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

3Go to the priest who has authority at that time. Say to him, ‘Today, I say to the Lord our God that I am now living in the land that he promised to us. He made that promise to our ancestors.’ 4Then the priest will take the basket from you. He will put it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. Then you must say this, so that the Lord your God hears you: ‘My ancestor was an Aramean who moved from place to place. He went to Egypt to live there as a foreigner. At that time, his family was small. But while he lived in Egypt, his family became a great nation of many powerful people. 6But the Egyptian people were cruel to us. They made us work very hard for them. 7So we prayed to the Lord, the God of our ancestors. He heard our prayers. He saw that we were in trouble. He saw that we had to do very hard work for cruel people.

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 24:4Instead, you must go to my own country. Go to my family there to find a wife for my son Isaac.’
• Genesis 25:20When Isaac was 40 years old, he married Rebekah. Rebekah was the daughter of Bethuel. Bethuel was an Aramean from Paddan Aram. She was the sister of Laban the Aramean.
• Genesis 28:5Isaac sent Jacob away and Jacob went to Paddan Aram. He went to stay with Laban, who was the son of Bethuel, the Aramean. Laban was the brother of Rebekah. Rebekah was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
• Genesis 31:20Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean. He did not tell Laban that he was going away.
• Hosea 12:12Jacob ran away to the land of Aram. He worked there as a shepherd so that he could get a wife.
• Genesis 27:41Because Isaac had blessed Jacob, Esau hated his younger brother Jacob. Esau said quietly, ‘My father will die soon. When we have buried his body, I will kill my brother.’
• Genesis 31:40This is what it was like to work for you: I worked in the strong heat of the sun in the day. I had pain from the cold at night. I could not always sleep.
• Genesis 43:1The famine was still bad in Canaan.
• Genesis 45:7But God sent me to come here before you. Because of that, your family would stay alive. God would do a great thing to save you and your descendants.
• Isaiah 51:1‘Listen to me, you people who want to do what is right. You people who want to serve the Lord, listen to me! Think about the rock that you are a part of. Think about the ground that they dug you out from.
• Genesis 46:1So Jacob left Canaan. He took everything that belonged to him. When he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to God, the God of his father Isaac.
• Psalms 105:23Then Jacob's family came into Egypt. They lived as strangers in the land of Ham's descendants.
• Acts 7:15So Jacob went to Egypt with all his family. Jacob and his 12 sons, our ancestors, lived there until they died.
• Deuteronomy 7:7Why did the Lord choose you as the people who would give him pleasure? It was not because you were the largest nation on the earth. No, you were the smallest of all nations!
• Genesis 46:27Joseph had two sons that were born in Egypt. So there were 70 people of Jacob's family who were there in Egypt.
• Exodus 1:5Jacob himself had 70 descendants. His other son, 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