Leviticus 19:27 (DBY)

Passage

Ye shall not shave the corners of your head round, neither shalt thou mutilate the corners of thy beard.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 19:25 and in the fifth year shall ye eat the fruit thereof, that it may increase unto you the produce thereof: I am Jehovah your God.

Leviticus 19:26 Ye shall eat nothing with the blood. Ye shall not practise enchantment, nor use auguries.

Leviticus 19:27 Ye shall not shave the corners of your head round, neither shalt thou mutilate the corners of thy beard.

Leviticus 19:28 And cuttings for a dead person shall ye not make in your flesh, nor put any tattoo writing upon you: I am Jehovah.

Leviticus 19:29 Do not profane thy daughter, to give her up to whoredom; lest the land practise whoredom, and the land become full of infamy.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "shave", "corners", "head", "round", "neither", "shalt", and "thou". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "shave", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 26's "Ye shall eat nothing with the blood..." into verse 28's "And cuttings for a dead person shall...", so "shall" and "shave" belong inside that flow. In Leviticus context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "shall" and "shave" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.