Deuteronomy 26:2

you are to take some of the firstfruits of all your produce from the soil of the land that the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name,

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses Israel on the plains of Moab, instructing them on the ritual to perform immediately after entering and settling in the land God is giving them.

The words — The text commands לָקַחְתָּ (la.kach.Ta), meaning "you will take," and מֵרֵאשִׁית (me.re.Shit), meaning "of the first," directing the physical collection of the initial harvest yield.

The thread — This directive aligns with the firstfruits regulations in Exodus 23:16, Exodus 23:19, and Exodus 34:26, which consistently tie the offering to the harvest and the designated dwelling place of God.

Why it lands — The text requires the physical removal of the earliest produce to the central sanctuary before personal consumption, establishing a concrete acknowledgment that the land and its yield belong to God.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְלָקַחְתָּ֞ve./la.kach.Taand/ you will take מֵרֵאשִׁ֣ית׀me./re.Shitsome of/ [the] first of כָּל־kol-all פְּרִ֣יpe.Ri[the] fruit of הָאֲדָמָ֗הha./'a.da.Mahthe/ ground אֲשֶׁ֨ר'a.Sherwhich תָּבִ֧יאta.Vi'you will bring in מֵֽאַרְצְךָ֛me./'ar.tze./Khafrom/ land/ your אֲשֶׁ֨ר'a.Sherwhich יְהוָ֧הYah.wehYahweh אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ'e.lo.Hei./khaGod/ your נֹתֵ֥ןno.Ten[is] about to giveלָ֖ךְla/khto <the>/ youוְשַׂמְתָּ֣ve./sam.Taand/ you will put [it]בַטֶּ֑נֶאva./Te.ne'in the/ basket וְהָֽלַכְתָּ֙ve./ha.lakh.Taand/ you will go אֶל־'el-to הַמָּק֔וֹםha./ma.Komthe/ place אֲשֶׁ֤ר'a.Sherwhere יִבְחַר֙yiv.Charhe will choose יְהוָ֣הYah.wehYahweh אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ'e.lo.Hei./khaGod/ your לְשַׁכֵּ֥ןle./sha.Kento/ cause to dwell שְׁמ֖וֹshe.M/oname/ his שָֽׁם׃Shamthere

King James Version

That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there.

Cross-references

Exodus 23:19 Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
Exodus 23:16 You are also to keep the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the produce from what you sow in the field. And keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field.
Exodus 34:26 Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
Deuteronomy 16:10 And you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with a freewill offering that you give in proportion to how the LORD your God has blessed you,
Ezekiel 44:30 The best of all the firstfruits and of every contribution from all your offerings will belong to the priests. You are to give your first batch of dough to the priest, so that a blessing may rest upon your homes.
1 Corinthians 15:20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Numbers 18:12 I give you all the freshest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain that the Israelites give to the LORD as their firstfruits.
Deuteronomy 12:5 Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.
Proverbs 3:9 Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your crops;
Ezekiel 20:40 For on My holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, there the whole house of Israel, all of them, will serve Me in the land. There I will accept them and will require your offerings and choice gifts, along with all your holy sacrifices.