And I gave them My statutes and made known to them My ordinances—for the man who does these things will live by them.
Parallel translations
- WEB I gave them my statutes, and showed them my ordinances, which if a man does, he shall live in them.
- KJV And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.
- NKJV And I gave them My statutes and showed them My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them.’
- NASB I gave them My statutes and informed them of My ordinances, which, if a person follows them, then he will live by them.
- NLT There I gave them my decrees and regulations so they could find life by keeping them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God gave Israel His statutes and ordinances, by which a person who keeps them shall live. His law was a gracious gift meant to lead to life.
Overview
At Sinai God revealed His good law as the path of life and blessing for His redeemed people (Leviticus 18:5). The law was not given to enslave but to guide His people in the way of flourishing fellowship with Him. Israel's failure to keep it exposes humanity's need for the righteousness of Christ, who alone perfectly fulfilled the law and gives life to all who trust Him (Romans 10:5; Galatians 3:12).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Lev 18:5Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.
- Rom 10:5For concerning the righteousness that is by the law, Moses writes: “The man who does these things will live by them.”
- Deut 4:8And what nation is great enough to have righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today?
- Luke 10:28“You have answered correctly,” Jesus said. “Do this and you will live.”
- Gal 3:12The law, however, is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”
- Ezek 20:13Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not follow My statutes and they rejected My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they utterly profaned My Sabbaths. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and put an end to them in the wilderness.
- Neh 9:13–14You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them just ordinances, true laws, and good statutes and commandments.
- Ps 147:19–20He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and judgments to Israel.
- Deut 20:15–16This is how you are to treat all the cities that are far away from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.
- Ezek 20:21But the children rebelled against Me. They did not walk in My statutes or carefully observe My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they profaned My Sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and vent My anger against them in the wilderness.
- Rom 3:2Much in every way. First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.
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Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 20:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.