And ye shall be holy unto me,.... Separated from all unclean persons and things, and devoted to his service, and obedient to all his commands, and so live holy lives and conversations, according to his will, and to his honour and glory:
for I the Lord [am] holy; and therefore they, his people, should be like him, and imitate him, and observe those things which are agreeable to his holy nature and will, and yield a cheerful obedience to his holy precepts:
and have severed you from [other] people, that ye should be mine; which is a very forcible argument, a strong motive, and which laid them under great obligation to obedience and holiness.