Leviticus 19:27 (LSB)

Passage

You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 19:25 Now in the fifth year you shall eat of its fruit, that its produce may increase for you; I am Yahweh your God.

Leviticus 19:26 ‘You shall not eat anything with the blood nor interpret omens or soothsaying.

Leviticus 19:27 You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard.

Leviticus 19:28 And you shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am Yahweh.

Leviticus 19:29 ‘Do not profane your daughter by making her a harlot, so that the land will not fall to harlotry and the land become full of lewdness.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "round", "side-growth", "heads", "harm", "edges", and "beard". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "round", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 26's "You shall not eat anything with the..." into verse 28's "And you shall not make any cuts...", so "shall" and "round" 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 "round" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.