The Greatest Command

“This is the command—the statutes and ordinances—the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you, so that you may follow them in the land you are about to enter and possess.(A) Do this so that you may fear(B) the Lord your God(C) all the days of your life(D) by keeping all his statutes and commands I am giving you, your son, and your grandson, and so that you may have a long life.(E) Listen, Israel, and be careful to follow them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly, because the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey.(F)

“Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a](G) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.(H) These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.(I) Repeat them to your children.(J) Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol[b] on your forehead.[c](K) Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.

Remembering God through Obedience

10 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he would give you—a land with large and beautiful cities that you did not build, 11 houses full of every good thing that you did not fill them with, cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant(L)—and when you eat and are satisfied,(M) 12 be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.(N) 13 Fear the Lord your God, worship him, and take your oaths in his name.(O) 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you, 15 for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God.(P) Otherwise, the Lord your God will become angry with you and obliterate you from the face of the earth. 16 Do not test(Q) the Lord your God as you tested him at Massah.(R) 17 Carefully observe the commands of the Lord your God, the decrees and statutes he has commanded you. 18 Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that you may prosper and so that you may enter and possess the good land(S) the Lord your God swore to give your ancestors,(T) 19 by driving out all your enemies before you, as the Lord has said.(U)

20 “When your son asks you in the future, ‘What is the meaning(V) of the decrees, statutes, and ordinances that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ 21 tell him, ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand.(W) 22 Before our eyes the Lord inflicted great and devastating signs and wonders on Egypt,(X) on Pharaoh, and on all his household, 23 but he brought us from there in order to lead us in and give us the land that he swore to our ancestors. 24 The Lord commanded us to follow all these statutes and to fear the Lord our God for our prosperity always and for our preservation, as it is today. 25 Righteousness will be ours if we are careful to follow every one of these commands before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.’

Footnotes

  1. 6:4 Or the Lord is our God; the Lord is one, or The Lord is our God, the Lord alone, or The Lord our God is one Lord
  2. 6:8 Or phylactery; Mt 23:5
  3. 6:8 Lit symbol between your eyes

Detailed Stipulations

“Now this is the commandment, the rules and the regulations, that Yahweh your God charged to teach to you for you to observe[a] in the land that you are about to cross over into[b] to take possession of it, so that you may revere Yahweh your God by keeping all his statutes and his commandments that I am commanding you, you and your children and grandchildren,[c] all the days of your life and so you may live long[d] lives. And you shall hear, Israel, and be careful to observe these instructions, so that it may go well for you[e] and that you may multiply greatly, just as Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,[f] promised[g] you, in a land with milk and honey.

“Hear, Israel, Yahweh our God, Yahweh is unique.[h] And you shall love Yahweh your God with all of your heart[i] and with all of your soul[j] and with all of your might. And these words that I am commanding you today[k] shall be on[l] your heart.[m] And you shall recite them to your children, and you shall talk about them at the time of your living in your house and at the time of your going on the road and at the time of your lying down and at the time of your rising up. And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as an emblem between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorframe of your house and on your gates.

10 “And then it will happen that when Yahweh your God will bring you to the land that he swore to your ancestors,[n] to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to you large and fine cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all sorts of good things[o] that you did not fill, and hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant, and you have eaten your fill,[p] 12 then take care for yourself, so that you do not forget Yahweh, who brought you out from the land of Egypt from the house of slavery.

13 “You shall fear Yahweh your God, and you shall serve him, and by his name you shall swear. 14 You shall not go after other gods from the gods of the peoples who are all around you, 15 for Yahweh your God is a jealous god in your midst, so that the anger of Yahweh your God would be kindled,[q] and he would destroy you from the face of the earth. 16 You shall not put Yahweh your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. 17 You shall diligently keep the commandments of Yahweh your God and his legal provisions and his rules that he has commanded you. 18 And you shall do what is right and good in the eyes of Yahweh, so that it shall go well[r] for you and so that you may go and you may take possession of the good land that Yahweh swore for your ancestors,[s] 19 by driving out all of your enemies before you,[t] just as Yahweh has promised.[u]

20 “When your child[v] asks you in the future, saying,[w] ‘What is the meaning of the legal provisions and the rules and the regulations that Yahweh our God commanded for you?’ 21 Then you shall say to your child,[x] ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and Yahweh brought us out from Egypt with a strong hand. 22 And Yahweh gave great and awesome signs and wonders in Egypt against Pharaoh and against his entire household in our presence.[y] 23 But he brought us out from there in order to bring us here to give us the land that he swore to our ancestors.[z] 24 And so Yahweh commanded us to observe all of these rules and to revere Yahweh our God for our benefit[aa] all the days that we live,[ab] as it is today.[ac] 25 And it shall be righteousness for us if we diligently observe and do all of this commandment before[ad] Yahweh our God, as he has commanded us.’

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 6:1 Literally “to do”
  2. Deuteronomy 6:1 Or “there”
  3. Deuteronomy 6:2 Literally “the children of your children”
  4. Deuteronomy 6:2 Literally “they may be long your days”
  5. Deuteronomy 6:3 Literally “it/he may be good”
  6. Deuteronomy 6:3 Or “fathers”
  7. Deuteronomy 6:3 Literally “spoke”
  8. Deuteronomy 6:4 Or “one”; or possibly “one Lord”
  9. Deuteronomy 6:5 Or “mind”
  10. Deuteronomy 6:5 Or “inner self”
  11. Deuteronomy 6:6 Literally “the day”
  12. Deuteronomy 6:6 Or “in”
  13. Deuteronomy 6:6 Or “mind”
  14. Deuteronomy 6:10 Or “fathers”
  15. Deuteronomy 6:11 Hebrew “thing”
  16. Deuteronomy 6:11 Literally “you have eaten and you are satisfied”
  17. Deuteronomy 6:15 Literally “so that not/lest the nose of Yahweh your God would become hot”
  18. Deuteronomy 6:18 Literally “he/it shall be good”
  19. Deuteronomy 6:18 Or “your fathers”
  20. Deuteronomy 6:19 Literally “the face of you”
  21. Deuteronomy 6:19 Literally “had spoken”
  22. Deuteronomy 6:20 Or “son”
  23. Deuteronomy 6:20 Literally “to say”
  24. Deuteronomy 6:21 Or “son”
  25. Deuteronomy 6:22 Literally “before our eyes”
  26. Deuteronomy 6:23 Or “fathers”
  27. Deuteronomy 6:24 Literally “for good for us”
  28. Deuteronomy 6:24 Literally “all the days for our living”
  29. Deuteronomy 6:24 Literally “as the day the this”
  30. Deuteronomy 6:25 Literally “in the faces of”