for on the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds to the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up upon the mount, or touch the border of it: whoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:read more.
There shall not a hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through: whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness: from the loins even to the thighs they shall reach: And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they enter in to the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near to the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die. It shall be a statute for ever to him, and to his seed after him.

Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and its foot also of brass, to wash in: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and their sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not: or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire to the LORD.read more.
So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.

Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore: for it is holy to you. Every one that profaneth it shall surely be put to death: for whoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done, but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whoever doeth any work in the sabbath-day, he shall surely be put to death.

And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to move forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.

He that despised Moses' law, died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much more severe punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, by which he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite to the Spirit of grace?

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer, and put fire in it, and put incense on it, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: And they assembled themselves against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: why then do ye raise yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?read more.
And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: And he spoke to Korah and to all his company, saying, Even to-morrow the LORD will show who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near to him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near to him. This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company; And put fire in them, and put incense in them before the LORD to-morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.

And he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and seventy men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter. And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us?

And when they came to Nachon's threshing-floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it: for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.

Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned my holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shown difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, (his wife also being privy to it) and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, Why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?read more.
While it remained, was it not thy own? and after it was sold, was it not in thy own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thy heart? thou hast not lied to men, but to God. And Ananias hearing these words, fell down, and expired. And great fear came on all them that heard these things. And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered to her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yes, for so much. Then Peter said to her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold the feet of them who have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then she fell down immediately at his feet, and expired. And the young men came in, and found her dead, and carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

If ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: Who in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

I have given to them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth firm, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.