27 Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
27 " 'Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.
27 You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard.
27 "Don't cut the hair on the sides of your head or trim your beard.
27 You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard.
27 "Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards.
141 Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
141 You are the children of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead,
141 "You are the sons of the Lord your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead.
141 You are children of God, your God, so don't mutilate your bodies or shave your heads in funeral rites for the dead.
141 "You are the children of the Lord your God; you shall not cut yourselves nor shave the front of your head for the dead.
141 "Since you are the people of the Lord your God, never cut yourselves or shave the hair above your foreheads in mourning for the dead.
(Read Deuteronomy 14:1-21)
Moses tells the people of Israel how God had given them three distinguishing privileges, which were their honour, and figures of those spiritual blessings in heavenly things, with which God has in Christ blessed us. Here is election; "The Lord hath chosen thee." He did not choose them because they were by their own acts a peculiar people to him above other nations, but he chose them that they might be so by his grace; and thus were believers chosen, Ephesians 1:4. Here is adoption; "Ye are the children of the Lord your God;" not because God needed children, but because they were orphans, and needed a father. Every spiritual Israelite is indeed a child of God, a partaker of his nature and favour. Here is sanctification; "Thou art a holy people." God's people are required to be holy, and if they are holy, they are indebted to the grace God which makes them so. Those whom God chooses to be his children, he will form to be a holy people, and zealous of good works. They must be careful to avoid every thing which might disgrace their profession, in the sight of those who watch for their halting. Our heavenly Father forbids nothing but for our welfare. Do thyself no harm; do not ruin thy health, thy reputation, thy domestic comforts, thy peace of mind. Especially do not murder thy soul. Do not be the vile slave of thy appetites and passions. Do not render all around thee miserable, and thyself wretched; but aim at that which is most excellent and useful. The laws which regarded many sorts of flesh as unclean, were to keep them from mingling with their idolatrous neighbours. It is plain in the gospel, that these laws are now done away. But let us ask our own hearts, Are we of the children of the Lord our God? Are we separate from the ungodly world, in being set apart to God's glory, the purchase of Christ's blood? Are we subjects of the work of the Holy Ghost? Lord, teach us from these precepts how pure and holy all thy people ought to live!
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Leviticus 19:27
Chapter Contents
laws.
There are some ceremonial precepts in this chapter, but most of these precepts are binding on us, for they are explanations of the ten commandments. It is required that Israel be a holy people, because the God of Israel is a holy God, verse 35. We must make conscience of obeying God's precepts. We are not to pick and choose our duty, but must aim at standing complete in all the will of God. And the nearer our lives and tempers are to the precepts of God's law, the happier shall we be, and the happier shall we make all around us, and the better shall we adorn the gospel.