Leviticus 19:37
in Leviticus 19You must keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and follow them. I am the LORD.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And ye shall observe all my statutes, and all mine ordinances, and do them: I am Jehovah.
KJV
Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the Lord.
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This verse in Leviticus 19
Commentary
6 notes on this verseShall ye observe all my statutes - חקתי chukkothi, from חק chak, to describe, mark, or trace out; the righteousness which I have described, and the path of duty which I have traced out. Judgments, משפטי mishpatai, from שפט shaphat, to discern, determine, direct, etc.; that which Divine Wisdom has discerned to be best for man, has determined shall promote his best interest, and has directed him conscientiously to use. See the note on Lev 26:15.
This site's exposition
Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment
on Leviticus 19:35-37
Verse 35 opens with the sentence that opened verse 15, ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, and applies it to the meteyard, the weight and the measure. The courtroom and the market are put under one rule, so a short measure is handled as a wrong verdict. Proverbs 11:1 keeps that pairing, calling a false balance an abomination to the LORD, and Deuteronomy 25:13-16 gives the law again with divers weights in the bag. The chapter closes on I am the LORD, which falls fifteen times in these thirty seven verses, a third of every occurrence in the book.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
5 And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the L ORD , ye shall offer it at your own will. 6 It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire. 7 And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v5-7
): You shall observe all my statutes, and do them. We are not likely to do God's statutes, unless we observe them with great care and consideration. Yet it is not enough barely to observe God's precepts, but we must make conscience of obeying them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
I am the Lord--This solemn admonition, by which these various precepts are repeatedly sanctioned, is equivalent to "I, your Creator--your Deliverer from bondage, and your Sovereign, who have wisdom to establish laws, have power also to punish the violation of them." It was well fitted to impress the minds of the Israelites with a sense of their duty and God's claims to obedience.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֤ם | ushemartem | and you will keep | H8104 → | 468 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| חֻקֹּתַי֙ | chukotai | statutes my | H2708 → | 104 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מִשְׁפָּטַ֔י | mishpatai | judgments my | H4941 → | 422 times |
| וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם | vaasitem | and you will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֹתָ֑ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲנִ֖י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ פ | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֤םand you will keep
ushemartemH8104 →468 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
חֻקֹּתַי֙statutes my
chukotaiH2708 →104 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
מִשְׁפָּטַ֔יjudgments my
mishpataiH4941 →422 times
וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖םand you will do
vaasitemH6213 →2628 times
אֹתָ֑ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
אֲנִ֖יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָֽה׃ פ[am] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
Deuteronomy 8:1You must carefully follow every commandment I am giving you today, so that you may live and multiply, and enter and possess the land that the LORD swore to give your fathers.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 4:1
Hear now, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live and may enter and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 5:32
So be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or to the left.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:1–2
Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live in a way that is pleasing to God, just as you have received from us. This is how you already live,…
- Deuteronomy 4:1
Through
Psalms 119:34Give me understanding that I may obey Your law, and follow it with all my heart.
it leads to
- Matthew 7:24
Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
- James 1:5
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
- Proverbs 2:5–6
then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God.
- Psalms 119:73
Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding to learn Your commandments.
- James 1:25
But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does.
- Matthew 7:24
Where this verse is studied
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.