You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am Yahweh your God.
- KJV Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.
- BSB Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.
- NKJV Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.
- NLT So set yourselves apart to be holy, for 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 is called to consecrate themselves and be holy, because Yahweh is their God. Holiness flows from belonging to a holy God.
Overview
This central summons gathers the surrounding laws into a positive vocation: be holy. Consecration means setting oneself apart for God's exclusive purposes. The ground is relational rather than merely legal, 'for I am Yahweh your God,' echoed in the New Testament call to be holy as He is holy (1 Pet. 1:15-16).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Lev 11:44For I am Yahweh your God. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any kind of creeping thing that moves on the earth.
- Lev 19:2“Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘You shall be holy; for I, Yahweh your God, am holy.
- 1 Pet 1:15–16but just as he who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior;
- Eph 1:4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love;
- Col 3:12Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance;
- 1 Th 4:7For God called us not for uncleanness, but in sanctification.
- 1 Th 4:3For this is the will of God: your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality,
- Heb 12:14Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man will see the Lord,
- Phil 2:12–13So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 20:7 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.