Deuteronomy 26:13

13 And you shall say {before} Yahweh your God, 'I have removed the sacred portion from the house and, moreover, I have given it to the Levite and to the alien and to the orphan and to the widow according to all your commandment that you commanded me; I have not transgressed any of your commandments, and I have not forgotten [any of them].

Deuteronomy 26:13 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 26:13

Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God
Make the following declaration as in his presence; for this was not made in the tabernacle or temple at, Jerusalem, since the tithe was to be eaten with the poor in the gates of the owner, as in ( Deuteronomy 26:12 ) :

I have brought away the hallowed things out of [mine] house:
which Aben Ezra and Onkelos interpret of the tithe; but it seems, besides that, to take in everything devoted to all holy uses, be they what they will, which were at this time to be separated from a man's own common goods, and applied to the purposes for which they were designed and devoted, and particularly what was to be given to the poor:

and also have, given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to
the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments
which thou hast commanded me;
giving to each according as the law directs; which the Targum of Jonathan and Jarchi interpret as before, giving the first tithe to the Levites, and the second tithe to the rest:

I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten
[them]:
neither broken them wilfully, nor omitted them through carelessness, negligence, and forgetfulness, but was mindful to observe them punctually and exactly.

Deuteronomy 26:13 In-Context

11 And you shall celebrate with all of the bounty that Yahweh your God gave to you and to your family, you and the Levite and the alien who [is] in your midst.

12 "When you are finished {giving a tithe}, all of the tithe of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, then you shall give to the Levite, to the alien, to the orphan, and to the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and they may be satisfied.

13 And you shall say {before} Yahweh your God, 'I have removed the sacred portion from the house and, moreover, I have given it to the Levite and to the alien and to the orphan and to the widow according to all your commandment that you commanded me; I have not transgressed any of your commandments, and I have not forgotten [any of them].

14 I have not eaten during my [time of] mourning, and I have not removed [anything] from it while [being] unclean, and I have not offered {any of it} to someone who [has] died. I have listened to the voice of Yahweh my God; I have done all that you commanded me [to do].

15 Look down from the dwelling place of your holiness, from heaven, and bless your people Israel, and the land that you have given to us, as you swore to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.'

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "to the face of"
• [b]. Or "my" house since the definite article can show possession here