Seek good, and not evil, That you may live; And so Yahweh, the God of hosts, will be with you, As you say.
There is therefore a great emphasis to be laid on the particle כן, can, thus will God be with you: for the Prophet reminds them of what so often occurs in the law, “Be ye holy, for I am holy,” who dwell in the midst of you, (Leviticus 11:44) God shows, in these words, that it could not be that he would dwell with the Israelites except they sanctified themselves, that there might be a mutual agreement. But they had no regard for holiness, and yet wished God to be bound to them. This false confidence the Prophet derides, and says, that a certain condition is fixed in the law, according to which God would dwell in the midst of them. Thus thenwill God be in the midst of you; that is, when he sees that you strive after uprightness and the doing of good. 