1. Leviticus 20:2 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What is unusual about the word order of verse 2?

Leviticus 20:2 (ESV)

2 “Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones.

Hebrew sentence construction usually follows a set pattern: verb, subject, object. In verse Leviticus 20:2, the word order is reversed: To the sons of Israel say. This highlights that the application of the following chapter is for all the people of Israel.