Deuteronomy 26:2

Verse

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,

American Standard Version (1901)

that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which thou shalt bring in from thy land that Jehovah thy God giveth thee; and thou shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there.

Bible in Basic English

You are to take a part of the first-fruits of the earth, which you get from the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket, and go to the place marked out by the Lord your God, as the resting-place of his name.

Douay-Rheims 1899

Thou shalt take the first of all thy fruits, and put then? in a basket, and shalt go to the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, that his name may be invocated there:

Free Bible Version

take some of the firstfruits of all your crops produced by the land that the Lord your God is giving you and place them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose to live with you,

Geneva Bible 1599

Then shalt thou take of the first of all the fruite of the earth, and bring it out of the lande that the Lord thy God giueth thee, and put it in a basket, and goe vnto the place, which the Lord thy God shall chose to place his Name there.

King James (Authorized) 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.

One Unity Resource Bible

that you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you shall bring in from your land that Adonai your God gives you. You shall put it in a basket, and shall go to the place which Adonai your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there.

Translation for Translators

each of you must take some of the first crops that you harvest, put them in a basket, and take them to the place that Yahweh will have chosen for you to worship [MTY] there.

Unlocked Literal Bible

then you must take some of the first of all the harvest of the land that you have brought in from the land that Yahweh your God is giving you. You must put it in a basket and go to the place that Yahweh your God will choose as his sanctuary.

Noah Webster Bible

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 to the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there.

World English Bible

that you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you shall bring in from your land that Yahweh your God gives you. You shall put it in a basket, and shall go to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there.

Young's Literal Translation

that thou hast taken of the first of all the fruits of the ground which thou dost bring in out of thy land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee, and hast put [it] in a basket, and gone unto the place which Jehovah thy God doth choose to cause His name to tabernacle there.

Context

Offering Firstfruits and Tithes

¹When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and settle in it,²you 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,³to the priest who is serving at that time, and say to him, “I declare today to the LORD your God that I have entered the land that the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.”

Summary

In this verse, the Israelites are instructed to take the firstfruits of their harvest and bring them to the place where the Lord chooses to establish His name. This act symbolizes gratitude and acknowledgment of God's provision and faithfulness. By presenting the firstfruits, the Israelites demonstrate their trust in God as the ultimate provider and sustainer of their lives. This practice also serves as a reminder of the covenant relationship between God and His people, reinforcing the importance of honoring and obeying Him with their resources.

Commentary

John Gill

John Gill Bible Commentary

That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth,.... This oblation of firstfruits was different front the sheaf of the firstfruits brought at barley harvest in the time of the passover, and from the two wave loaves of wheaten flour, at wheat harvest, at Pentecost; and from the cake of the first of their dough; see Lev 23:10. They were of one sort only, these of various kinds; though, as Jarchi observes, not all firstfruits, or the first of all sorts of fruits, were to be brought; for all were not bound to firstfruits, but the seven kinds only, called here the fruit of the earth, and are particularly mentioned in Deu 8:8; and their manner of observing, selecting, and gathering their firstfruits, as the same writer notes, was this; "a man goes into his field, and sees a mature fig, he binds a rush about it for a sign, and says, lo, this is firstfruits: and so, if he sees a bunch of grapes, or a pomegranate, more mature than the rest, he does the same,''as is observed in the Misnah (z): which thou shalt bring of thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee; and the land being given them, and such a fruitful one as it was, they needed not to grudge bringing the firstfruits of it to the Lord. The quantity they were to bring is not fixed; this was left to their generosity; but, according to tradition, they were to bring the sixtieth part; so says Maimonides (a),"the firstfruits have no measure (no fixed measure) from the law; but from the words of the wise men, a man ought to separate one out of sixty:" and shalt put it in a basket; for the more convenient carriage of them and for the more decent oblation and waving of them together, The rich brought their firstfruits in baskets of silver and of gold, the poor in wicker baskets of willows barked (b). The firstfruits of the seven several kinds were all put together in one basket, not into separate ones, or into as many as there were kinds; but then, as the last mentioned writer observes (c),"they did not bring them mixed, but the barley (was put) beneath, or lowermost, and the wheat over that; and the olives above that, and the dates over them, and the pomegranates over them, and the figs uppermost in the vessel; and there was some one thing which separated between every kind, as leaves, and the like; and they put about the figs clusters of grapes without:" and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there; which, as the event showed, was the city of Jerusalem; hither from all parts of the country were the firstfruits to be brought. All which may teach us, that we are to honour God with the firstfruits of our increase; that we are to be thankful in every thing, and for everything we have; and that our mercies should be acknowledged publicly in the place of public worship; and that all our sacrifices of praise should be offered in faith, which may be signified by the basket in which the firstfruits were brought, without which we cannot please God; and this being bore on the shoulder all the while, may denote reverence of God, and a sense of former state and condition, as this might put the Israelites in mind of their carrying loads in Egypt. (z) Misn. Biccurim, c. 3. sect. 1. (a) Maimon. Hilchot Biccurim, c. 2. sect. 17. (b) Misn. Biccurim, c. 3. sect. 8. (c) Hilchot Biccurim, c. 3. sect. 7.