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.’”
Parallel translations
- KJV Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.
- BSB Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell. For I, the LORD, dwell among the Israelites.”
- 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 5:3Both you shall put male and female outside of the camp; that they not defile their camp, in the middle of which I dwell.”
- Ps 135:21Blessed be Yahweh from Zion, Who dwells at Jerusalem. Praise Yah!
- Rev 21:27There will in no way enter into it anything profane, or one who causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
- 2 Cor 6:16–17What agreement has a temple of God with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, “I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
- Hos 9:3They won’t dwell in Yahweh’s land; but Ephraim will return to Egypt, and they will eat unclean food in Assyria.
- Isa 57:15For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
- Ps 132:14“This is my resting place forever. Here I will live, for I have desired it.
- 1 Kgs 6:13I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.”
- Exod 29:45–46I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.
- Lev 20:24–26But I have said to you, “You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am Yahweh your God, who has separated you from the peoples.
- Exod 25:8Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
- Isa 8:12“Don’t say, ‘A conspiracy!’ concerning all about which this people say, ‘A conspiracy!’ neither fear their threats, nor be terrorized.
- Lev 18:24–25“‘Don’t defile yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations which I am casting out before you were defiled.
- Rev 21:3I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and 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.