“Be Holy” or “You Shall Be Holy”?

Command or Promise?

When we read the Ten Words, we hear again and again: “You shall…” or “You shall not…” For many, this sounds like a series of strict commandments, burdens that must be carried. But is that really the true meaning? Or is this, in fact, a promise—a prophetic word from God that He Himself will fulfill?

The Grammatical Form

The prohibitions in Exodus 20 are formulated with the words “you shall not…” In Hebrew, a particular verb form is used for this (yiqtol), which is also the standard way of speaking about the future. That is why we often see this same form elsewhere in Scripture used in the sense of a promise.

Examples of Promise

Consider: “You shall become a father of a throng of nations” (Gen. 17:4). Or: “You shall break forth to the west and to the east, and to the north and to the south” (Gen. 28:14). Or: “So shall you become Mine for a special property above all the peoples… and you shall become Mine, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:5–6). Or: “Blessed shall you become above all the peoples” (Deut. 7:14).

In all these texts, the words “you shall” are not a burden laid upon man, but a promise being granted.

A Remarkable Linguistic Phenomenon

This phenomenon is not limited to Hebrew. Also in Dutch—as well as in languages like English and German—the future tense is often used to express a command or prohibition. “You shall…” sounds like an order, while in fact we are using a future tense. Think of the English You shall not kill or the German Du sollst nicht töten.

Isn’t that illustrative? Humanity is always inclined to turn promises into burdens. What is spoken as a declaration, we interpret as obligation. We hear: “you must…”, but God says: “you shall…”—because He Himself will make it so.

Under the Old Covenant

Israel, under the old covenant, heard in the Torah primarily an imperative—a series of commands that had to be observed. Thus, the law became a burden, a yoke they tried to carry. Paul describes it exactly like this: “Yet Israel, though pursuing a law of righteousness, into a law of righteousness does not outstrip… Wherefore? Seeing that it is not out of faith, but as out of works” (Rom. 9:31–32).

What he is saying is that Israel did not understand the law. They assumed the law primarily imposed what they themselves had to do, while failing to see that God was speaking and promising through it. Instead of resting in His Word, they tried to fulfill the law as human effort (cf. Isa. 28:11–13). It was precisely this misinterpretation that became fatal for Israel.

The New Covenant

Jeremiah foretells another time: “I will give My law in their inwards, and on their heart will I write it” (Jer. 31:33). Then Israel will understand that the Torah is promise. “You shall not murder” is then not merely a prohibition, but a prophetic declaration: the day will come when the people simply will not murder anymore.

“You shall be holy, for I am holy” (Lev. 19:2). Not: be holy—as if it depended on people—but: “you shall be holy.” Remarkably, Peter cites this word in his first letter (1 Pet. 1:16) and explicitly uses the future tense. In fact, this is always the case in the New Testament when referring to these “you shall” texts.

Many modern translations distort this by reading “be holy,” and in doing so, they not only fail to do justice to the grammar, but above all, they misrepresent the character of the promise that resonates in the text.

Conclusion

The Torah is not a collection of prescriptions in the sense of imposed rules, but prophetic Word. The word “prescription” already says it: it is that which has been written beforehand. Not a burden we must carry, but a writing that points forward to what God will do. Just as God said, “Let light come to be”—and light came to be (Gen. 1:3). So also: “You shall…”—and it shall come to be.

The commandments are cast in the form of a promise. Israel, under the old covenant, heard in them a burden and collapsed under it (Acts 15:10). But under the new covenant, the people will understand what the Torah truly is: a promise of God. Not “you must,” but “you shall.” And thus Scripture desires to be understood—not as a burden we must bear, but as a promise He fulfills.

At the same time, there is also a divine “must” within that promise: it must come to pass, simply because He has spoken it.

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