And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall be holy to me; for I, Yahweh, am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples, that you should be mine.
- BSB You are to be holy to Me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be My own.
- NKJV And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.
- NASB So you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I have singled you out from the peoples to be Mine.
- NLT You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own.
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 is to be holy because Yahweh is holy and has set them apart to be His own. This is the heart of the Holiness Code.
Overview
This verse states the great purpose of all the preceding laws: a holy people belonging to a holy God. Israel's identity rests on God's choice, 'set you apart from the peoples, that you should be mine.' The New Testament applies this very calling to the church (1 Pet. 1:16; 2:9), grounding Christian holiness in our belonging to God through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- 1 Pet 1:15–16But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
- Lev 20:7Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.
- Lev 20:24But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.
- Lev 19:2Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.
- Titus 2:14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
- Deut 7:6For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
- Deut 26:18–19And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;
- Deut 14:2For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
- Rev 4:8And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
- Isa 6:3And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
- Ps 99:5Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.
- Ps 99:9Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.
- Rev 3:7And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
- Isa 30:11Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 20:26 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.