Charles Ellicott Commentary Leviticus 19:2

"Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy; for I Jehovah your God am holy." — Leviticus 19:2 (ASV)

Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel. — The importance that the Lawgiver Himself attaches to this epitome of the whole Law, as this section is called, may be seen from the fact that God commands Moses to address these precepts to all the congregation of the children of Israel—a phrase that occurs nowhere else in Leviticus in this formula, and that is only to be found once more in the whole Pentateuch (Exodus 12:3), at the institution of the Passover, the great national festival that commemorates the redemption of the Israelites from Egypt.

I the Lord your God. — Around this solemn declaration, which is repeated no less than sixteen times, both in its full and shorter form , cluster the different precepts of this section. It is this solemn formula that links together the various injunctions in the chapter before us. As the Lord who is their God is Himself holy, those who are His people must also be holy. Or, as a saying that was prevalent during the Second Temple period expresses it: “The surroundings of the king must bear the moral impress of the sovereign.” Or, in other words, your nearness to God not only demands that your conduct should not contradict His holy nature, but also that your life should bear the impress and reflect the image of God. (Matthew 5:48; 1 Peter 1:15.)