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

3When you come before the priest who is serving at that time, say to him, ‘Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have entered the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.’ 4“Then the priest will take the basket from you and place it before the altar of the Lord your God. You are to respond by saying in the presence of the Lord your God: My father was a wandering Aramean. He went down to Egypt with a few people and resided there as an alien. There he became a great, powerful, and populous nation. 6But the Egyptians mistreated and oppressed us, and forced us to do hard labor. 7So we called out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our cry and saw our misery, hardship, and 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 will go to my land and my family to take a wife for my son Isaac.”
• Genesis 25:20Isaac was forty years old when he took as his wife Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.
• Genesis 28:5So Isaac sent Jacob 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, not telling him that he was fleeing.
• Hosea 12:12Jacob fled to the territory of Aram. Israel worked to earn a wife; he tended flocks for a wife.
• Genesis 27:41Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau determined in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
• Genesis 31:40There I was — the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes.
• Genesis 43:1Now the famine in the land was severe.
• Genesis 45:7God sent me ahead of you to establish you as a remnant within the land and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.
• Isaiah 51:1Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut, and to the quarry from which you were dug.
• Genesis 46:1Israel set out with all that he had and came to Beer-sheba, and he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
• Psalms 105:23Then Israel went to Egypt; Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.
• Acts 7:15and Jacob went down to Egypt. He and our ancestors died there,
• Deuteronomy 7:7“The Lord had his heart set on you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.
• Genesis 46:27And Joseph’s sons who were born to him in Egypt: two persons. All those of Jacob’s household who came to Egypt: seventy persons.
• Exodus 1:5The total number of Jacob’s descendants was seventy; 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