King James Version
Deuteronomy 26:5
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:
Deuteronomy 26:5 in other versions
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“You must then say in the presence of the Lord your God, ‘My ancestor Jacob was a wandering Aramean who went to live as a foreigner in Egypt. His family arrived few in number, but in Egypt they became a large and mighty nation.
Context of Deuteronomy 26:5
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. 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: 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:
Read all of Deuteronomy 26Deuteronomy 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
- 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 thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.
- Genesis 25:20And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan–aram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
- Genesis 28:5And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padan–aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.
- Genesis 31:20And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled.
- Hosea 12:12And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.
- Genesis 27:41And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.
- Genesis 31:40Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.
- Genesis 43:1And the famine was sore in the land.
- Genesis 45:7And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
- Isaiah 51:1Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.
- Genesis 46:1And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer–sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.
- Psalms 105:23Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
- Acts 7:15So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers,
- Deuteronomy 7:7The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
- Genesis 46:27And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.
- Exodus 1:5And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.
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
In the dictionaries
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
King James Version — Public Domain except in the United Kingdom (Crown rights)
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