Leviticus 18:30

King James Version with Strong's Numbers

Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֣ם אֶת־מִשְׁמַרְתִּ֗י לְבִלְתִּ֨י עֲשׂ֜וֹת מֵחֻקּ֤וֹת הַתּֽוֹעֵבֹת֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נַעֲשׂ֣וּ לִפְנֵיכֶ֔ם וְלֹ֥א תִֽטַּמְּא֖וּ בָּהֶ֑ם אֲנִ֖י יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃

Transliteration

And ûšəmartem ʾet-mišmartî ləbiltî ʿăśôt from mēḥuqqôt hattôʿēbōt ʾăšer naʿăśû before you lipnêkem and wəlōʾ tiṭṭammʾû by them bāhem ʾănî YHWH ʾĕlōhêkem

Grammar Details

• *ûšəmartem*: waw conjunction + Qal perfect, 2nd masculine plural - and you shall keep
• *ʾet*: direct object marker
• *mišmartî*: noun, feminine singular + 1st person singular suffix - my charge
• *ləbiltî*: preposition + adverb - so as not to
• *ʿăśôt*: Qal infinitive construct - do/practice
• *mēḥuqqôt*: preposition + noun, feminine plural construct - from the customs of
• *hattôʿēbōt*: definite article + noun, feminine plural - the abominations
• *ʾăšer*: relative particle - which
• *naʿăśû*: Niphal perfect, 3rd common plural - were done/practiced
• *lipnêkem*: preposition + noun, masculine plural + 2nd masculine plural suffix - before you
• *wəlōʾ*: waw conjunction + negative particle - and not
• *tiṭṭammʾû*: Hitpael imperfect, 2nd masculine plural - you shall defile yourselves
• *bāhem*: preposition + 3rd masculine plural suffix - by them
• *ʾănî*: 1st person singular pronoun - I
• *YHWH*: proper noun, divine name
• *ʾĕlōhêkem*: noun, masculine plural + 2nd masculine plural suffix - your God

Word Meanings

• *ûšəmartem*: and you shall keep/and you shall observe/and you shall guard
• *mišmartî*: my charge/my ordinance/my command
• *ləbiltî*: so as not to/in order not to
• *ʿăśôt*: do/practice/perform
• *mēḥuqqôt*: from the customs of/from the practices of/from the statutes of
• *tôʿēbōt*: abominations/detestable things/abhorrent practices
• *naʿăśû*: were done/were practiced/were performed
• *tiṭṭammʾû*: you shall defile yourselves/you shall become unclean/you shall be polluted

Referenced Verses

• Lev 20:23 : 23 And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.
• Lev 22:9 : 9 They shall therefore keep mine ordinance, lest they bear sin for it, and die therefore, if they profane it: I the LORD do sanctify them.
• Deut 11:1 : 1 Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.
• Deut 18:9-9 : 9 When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
• Lev 18:2-4 : 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God. 3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. 4 Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God.
• Lev 18:26-27 : 26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: 27 (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)