Leviticus 18 26

Leviticus 18:26 kjv

Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:

Leviticus 18:26 nkjv

You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you

Leviticus 18:26 niv

But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the foreigners residing among you must not do any of these detestable things,

Leviticus 18:26 esv

But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you

Leviticus 18:26 nlt

You must obey all my decrees and regulations. You must not commit any of these detestable sins. This applies both to native-born Israelites and to the foreigners living among you.

Leviticus 18 verses

Leviticus 18 26 Meaning

Leviticus 18:26 emphasizes that the Israelites must diligently observe God's moral and legal decrees and avoid all the specific detestable practices previously outlined in the chapter, especially those related to sexual immorality and child sacrifice. Failure to do so would lead to self-defilement, marking them with the same uncleanness that characterized the pagan nations (specifically the Canaanites) whom God was in the process of expelling from the land. This verse serves as a crucial warning, connecting obedience to personal purity and national longevity in the Promised Land.

Leviticus 18 26 Context

Leviticus 18 details a list of illicit sexual relationships and other abhorrent practices. This chapter functions as a foundational moral code, distinguishing Israel's expected conduct from the pervasive wickedness of the surrounding Egyptian and Canaanite cultures. God warns Israel not to follow the customs of these nations, explicitly condemning incest, adultery, homosexual acts, bestiality, and child sacrifice. Verse 26, positioned after the enumeration of these specific prohibitions, acts as a climactic summation and warning. It underscores the severity of the forbidden acts, not only as sins against God but as acts that inherently defile the people and the land itself, directly preceding the ultimate consequence described in 18:28—the land "vomiting out" its inhabitants. It highlights a polemic against contemporary pagan practices, stressing that Israel's covenant with God demanded a radically different, holy way of life.

Leviticus 18 26 Word analysis

• You: Refers to the collective Israelites, implying a communal responsibility for upholding God's laws.
• shall therefore keep: Implies an imperative and a logical consequence of their covenant relationship with God.
  • keep (שָׁמַר, shamar): To guard, observe, watch over diligently. It's not passive hearing, but active preservation and adherence.
• My statutes and My rules: These terms delineate the nature of divine instruction.
  • My statutes (חֻקּוֹתַי, chuqqotai): Refers to divine decrees or fixed ordinances, often ceremonial or social laws, reflecting God's established order.
  • My rules (מִשְׁפָּטַי, mishpatay): Refers to judgments or just decrees, particularly those concerning moral, ethical, and judicial matters. These highlight God's righteous standards for conduct.
• and do none of these abominations: A direct command against specific forbidden actions.
  • abominations (תּוֹעֲבָה, to'evah): Denotes something detestable, utterly abhorrent to God, fundamentally offensive to His holy character. In Leviticus 18, it primarily refers to severe sexual perversions and child sacrifice.
• lest you defile yourselves thereby: Emphasizes the negative consequence of committing these acts.
  • defile (טָמֵא, ṭameh): To become unclean, impure, polluted. Here, the defilement is not just ritualistic but profound moral and spiritual impurity, affecting one's innermost being and ultimately the land they inhabit. It highlights internal moral corruption as the result of such sins.
• for by them the nations whom I am driving out before you have become unclean: This provides the justification and severity of the warning.
  • nations whom I am driving out: Refers specifically to the Canaanite inhabitants of the Promised Land.
  • driving out: God's active, just intervention to remove wicked inhabitants, indicating divine judgment.
  • have become unclean: These nations' moral depravity, demonstrated by practicing these very abominations, led to their state of defilement and ultimately, their expulsion. This serves as a potent object lesson for Israel.

Leviticus 18 26 Bonus section

The repeated emphasis on "My statutes and My rules" throughout Leviticus 18 underscores that these moral injunctions are not arbitrary human customs but originate from God's own holy character, distinguishing His people as distinct. This chapter's prohibitions highlight that holiness in Israel was not solely ceremonial but deeply ethical and moral. The inclusion of the "nations whom I am driving out" reveals God's patient yet ultimate judgment against sustained wickedness; He did not dispossess them without cause. The concept of the "land" becoming unclean or vomiting out its inhabitants, found throughout this chapter (and reiterated in Lev 20), functions almost as a theological personification, reflecting that the earth itself recoils from such profound moral corruption, establishing a powerful consequence that ties individual moral actions to the fate of the entire community and their dwelling place. This serves as a cautionary principle not just for ancient Israel but speaks to the integrity required for any community living under God's righteous oversight.

Leviticus 18 26 Commentary

Leviticus 18:26 is a solemn divine exhortation to Israel, linking obedience, holiness, and their continued inhabitation of the Promised Land. After itemizing a comprehensive list of abhorrent sexual practices and child sacrifice, God commands His people to actively keep My statutes and My rules, implying a positive commitment to His way of life, and simultaneously to do none of these abominations, signifying a clear rejection of the surrounding pagan culture's depravity. The profound warning lest you defile yourselves thereby emphasizes that these sins are not merely external infractions but create an internal moral and spiritual impurity. This personal defilement, the verse explains, is precisely why the nations whom I am driving out before you have become unclean—their moral degradation led to their divine expulsion. Thus, Israel is presented with a clear choice: live distinctively in God's holiness or replicate the self-destructive patterns of those dispossessed, facing the same grim consequence of being 'vomited out' by the land, as mentioned directly in the following verses (Lev 18:28). The passage underscores that genuine holiness involves both adherence to positive divine law and strict avoidance of profound moral evils, serving as the very basis of a thriving covenant relationship and national security.