Deuteronomy 26
26
1 "And when you will have entered into the land which the Lord your God will give to you to possess, and when you will have obtained it and are living within it:
2 you shall take the first of all your crops, and place them in a basket, and you shall travel to the place which the Lord your God will choose, so that his name may be invoked there.
3 And you shall approach the priest who will be in those days, and you shall say to him: 'I profess this day, before the Lord your God, that I have entered into the land about which he swore to our fathers that he would give it to us.'
4 And the priest, taking up the basket from your hand, shall place it before the altar of the Lord your God.
5 And you shall say, in the sight of the Lord your God: 'The Syrian pursued my father, who descended into Egypt, and he sojourned there in a very small number, and he increased into a great and strong nation and into an innumerable multitude.
6 And the Egyptians afflicted us, and they persecuted us, imposing upon us the most grievous burdens.
7 And we cried out to the Lord, the God of our fathers. He heard us, and he looked with favor upon our humiliation, and hardship, and distress.
8 And he led us away from Egypt, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, with a mighty terror, with signs and wonders.
9 And he led us into this place, and he delivered to us the land flowing with milk and honey.
10 And because of this, I now offer the first fruits of the land which the Lord has given to me.' And you shall leave them in the sight of the Lord your God, and you shall adore the Lord your God.
11 And you shall feast on all the good things which the Lord your God will give to you and to your house: you, and the Levite, and the new arrival who is with you.
12 When you will have completed the tithing of all your crops, in the third year of tithes, you shall give it to the Levite, and to the new arrival, and to the orphan, and to the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be satisfied.
13 And you shall say, in the sight of the Lord your God: 'I have taken what was sanctified from my house, and I have given it to the Levite, and to the new arrival, and to the orphan and the widow, just as you have commanded me. I have not transgressed your commandments, nor have I forgotten your precepts.
14 I have not eaten from these things in my grief, nor have I separated them due to any kind of uncleanness, nor have I expended any of these things in funerals. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God, and I have done all things just as you have instructed me.
15 Look with favor from your sanctuary and from your lofty habitation amid the heavens, and bless your people Israel and the land which you have given to us, just as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.'
16 Today the Lord your God has instructed you to carry out these commandments and judgments, and to keep and fulfill them, with all your heart and with all your soul.
17 Today, you have chosen the Lord to be your God, so that you may walk in his ways, and keep his ceremonies and commandments and judgments, and obey his command.
18 Today, the Lord has chosen you, so that you may be his particular people, just as he has spoken to you, and so that you may keep all his precepts,
19 and so that he may cause you to be more exalted than all the nations which he has created, for the sake of his own praise and name and glory, in order that you may be a holy people for the Lord your God, just as he has spoken."
Currently Selected:
Deuteronomy 26: CPDV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Deuteronomy 26
26
Presentation of the First Fruits
1 When#tn Heb “and it will come to pass that.” you enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you occupy it and live in it, 2 you must take the first of all the ground’s produce you harvest from the land the Lord your God is giving you, place it in a basket, and go to the place where he#tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy. chooses to locate his name.#sn The place where he chooses to locate his name. This is a circumlocution for the central sanctuary, first the tabernacle and later the Jerusalem temple. See Deut 12:1-14 and especially the note on the word “you” in v. 14. 3 You must go to the priest in office at that time and say to him, “I declare today to the Lord your#tc For the MT reading “your God,” certain LXX mss have “my God,” a contextually superior rendition followed by some English versions (e.g., NAB, NASB, TEV). Perhaps the text reflects dittography of the kaf (כ) at the end of the word with the following preposition כִּי (ki). God that I have come into the land that the Lord#tc The Syriac adds “your God” to complete the usual formula. promised#tn Heb “swore on oath.” to our ancestors#tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 7, 15). to give us.” 4 The priest will then take the basket from you#tn Heb “your hand.” and set it before the altar of the Lord your God. 5 Then you must affirm before the Lord your God, “A wandering#tn Though the Hebrew term אָבַד (’avad) generally means “to perish” or the like (HALOT 2-3 s.v.; BDB 1-2 s.v.; cf. KJV “a Syrian ready to perish”), a meaning “to go astray” or “to be lost” is also attested. The ambivalence in the Hebrew text is reflected in the versions where LXX Vaticanus reads ἀπέβαλεν (apebalen, “lose”) for a possibly metathesized reading found in Alexandrinus, Ambrosianus, ἀπέλαβεν (apelaben, “receive”); others attest κατέλειπεν (kateleipen, “leave, abandon”). “Wandering” seems to suit best the contrast with the sedentary life Israel would enjoy in Canaan (v. 9) and is the meaning followed by many English versions. Aramean#sn A wandering Aramean. This is a reference to Jacob whose mother Rebekah was an Aramean (Gen 24:10; 25:20, 26) and who himself lived in Aram for at least twenty years (Gen 31:41-42). was my ancestor,#tn Heb “father.” and he went down to Egypt and lived there as a foreigner with a household few in number,#tn Heb “sojourned there few in number.” The words “with a household” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity. but there he became a great, powerful, and numerous people. 6 But the Egyptians mistreated and oppressed us, forcing us to do burdensome labor. 7 So we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and he#tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 26:2. heard us and saw our humiliation, toil, and oppression. 8 Therefore the Lord brought us out of Egypt with tremendous strength and power,#tn Heb “by a powerful hand and an extended arm.” These are anthropomorphisms designed to convey God’s tremendously great power in rescuing Israel from their Egyptian bondage. They are preserved literally in many English versions (cf. KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV). as well as with great awe-inspiring signs and wonders. 9 Then he brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 So now, look! I have brought the first of the ground’s produce that you, Lord, have given me.” Then you must set it down before the Lord your God and worship before him.#tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 26:2. 11 You will celebrate all the good things that the Lord your God has given you and your family,#tn Or “household” (so NASB, NIV, NLT); Heb “house” (so KJV, NRSV). along with the Levites and the resident foreigners among you.
Presentation of the Third-year Tithe
12 When you finish tithing all#tn Heb includes “the tithes of.” This has not been included in the translation to avoid redundancy. your income in the third year (the year of tithing), you must give it to the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows#tn The terms “Levite, resident foreigner, orphan, and widow” are collective singulars in the Hebrew text (also in v. 13). so that they may eat to their satisfaction in your villages.#tn Heb “gates.” 13 Then you shall say before the Lord your God, “I have removed the sacred offering#tn Heb “the sacred thing.” The term הַקֹּדֶשׁ (haqqodesh) likely refers to an offering normally set apart for the Lord but, as a third-year tithe, given on this occasion to people in need. Sometimes this is translated as “the sacred portion” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV), but that could sound to a modern reader as if a part of the house were being removed and given away. from my house and given it to the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows just as you have commanded me.#tn Heb “according to all your commandment that you commanded me.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons. I have not violated or forgotten your commandments. 14 I have not eaten anything when I was in mourning, or removed any of it while ceremonially unclean, or offered any of it to the dead;#sn These practices suggest overtones of pagan ritual, all of which the confessor denies having undertaken. In Canaan they were connected with fertility practices associated with harvest time. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC), 335-36. I have obeyed you#tn Heb “the Lord my God.” See note on “he” in 26:2. and have done everything you have commanded me. 15 Look down from your holy dwelling place in heaven and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us, just as you promised our ancestors – a land flowing with milk and honey.”
Narrative Interlude
16 Today the Lord your God is commanding you to keep these statutes and ordinances, something you must do with all your heart and soul.#tn Or “mind and being”; cf. NCV “with your whole being”; TEV “obey them faithfully with all your heart.” 17 Today you have declared the Lord to be your God, and that you will walk in his ways, keep his statutes, commandments, and ordinances, and obey him. 18 And today the Lord has declared you to be his special people (as he already promised you) so you may keep all his commandments. 19 Then#tn Heb “so that.” Verses 18-19 are one sentence in the Hebrew text, but the translation divides it into three sentences for stylistic reasons. The first clause in verse 19 gives a result of the preceding clause. When Israel keeps God’s law, God will bless them with fame and honor (cf. NAB “he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory”; NLT “And if you do, he will make you greater than any other nation”). he will elevate you above all the nations he has made and you will receive praise, fame, and honor.#tn Heb “for praise and for a name and for glory.” You will#tn Heb “and to be.” A new sentence was started here for stylistic reasons. be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he has said.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
1996 - 2007 by Biblical Studies Press, LLC