Deuteronomy 26:5

Deuteronomy 26:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And 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:
• New International Version (NIV)Then you shall declare before the Lord your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"And you shall make response before the Lord your God, 'A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: ‘My father was a Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous.

Context of Deuteronomy 26:5

3You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare this day to the Lord my God that I have entered the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ 4Then the priest will take the basket from you and place it before the altar of the Lord your God. And you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘My father [Jacob] was a wandering Aramean, and he [along with his family] went down to Egypt and lived there [as strangers], few in number; but while 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 for help, and He heard our voice and saw our suffering and our labor and our [cruel] oppression;

Deuteronomy 26:5 word by word

וְעָנִ֨יתָ וְאָמַרְתָּ֜ לִפְנֵ֣י׀ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ אֲרַמִּי֙ אֹבֵ֣ד אָבִ֔י וַיֵּ֣רֶד מִצְרַ֔יְמָה וַיָּ֥גָר שָׁ֖ם בִּמְתֵ֣י מְעָ֑ט וַֽיְהִי־שָׁ֕ם לְג֥וֹי גָּד֖וֹל עָצ֥וּם וָרָֽב׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And thou shalt speakעָנָה‛ânâh · to answerH6030
• and sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• A Syrianאֲרַמִּי'ărammîy · ArameanH761
• ready to perishאָבַד'âbad · to perishH6
• my fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
• and he went downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
• into Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
• and sojournedגּוּרgûr · to sojournH1481
• there withמַתmath · manH4962
• a fewמְעַטme‛aţ me‛âţ · littleH4592
• and became there a nationגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• mightyעָצוּם‛âtsûm ‛âtsûm · mightyH6099
• and populousרַבrab · manyH7227

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 26:5

• Genesis 24:4but you will [instead] go to my [former] country (Mesopotamia) and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac [the heir of the covenant promise].”
• Genesis 25:20Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean (Syrian) of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean.
• Genesis 28:5Then Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
• Genesis 31:20And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean (Syrian) by not telling him that he intended to leave and he slipped away secretly.
• Hosea 12:12Now Jacob (Israel) fled into the open country of Aram (Paddan-aram), And [there] Israel (Jacob) worked and served for a wife, And for a wife he kept sheep.
• Genesis 27:41So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him; and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are very near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
• Genesis 31:40This was my situation: by day the heat consumed me and by night the cold, and I could not sleep.
• Genesis 43:1Now the famine was very severe in the land [of Canaan].
• Genesis 45:7God sent me [to Egypt] ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on the earth, and to keep you alive by a great escape.
• Isaiah 51:1“Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness (right standing with God), Who seek and inquire of the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut And to the excavation of the quarry from which you were dug.
• Genesis 46:1So Israel set out with all that he had, and came to Beersheba [where both his father and grandfather had worshiped God], and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
• Psalms 105:23Israel also came into Egypt; Thus Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
• Acts 7:15And Jacob (Israel) went down into Egypt, and there he died, as did our fathers;
• Deuteronomy 7:7“The Lord did not love you and choose you because you were greater in number than any of the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.
• Genesis 46:27and the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two. All the persons of the house of Jacob [including Jacob, and Joseph and his sons], who came into Egypt, were seventy.
• Exodus 1:5All the descendants of Jacob were seventy people; Joseph was [already] in Egypt.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 26:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5A Syrian ready to perish was my father - This passage has been variously understood, both by the ancient versions and by modern commentators. The Vulgate renders it thus: Syrus persequebatur patrem meum, "A Syrian persecuted my father." The Septuagint thus: ̔ , "My father abandoned Syria." The Targum thus: אבא ית לאובדא בעא ארמאה לבן Laban arammaah bea leobada yath abba, "Laban the Syrian endeavored to destroy my father." The Syriac: "My father was led…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5A Syrian ready to perish was my father - The reference is shown by the context to be to Jacob, as the ancestor in whom particularly the family of Abraham began to develop into a nation (compare Isaiah 43:22, Isaiah 43:28, etc.). Jacob is called a Syrian (literally, Aramaean), not only because of his own long residence in Syria with Laban Matthew 2:23, but because he there married and had his children (compare Hosea 12:12); and might be said accordingly to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5Jacob’s mother, Rebekah, was an Aramean (Genesis 24:10; 25:20, 26). Jacob also lived in Aram for many years (Genesis 31:41–42). His family lived a seminomadic life, moving from place to place. few in number: Jacob’s family was small. Only 70 people went with him to Egypt (see Genesis 46:27; Exodus 1:5).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. thou shalt say ... A Syrian ready to perish was my father--rather, "a wandering Syrian." The ancestors of the Hebrews were nomad shepherds, either Syrians by birth as Abraham, or by long residence as Jacob. When they were established as a nation in the possession of the promised land, they were indebted to God's unmerited goodness for their distinguished privileges, and in token of gratitude they brought this basket of first-fruits.Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 26:5

• First Fruits
• Patriotism

In the dictionaries

• Egypt
• God
• Egypt, Egyptian
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Aram
• Heaven
• Meatoffering
• Ready
• Tithe
• Atonement, Day of

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 26

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings