Deuteronomy 26KJV
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Deuteronomy26

King James Version · Public Domain

1And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein;

2That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there.

3And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us.

4And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God.

5And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:

6And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:

7And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression:

8And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders:

9And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.

10And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God:

11And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.

12When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;

13Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them:

14I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given ought thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me.

15Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

16This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

17Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice:

18And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;

19And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken.

Study Guide

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Deuteronomy 26.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter: Confession in offering the first-fruits. (1–11). The prayer after disposal of the third year's tithe. (12–15). The covenant between God and the people. (16–19).

vv1-11

When God has made good his promises to us, he expects we should own it to the honour of his faithfulness. And our creature comforts are doubly sweet, when we see them flowing from the fountain of the promise. The person who offered his first-fruits, must remember and own the mean origin of that nation, of which he was a member. A Syrian ready to perish was my father. Jacob is here called a Syrian. Their nation in its infancy sojourned in Egypt as strangers, they served there as slaves. They were a poor, despised, oppressed people in Egypt; and though become rich and great, had no reason to be proud, secure, or forgetful of God. He must thankfully acknowledge God's great goodness to Israel. The comfort we have in our own enjoyments, should lead us to be thankful for our share in public peace and plenty; and with present mercies we should bless the Lord for the former mercies we remember, and the further mercies we expect and hope for. He must offer his basket of first-fruits. Whatever good thing God gives us, it is his will that we make the most comfortable use we can of it, tracing the streams to the Fountain of all consolation.

vv12-15

How should the earth yield its increase, or, if it does, what comfort can we take in it, unless therewith our God gives us his blessing? All this represented the covenant relation between a reconciled God and every true believer, and the privileges and duties belonging to it. We must be watchful, and show that according to the covenant of grace in Christ Jesus, the Lord is our God, and we are his people, waiting in his appointed way for the performance of his gracious promises.

vv16-19

Moses here enforces the precepts. They are God's laws, therefore thou shalt do them, to that end were they given thee; do them, and dispute them not; do them, and draw not back; do them, not carelessly and hypocritically, but with thy heart and soul, thy whole heart and thy whole soul. We forswear ourselves, and break the most sacred engagement, if, when we have taken the Lord to be our God, we do not make conscience of obeying his commands. We are elected to obedience, 1Pe 1:2; chosen that we should be holy, Eph 1:4; purified a peculiar people, that we might not only do good works, but be zealous in them, Tit 2:14. Holiness is true honour, and the only way to everlasting honour.

Cross References

Deuteronomy 26
v5Hosea 12:12allusion

Verbal echo of Jacob as a Syrian fleeing/sojourning in Syria, demonstrating Israel's humble beginnings.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB

Defines the third-year tithe given to the Levite, stranger, fatherless, and widow.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v18Exodus 19:5-6thematic

The foundational covenant promise that Israel would be a peculiar treasure and holy nation.

Supported by Matthew Henry, John Calvin

v18Titus 2:14thematic

New Testament parallel of Christ purifying for Himself a 'peculiar people' zealous of good works.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v2Exodus 23:19thematic

The command to bring the first of the firstfruits to the house of the Lord.

Supported by JFB

The place chosen by God to put His name, where offerings are brought and rejoiced over.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v5Genesis 46:1-7thematic

The historical account of Jacob going down to Egypt to sojourn with a few.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v14Hosea 9:4thematic

Parallels the prohibition against eating sacred things during mourning, which defiles the offering.

Supported by JFB

v15Isaiah 63:15allusion

Echoes the prayer 'look down from thy holy habitation' in heaven to bless His people.

Supported by Matthew Poole

Instruction to recite the history of Egyptian bondage and deliverance to successive generations.

Supported by John Calvin

v6Exodus 1:11-14thematic

Records the affliction and hard bondage laid upon Israel by the Egyptians.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v9Exodus 3:8thematic

God's promise to deliver Israel into a land flowing with milk and honey.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v14Leviticus 21:1thematic

Priestly laws concerning mourning, clarifying why food for the dead causes uncleanness.

Supported by JFB

v191 Peter 2:9thematic

Applies the covenant status of a 'chosen generation, royal priesthood, holy nation' to believers.

Supported by Matthew Henry

David's confession that all things come from God, giving Him only what is His own.

Supported by Matthew Henry