Deuteronomy 26:13
וְאָמַרְתָּ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בִּעַרְתִּי הַקֹּדֶשׁ מִן־הַבַּיִת וְגַם נְתַתִּיו לַלֵּוִי וְלַגֵּר לַיָּתוֹם וְלָאַלְמָנָה כְּכָל־מִצְוָתְךָ אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתָנִי לֹֽא־עָבַרְתִּי מִמִּצְוֹתֶיךָ וְלֹא שָׁכָֽחְתִּי׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
Tap a word to see its entry
✦ The same verse in five languages
וְאָמַרְתָּ֡ לִפְנֵי֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ בִּעַ֧רְתִּי הַקֹּ֣דֶשׁ מִן־הַבַּ֗יִת וְגַ֨ם נְתַתִּ֤יו לַלֵּוִי֙ וְלַגֵּר֙ לַיָּת֣וֹם וְלָאַלְמָנָ֔ה כְּכָל־מִצְוָתְךָ֖ אֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוִּיתָ֑נִי לֹֽא־עָבַ֥רְתִּי מִמִּצְוֹתֶ֖יךָ וְלֹ֥א שָׁכָֽחְתִּי׃
καὶ ἐρεῖς ἐναντίον Κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ σου Ἐξεκάθαρα τὰ ἅγια ἐκ τῆς οἰκίας μου, καὶ ἔδωκα αὐτὰ τῷ Λευείτῃ καὶ τῷ προσηλύτῳ καὶ τῷ ὀρφανῷ καὶ τῇ χήρᾳ, κατὰ πάσας τὰς ἐντολὰς ἃς ἐνετείλω μοι· οὐ παρῆλθον τὴν ἐντολήν σου καὶ οὐκ ἐπελαθόμην·
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
loquerisque in conspectu Domini Deo tui: Abstuli quod sanctificatum est de domo mea, et dedi illud Levitæ et advenæ, et pupillo ac viduæ, sicut jussisti mihi: non præterivi mandata tua, nec sum oblitus imperii tui.
Dirás ante Yehová tu Dios: “He sacado de mi casa las cosas sagradas, y también se las he dado al levita, al extranjero, al huérfano y a la viuda, según todo tu mandamiento que me has ordenado. No he transgredido ninguno de tus mandamientos, ni los he olvidado.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Y dirás delante de Jehová tu Dios: Yo he sacado lo consagrado de mi casa, y también lo he dado al Levita, y al extranjero, y al huérfano, y á la viuda, conforme á todos tus mandamientos que me ordenaste: no he traspasado tus mandamientos, ni me he olvidado de ellos:
Then you shall declare in the presence of the LORD your God, “ I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all the commandments You have given me. I have not transgressed or forgotten Your commandments.
✦ What the text says
Summary
This verse instructs the Israelite to make a declaration before Yehovah after removing the sacred tithe from his house. The speaker affirms that he distributed it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow according to the divine commandment, and asserts that he has neither transgressed nor forgotten that commandment.
Key words
- bi'arti ("I have removed", H1197I) — piel perfect, first person: the intensive stem signals a thorough or deliberate clearing-out of the sacred portion, not a casual removal.
- ha-qodesh ("the holy thing", H6944G) — masculine singular noun with definite article, referring to the tithe portion set apart as sacred.
- netaTi ("I have given", H5414G) — qal perfect, first person, paired with gam ("also", H1571), marking a second completed action following the removal.
- mitzvateka ("your commandment", H4687) — feminine singular construct with 2ms suffix, in the singular form kol-mitzvateka ("all your commandment"), referring to the command as a unified whole.
- mitzvoteikha ("your commandments", H4687) — same root, but plural construct with suffix, used later in the verse for the individual precepts not transgressed.
What the text says
The verse opens with a sequential perfect 'amarta ("you will say", H0559), continuing the narrative sequence begun earlier in the chapter: the addressee is instructed to speak a formula "before Yehovah your God" (lifnei Yehovah eloheikha). The declaration itself is framed in first-person perfect verbs — bi'arti ("I have removed"), netati ("I have given"), lo-'avarti ("I have not transgressed", H5674D), lo shakhachti ("I have not forgotten", H7911) — presenting a completed sequence of actions reported as accomplished fact rather than ongoing process.
A grammatical nuance appears in the shift between kol-mitzvateka (singular construct, "all your commandment") earlier in the verse and mitzvoteikha (plural construct, "your commandments") later. The Hebrew text uses the singular collective form when referring to the general instruction governing the distribution, then switches to the plural when denying transgression of individual commandments — a distinction not preserved in translations that render both as plural "commandments."
The recipients of the sacred portion are listed with repeated prepositions la- ("to the", H9005): la-Levi ("to the Levite"), la-ger ("to the sojourner"), la-yatom ("to the fatherless"), la-almanah ("to the widow") — each introduced identically, giving the list a parallel, formulaic structure.
Differences between versions
The LXX renders bi'arti ("I have removed") as Exekathara ("I have cleaned out/purified"), a more purificatory nuance than the Hebrew's removal sense. The LXX also renders kol-mitzvateka (singular "all your commandment") as pasas tas entolas ("all the commandments", plural), aligning it with the later plural form, whereas the Hebrew distinguishes singular and plural forms across the verse. The Vulgate's sicut jussisti mihi ("as you commanded me") condenses the phrase without reflecting the Hebrew's kol ("all", H3605) construct structure.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.