Leviticus 20:7
in Leviticus 20Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am Jehovah your God.
KJV
Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God.
⋯
This verse in Leviticus 20
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
the soul that turneth after such
on Leviticus 20:6-8
The list of penalties breaks off here for two verses about holiness. Turning after those that have familiar spirits is called going a whoring after them, the same words used of Molech in verse 5, so the text treats the practice as unfaithfulness rather than as a technique. Verses 7 and 8 then put both halves of holiness side by side, sanctify yourselves and I am the LORD which sanctify you, and Gill reads the first as the separation a man makes and the second as the work God does in him.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the L ORD your God. 8 And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the L ORD which sanctify you. 9 For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v7-9
Sanctify yourselves therefore,.... By abstaining from such impious and idolatrous practices, and separating themselves from all that gave into them, as well as by observing the holy commandments of the Lord; otherwise internal sanctification is not the work of man, but of the Lord himself, as in Lev 20:8, and be ye holy; or a separate people from all others in worship and conversation: for I am the Lord your God; who is a holy God, and therefore it became them to be holy, in imitation of him, Lev 19:2.
Note, [1.] God's people are, and must be, persons of distinction. God has distinguished them by his holy covenant, and therefore they ought to distinguish themselves by their holy conversation. [2.] God's sanctifying us is a good reason why we should sanctify ourselves, that we may comply with the designs of his grace, and not walk contrary to them.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִ֨תְקַדִּשְׁתֶּ֔ם | vehitkadishtem | and you will keep yourselves holy | H6942 → | 171 times |
| וִהְיִיתֶ֖ם | vihyitem | and you will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| קְדֹשִׁ֑ים | kedoshim | holy | H6918 → | 116 times |
| כִּ֛י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃ | ʾeloheikhem | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
וְהִ֨תְקַדִּשְׁתֶּ֔םand you will keep yourselves holy
vehitkadishtemH6942 →171 times
וִהְיִיתֶ֖םand you will be
vihyitemH1961 →3559 times
קְדֹשִׁ֑יםholy
kedoshimH6918 →116 times
כִּ֛יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָ֖ה[am] Yahweh
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
Ephesians 1:4For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 1:9
He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.
- Romans 8:28–30
And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
- Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.
- Matthew 25:34
Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
- 2 Timothy 1:9
Through
Colossians 3:12Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
it leads to
- Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.
- Ephesians 4:2
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
- 1 John 4:19
We love because He first loved us.
- 2 Peter 1:5–8
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;
- Ephesians 4:32
About Leviticus

This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
