Famous Torah verses in Hebrew and English

בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ׃

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

The Torah opens not with a law but with creation. "The heaven and the earth" is a Hebrew way of saying everything. Rashi's first comment asks why the Torah starts here rather than with the first commandment, and answers that the world belongs to the One who made it.

וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי אוֹר וַיְהִי־אוֹר׃

And God said: ‘Let there be light.’ And there was light.

Creation happens through speech. God does not build light; God says it, and it is. Jewish tradition returns constantly to the idea that words make and unmake worlds.

וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אֹתוֹ זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה בָּרָא אֹתָם׃

And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.

Every human being, male and female alike, carries the image of God. This single verse is the basis of the Jewish idea of human dignity: each person is of infinite and equal worth.

וַיְבָרֶךְ אֱלֹהִים אֶת־יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וַיְקַדֵּשׁ אֹתוֹ כִּי בוֹ שָׁבַת מִכָּל־מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים לַעֲשׂוֹת׃

And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it He rested from all His work which God in creating had made.

Shabbat enters the world before any commandment is given. Rest is built into creation itself, and it is the first thing the Torah calls holy.

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־קַיִן אֵי הֶבֶל אָחִיךָ וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא יָדַעְתִּי הֲשֹׁמֵר אָחִי אָנֹכִי׃

And the LORD said unto Cain: ‘Where is Abel thy brother?’ And he said: ‘I know not; am I my brother’s keeper?’

Cain's deflection has become the question the rest of the Torah spends its pages answering. The answer is yes.

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־אַבְרָם לֶךְ־לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ אֶל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ׃

Now the LORD said unto Abram: ‘Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto the land that I will show thee.

Abraham's story begins with a command to leave everything familiar for a destination God does not yet name. Jewish history starts with a single act of trust.

וַיַּחֲלֹם וְהִנֵּה סֻלָּם מֻצָּב אַרְצָה וְרֹאשׁוֹ מַגִּיעַ הַשָּׁמָיְמָה וְהִנֵּה מַלְאֲכֵי אֱלֹהִים עֹלִים וְיֹרְדִים בּוֹ׃

And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

Alone and on the run, Jacob dreams of a ladder joining earth and heaven. The place where he slept with a stone for a pillow turns out to be the gate of heaven. Holiness is found where he least expected it.

וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל־מֹשֶׁה אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה וַיֹּאמֶר כֹּה תֹאמַר לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶהְיֶה שְׁלָחַנִי אֲלֵיכֶם׃

And God said unto Moses: ‘I AM THAT I AM’; and He said: ‘Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: I AM hath sent me unto you.’

At the burning bush Moses asks for God's name and receives a verb, not a label. The name is a promise of presence: unfinished, unfolding, impossible to pin down.

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה מַה־תִּצְעַק אֵלָי דַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִסָּעוּ׃

And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Wherefore criest thou unto Me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.

Trapped at the sea, the people cry out, and God tells Moses to stop praying and start moving. Sometimes the answer to a prayer is to take the next step.

אָנֹכִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים׃

I am the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

The Ten Commandments open not with a rule but with a relationship and a shared story of freedom. Everything commanded afterward rests on this.

וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם׃

And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.

The verse says God will dwell among them, not in it. The purpose of the sanctuary was never the building. It was the dwelling.

דַּבֵּר אֶל־כָּל־עֲדַת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם קְדֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם׃

Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them: Ye shall be holy; for I the LORD your God am holy.

Addressed to the whole people, not to priests or prophets. The chapter that follows defines holiness mostly through how we treat other people: fair wages, honest weights, no gossip, no grudges.

לֹא־תִקֹּם וְלֹא־תִטֹּר אֶת־בְּנֵי עַמֶּךָ וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ אֲנִי יְהוָה׃

Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

Rabbi Akiva called this the great principle of the Torah. It sits in the middle of the middle book, close to the literal center of the Chumash.

כְּאֶזְרָח מִכֶּם יִהְיֶה לָכֶם הַגֵּר הַגָּר אִתְּכֶם וְאָהַבְתָּ לוֹ כָּמוֹךָ כִּי־גֵרִים הֱיִיתֶם בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם׃

The stranger that sojourneth with you shall be unto you as the home-born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Sixteen verses after "love your neighbor" comes the harder version: love the stranger as yourself, because you were strangers in Egypt. The Torah repeats the command to care for the stranger more than thirty times.

יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהוָה וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ׃

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee;

The opening line of the three-verse blessing still said over children on Friday night and under the wedding canopy. Two silver amulets from the seventh century BCE carry these words, the oldest biblical text ever found.

וַיַּהַס כָּלֵב אֶת־הָעָם אֶל־מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּאמֶר עָלֹה נַעֲלֶה וְיָרַשְׁנוּ אֹתָהּ כִּי־יָכוֹל נוּכַל לָהּ׃

And Caleb stilled the people toward Moses, and said: ‘We should go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.’

Ten scouts see giants and feel like grasshoppers. Caleb sees the same land and says the people can take it. The facts were the same; the courage was not.

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד׃

HEAR, O ISRAEL: THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE.

The closest thing Judaism has to a creed, said morning and evening for thousands of years and written inside every mezuzah. One God, which also means one humanity and one standard of right and wrong.

וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל־נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל־מְאֹדֶךָ׃

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

The Shema's first paragraph asks for love, not fear or habit. The Torah assumes love can be commanded, which is worth sitting with.

וַיְעַנְּךָ וַיַּרְעִבֶךָ וַיַּאֲכִלְךָ אֶת הַמָּן אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יָדַעְתָּ וְלֹא יָדְעוּן אֲבֹתֶיךָ לְמַעַן הוֹדִעֲךָ כִּי לֹא עַל־הַלֶּחֶם לְבַדּוֹ יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם כִּי עַל־כָּל־מוֹצָא פִי־יְהוָה יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם׃

And He afflicted thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every thing that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

Moses explains the manna in hindsight: forty years of daily bread were a lesson that life depends on more than what you can store.

צֶדֶק צֶדֶק תִּרְדֹּף לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה וְיָרַשְׁתָּ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ׃

Justice, justice shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

The doubled word has drawn centuries of comment. One reading: pursue justice, and pursue it justly. The ends and the means both matter.

הַעִידֹתִי בָכֶם הַיּוֹם אֶת־הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת־הָאָרֶץ הַחַיִּים וְהַמָּוֶת נָתַתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ הַבְּרָכָה וְהַקְּלָלָה וּבָחַרְתָּ בַּחַיִּים לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה אַתָּה וְזַרְעֶךָ׃

I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed;

Near the end of the Torah the whole choice is laid out plainly: life and death, blessing and curse. "Choose life" is the Torah's shortest summary of itself.

חִזְקוּ וְאִמְצוּ אַל־תִּירְאוּ וְאַל־תַּעַרְצוּ מִפְּנֵיהֶם כִּי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ הוּא הַהֹלֵךְ עִמָּךְ לֹא יַרְפְּךָ וְלֹא יַעַזְבֶךָּ׃

Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be affrighted at them; for the LORD thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’

Moses' words to a people about to cross a river without him. The same phrase is repeated to Joshua, and again in the first chapter of the book that bears his name.

הִגִּיד לְךָ אָדָם מַה־טּוֹב וּמָה־יְהוָה דּוֹרֵשׁ מִמְּךָ כִּי אִם־עֲשׂוֹת מִשְׁפָּט וְאַהֲבַת חֶסֶד וְהַצְנֵעַ לֶכֶת עִם־אֱלֹהֶיךָ׃

It hath been told thee, O man, what is good, And what the LORD doth require of thee: Only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.

The prophet's answer fits in one line: do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with your God. It is the most quoted verse in the Prophets for a reason.

וְשָׁפַט בֵּין הַגּוֹיִם וְהוֹכִיחַ לְעַמִּים רַבִּים וְכִתְּתוּ חַרְבוֹתָם לְאִתִּים וַחֲנִיתוֹתֵיהֶם לְמַזְמֵרוֹת לֹא־יִשָּׂא גוֹי אֶל־גּוֹי חֶרֶב וְלֹא־יִלְמְדוּ עוֹד מִלְחָמָה׃

And He shall judge between the nations, And shall decide for many peoples; And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruninghooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war any more.

Isaiah's vision of the end of war, carved into a wall opposite the United Nations. In the Tanakh it comes with a condition: nations first go up to learn God's ways.

מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד יְהוָה רֹעִי לֹא אֶחְסָר׃

A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

The best-known psalm in any language, six verses long, read at funerals and sung at the third Shabbat meal. Its confidence is quiet: I shall not want.

זֶה־הַיּוֹם עָשָׂה יְהוָה נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בוֹ׃

This is the day which the LORD hath made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Sung in Hallel on festivals and new moons. The verse does not promise a good day. It says the day was made, and asks for gladness in it.

לַכֹּל זְמָן וְעֵת לְכָל־חֵפֶץ תַּחַת הַשָּׁמָיִם׃

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Kohelet's list of fourteen pairs, from birth and death to war and peace, has been set to music and read at more weddings and funerals than almost any other text.

וַתֹּאמֶר רוּת אַל־תִּפְגְּעִי־בִי לְעָזְבֵךְ לָשׁוּב מֵאַחֲרָיִךְ כִּי אֶל־אֲשֶׁר תֵּלְכִי אֵלֵךְ וּבַאֲשֶׁר תָּלִינִי אָלִין עַמֵּךְ עַמִּי וֵאלֹהַיִךְ אֱלֹהָי׃

And Ruth said: ‘Entreat me not to leave thee, and to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God;

Ruth's answer to Naomi is the model of conversion in Jewish tradition and one of the great statements of loyalty in world literature. Her great-grandson is David.

כִּי אִם־הַחֲרֵשׁ תַּחֲרִישִׁי בָּעֵת הַזֹּאת רֶוַח וְהַצָּלָה יַעֲמוֹד לַיְּהוּדִים מִמָּקוֹם אַחֵר וְאַתְּ וּבֵית־אָבִיךְ תֹּאבֵדוּ וּמִי יוֹדֵעַ אִם־לְעֵת כָּזֹאת הִגַּעַתְּ לַמַּלְכוּת׃

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then will relief and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place, but thou and thy father’s house will perish; and who knoweth whether thou art not come to royal estate for such a time as this?’

Mordechai's argument to Esther: if you stay silent, help will come from elsewhere, but perhaps you reached your position for exactly this moment. The book never mentions God, and this verse comes closest.