Leviticus 19:2
in Leviticus 19“Speak to the whole congregation of Israel and tell them: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy; for I Jehovah your God am holy.
KJV
Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.
⋯
This verse in Leviticus 19
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Ye shall be holy ... - These words express the keynote to the whole book of Leviticus, being addressed to the whole nation. There does not appear to be any systematic arrangement in the laws which follow. They were intended as guards to the sanctity of the elect people, enforcing common duties by immediate appeal to the highest authority. Compare Lev 18:24-30 note.
This site's exposition
And the Lord spake unto Moses
on Leviticus 19:1-2
The command is given to all the congregation of the children of Israel, so what follows falls on farmers, traders and judges rather than on the priesthood alone. Ye shall be holy occurs three times in the book, at 11:44, here, and 20:26, and 1 Peter 1:16 quotes it into the church as be ye holy, for I am holy. The ground offered is the character of the speaker, and the chapter will give that same ground fifteen more times before it ends.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
To be sanctified is to be drawn away from any love that sullies and corrupts and may lead the soul to ruin. In this must the creature resemble the Creator: "You shall be holy," He said, "because I am holy." This holiness makes one God-conformed. …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And this is now the law of Christ (the Lord bring every thought within us into obedience to it!) You shall be holy, for I am holy, 1 Pet. i. We are the followers of the holy Jesus, and therefore must be, according to our capacity, consecrated to God's honour, and conformed to his nature and will. Israel was sanctified by the types and shadows ( ch. xx.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel,.... They could not be all spoke to together, but tribe after tribe, or family after family; or rather the heads of the tribes, and at most the heads of families were convened, and the following instructions were given, to be communicated to their respective tribes and families.
Many of the precepts here given they had received before, but it was requisite that they should be repeated, that they might be remembered. Precept must be upon precept, and line upon line, and all little enough. It is required that Israel be a holy people, because the God of Israel is a holy God,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The will of God in the Old as well as the New Testament Church was not locked up in the repositories of an unknown tongue, but communicated plainly and openly to the people.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| דַּבֵּ֞ר | daber | speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עֲדַ֧ת | ʾadat | [the] congregation of | H5712 → | 149 times |
| בְּנֵי־ | benei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וְאָמַרְתָּ֥ | veamarta | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵהֶ֖ם | ʾalehem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| קְדֹשִׁ֣ים | kedoshim | holy | H6918 → | 116 times |
| תִּהְי֑וּ | tihyu | you will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| קָד֔וֹשׁ | kadoosh | [am] holy | H6918 → | 116 times |
| אֲנִ֖י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃ | ʾeloheikhem | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
דַּבֵּ֞רspeak
daberH1696 →1141 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
עֲדַ֧ת[the] congregation of
ʾadatH5712 →149 times
בְּנֵי־[the] people of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֛לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וְאָמַרְתָּ֥and you will say
veamartaH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵהֶ֖םto them
ʾalehemH413 →5510 times
קְדֹשִׁ֣יםholy
kedoshimH6918 →116 times
תִּהְי֑וּyou will be
tihyuH1961 →3559 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
קָד֔וֹשׁ[am] holy
kadooshH6918 →116 times
אֲנִ֖יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃God your
ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 5:48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 1:15–16
But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- James 1:4
Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
- Deuteronomy 18:13
You must be blameless before the LORD your God.
- Luke 6:36
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
- Ephesians 5:1–2
Be imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children,
- 1 Peter 1:15–16
Through
Leviticus 20:7Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.
it leads to
- Leviticus 11:44
For I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any creature that crawls along the ground.
- Ephesians 1:4
For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love
- Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
- Leviticus 11:44
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Holiness35 verses
On this page
About Leviticus
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Andrew Bonar, A Commentary on Leviticus; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.