Deuteronomy 6
Legacy Standard Bible
The Commandment to Love Yahweh
6 “Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments, which Yahweh your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do it in the land where you are going over to possess it, 2 so that you and your son and your grandson might (A)fear Yahweh your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I am commanding you, (B)all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. 3 O Israel, you shall listen and [a]be careful to do it, that (C)it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in (D)a land flowing with milk and honey.
4 “(E)Hear, O Israel! [b]Yahweh is our God, (F)Yahweh is one! 5 (G)You shall love Yahweh your God (H)with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 (I)These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 (J)You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 (K)You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as [c]phylacteries between your eyes. 9 (L)You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
10 “Then it will be, when Yahweh your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you, (M)great and good cities which you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and (N)you will eat and be satisfied, 12 then beware, lest (O)you forget Yahweh who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of [d]slavery. 13 (P)Yahweh your God you shall [e]fear; and Him you shall serve; and by His name you shall (Q)swear. 14 (R)You shall not walk after other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, 15 for Yahweh your God in the midst of you is a (S)jealous God—lest the anger of Yahweh your God be kindled against you, and He destroy you from the face of the earth.
16 “(T)You shall not put Yahweh your God to the test, (U)as you tested Him at Massah. 17 (V)You should diligently keep the commandments of Yahweh your God and His testimonies and His statutes which He has commanded you. 18 And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of Yahweh, that (W)it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which Yahweh swore to give your fathers, 19 by driving out all your enemies from before you, as Yahweh has spoken.
20 “(X)When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What do the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments mean which Yahweh our God commanded you?’ 21 then you shall say to your son, ‘We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and Yahweh brought us from Egypt with a strong hand. 22 Moreover, Yahweh showed great and calamitous signs and wonders before our eyes against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household; 23 But He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He had sworn to our fathers.’ 24 So Yahweh commanded us to do all these statutes, (Y)to fear Yahweh our God for our good all our days and (Z)for our survival, as it is today. 25 (AA)And it will be righteousness for us if we [f]are careful to do all this commandment before Yahweh our God, just as He commanded us.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 6:3 Lit keep
- Deuteronomy 6:4 Or Yahweh our God is one Yahweh, Yahweh our God, Yahweh is unique; cf. Mark 12:29
- Deuteronomy 6:8 Or frontlet bands
- Deuteronomy 6:12 Lit slaves
- Deuteronomy 6:13 Or reverence
- Deuteronomy 6:25 Lit keep
Deuteronomy 6
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Great Commandment
6 “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the ordinances—that the Lord your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, 2 so that you and your children and your children’s children may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long.(A) 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you.(B)
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.[a](C) 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.(D) 6 Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7 Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.(E) 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem[b] on your forehead,(F) 9 and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.(G)
Caution against Disobedience
10 “When the Lord your God has brought you into the land that he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—a land with fine, large cities that you did not build,(H) 11 houses filled with all sorts of goods that you did not fill, hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you have eaten your fill,(I) 12 take care that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13 The Lord your God you shall fear, him you shall serve, and by his name alone you shall swear.(J) 14 Do not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who are all around you, 15 because the Lord your God, who is present with you, is a jealous God. The anger of the Lord your God would be kindled against you and he would destroy you from the face of the earth.(K)
16 “Do not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.(L) 17 You must diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his decrees and his statutes that he has commanded you.(M) 18 Do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, so that it may go well with you and so that you may go in and occupy the good land that the Lord swore to your ancestors,(N) 19 thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has promised.
20 “When your children ask you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the decrees and the statutes and the ordinances that the Lord our God has commanded you?’(O) 21 then you shall say to your children, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 The Lord displayed before our eyes great and awesome signs and wonders against Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his household. 23 He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land that he promised on oath to our ancestors. 24 Then the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our lasting good, so as to keep us alive, as is now the case.(P) 25 If we diligently observe this entire commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, we will be in the right.’(Q)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.