You must keep My charge not to practice any of the abominable customs that were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the LORD your God.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore you shall keep my requirements, that you do not practice any of these abominable customs, which were practiced before you, and that you do not defile yourselves with them. I am Yahweh your God.’”
- KJV Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.
- NKJV ‘Therefore you shall keep My ordinance, so that you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them: I am the Lord your God.’ ”
- NASB So you are to keep your commitment to Me not to practice any of the abominable customs which have been practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves with them; I am the Lord your God.’ ”
- NLT So obey my instructions, and do not defile yourselves by committing any of these detestable practices that were committed by the people who lived in the land before you. I am the Lord your God.”
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
Israel must keep God's requirements and not practice the defiling customs of the nations.
Overview
This concluding charge sums up the chapter's call to holiness and distinctness. The closing refrain 'I am Yahweh your God' grounds the whole law in covenant relationship. Israel's purity was to display the character of the God who redeemed them, a calling fulfilled for the church in Christ, who cleanses and sets his people apart.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Lev 20:23You must not follow the statutes of the nations I am driving out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.
- Deut 18:9–12When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.
- Lev 22:9The priests must keep My charge, lest they bear the guilt and die because they profane it. I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
- Lev 18:2–4“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I am the LORD your God.
- Lev 18:26–27But you are to keep My statutes and ordinances, and you must not commit any of these abominations—neither your native-born nor the foreigner who lives among you.
- Deut 11:1You shall therefore love the LORD your God and always keep His charge, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments.
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Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 18:30 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.