Deuteronomy26
New American Standard
1“Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and live in it,
2that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground which you bring in from your land that the Lord your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to establish His name.
3And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord my God that I have entered the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’
4Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it before the altar of the Lord your God.
5And you shall respond and say before the Lord your God, ‘My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and resided there, few in number; but there he became a great, mighty, and populous nation.
6And the Egyptians treated us badly and oppressed us, and imposed hard labor on us.
7Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our wretched condition, our trouble, and our oppression;
8and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, an outstretched arm, and with great terror, and with signs and wonders;
9and He has brought us to this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
10And now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which You, Lord have given me.’ Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God;
11and you, the Levite, and the stranger who is among you shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given you and your household.
12“When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan, and to the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.
13And you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from my house, and have also given it to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, in accordance with all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not violated or forgotten any of Your commandments.
14I have not eaten of it while mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor offered any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of the Lord my God; I have acted in accordance with everything that You have commanded me.
15Look down from Your holy dwelling place, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the ground which You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey just as You swore to our fathers.’
16“This day the Lord your God commands you to perform these statutes and ordinances. Therefore you shall be careful to perform them with all your heart and with all your soul.
17Today you have declared the Lord to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His ordinances, and listen to His voice.
18And the Lord has today declared you to be His people, His personal possession, just as He promised you, and that you are to keep all His commandments;
19and that He will put you high above all the nations which He has made, for glory, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken.”
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Deuteronomy 26.
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.
Key Words
כִּי: (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed
בּוֹא: to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
אֶרֶץ: the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
אֱלֹהִים: gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative
נָתַן: to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etc.)
נַחֲלָה: properly, something inherited, i.e. (abstractly) occupancy, or (concretely) an heirloom; generally an estate, patrimony or portion
יָרַשׁ: to occupy (by driving out previous tenants, and possessing in their place); by implication, to seize, to rob, to inherit; also to expel, to impoverish, to ruin
יָשַׁב: properly, to sit down (specifically as judge. in ambush, in quiet); by implication, to dwell, to remain; causatively, to settle, to marry
לָקַח: to take (in the widest variety of applications)
רֵאשִׁית: the first, in place, time, order or rank (specifically, a firstfruit)
Cross References
Deuteronomy 26Verbal 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
The foundational covenant promise that Israel would be a peculiar treasure and holy nation.
Supported by Matthew Henry, John Calvin
New Testament parallel of Christ purifying for Himself a 'peculiar people' zealous of good works.
Supported by Matthew Henry
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
The historical account of Jacob going down to Egypt to sojourn with a few.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallels the prohibition against eating sacred things during mourning, which defiles the offering.
Supported by JFB
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
Records the affliction and hard bondage laid upon Israel by the Egyptians.
Supported by Matthew Poole
God's promise to deliver Israel into a land flowing with milk and honey.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Priestly laws concerning mourning, clarifying why food for the dead causes uncleanness.
Supported by JFB
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