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 in charge at that time and say to him, ‘With this gift I acknowledge to the Lord your God that I have entered the land he swore to our ancestors he would give us.’ 4The priest will then take the basket from your hand and set it before the altar of the Lord your God. “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. 6When the Egyptians oppressed and humiliated us by making us their slaves, 7we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors. He heard our cries and saw our hardship, toil, 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 24:4Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”
• Genesis 25:20When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean.
• Genesis 28:5So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to stay with his uncle Laban, his mother’s brother, the son of Bethuel the Aramean.
• Genesis 31:20Jacob outwitted Laban the Aramean, for they set out secretly and never told Laban they were leaving.
• Hosea 12:12Jacob fled to the land of Aram, and there he earned a wife by tending sheep.
• Genesis 27:41From that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme: “I will soon be mourning my father’s death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.”
• Genesis 31:40“I worked for you through the scorching heat of the day and through cold and sleepless nights.
• Genesis 43:1But the famine continued to ravage the land of Canaan.
• Genesis 45:7God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors.
• Isaiah 51:1“Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance— all who seek the Lord! Consider the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were mined.
• Genesis 46:1So Jacob set out for Egypt with all his possessions. And when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac.
• Psalms 105:23Then Israel arrived in Egypt; Jacob lived as a foreigner in the land of Ham.
• Acts 7:15So Jacob went to Egypt. He died there, as did our ancestors.
• Deuteronomy 7:7“The Lord did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations!
• Genesis 46:27In addition, Joseph had two sons who were born in Egypt. So altogether, there were seventy members of Jacob’s family in the land of Egypt.
• Exodus 1:5In all, Jacob had seventy descendants in Egypt, including Joseph, who was already there.

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