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You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord.
Leviticus 26:2 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB “‘You shall keep my Sabbaths, and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am Yahweh.
  • KJV Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.
  • BSB You must keep My Sabbaths and have reverence for My sanctuary. I am the LORD.
  • NASB You shall keep My Sabbaths and revere My sanctuary; I am the Lord.
  • NLT You must keep my Sabbath days of rest and show reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.

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 Sabbaths and reverence His sanctuary. Worship and rest in God's appointed way mark His people.

Overview

Paired with the ban on idolatry, this command calls Israel to honor the Sabbath and treat the place of God's presence with reverence. These are the positive marks of covenant faithfulness. The Sabbath rest ultimately points to the rest believers find in Christ (Hebrews 4), and reverence for God's dwelling foreshadows worship centered on Him.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 1

  • Lev 19:30“‘You shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary; I am Yahweh.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Leviticus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Leviticus 26:2YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LeviticusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 26:2 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.