Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell. For I, the LORD, dwell among the Israelites.”
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, in the middle of which I dwell; for I, Yahweh, dwell in the middle of the children of Israel.’”
- KJV Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.
- NKJV Therefore do not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the Lord dwell among the children of Israel.’ ”
- NASB So you shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the Lord am dwelling in the midst of the sons of Israel.’ ”
- NLT You must not defile the land where you live, for I live there myself. I am the Lord, who lives among the people of Israel.”
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 not defile the land where God Himself dwells among them. His holy presence demands a people and place kept from the stain of bloodshed.
Overview
The motive for these laws is the holy presence of Yahweh dwelling in the midst of His people; the land must not be defiled because God is there. Justice and purity matter supremely because they reflect the character of the holy God who lives among His people. This anticipates the New Testament reality that God now dwells by His Spirit in His people, who are called to holiness as His temple (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Num 5:3You must send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.”
- Ps 135:21Blessed be the LORD from Zion—He who dwells in Jerusalem. Hallelujah!
- Rev 21:27But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
- 2 Cor 6:16–17What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
- Hos 9:3They will not remain in the land of the LORD; Ephraim will return to Egypt and eat unclean food in Assyria.
- Isa 57:15For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.
- Ps 132:14“This is My resting place forever and ever; here I will dwell, for I have desired this home.
- 1 Kgs 6:13And I will dwell among the Israelites and will not abandon My people Israel.”
- Exod 29:45–46Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God.
- Lev 20:24–26But I have told you that you will inherit their land, since I will give it to you as an inheritance—a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart from the peoples.
- Exod 25:8And they are to make a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them.
- Isa 8:12“Do not call conspiracy everything these people regard as conspiracy. Do not fear what they fear; do not live in dread.
- Lev 18:24–25Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for by all these things the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves.
- Rev 21:3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.
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
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 35:34 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.