Deuteronomy 6
New American Standard Bible
Obey God and Prosper
6 “Now this is the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you, so that you may do them in the land where you are going over to take possession of it, 2 so that you, your son, and your grandson will (A)fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, (B)all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. 3 Now Israel, you shall listen and be careful to do them, so that (C)it may go well for you and that you may increase greatly, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has [a]promised you, in (D)a land flowing with milk and honey.
4 “(E)Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the (F)Lord is one! 5 And (G)you shall love the Lord your God (H)with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 (I)These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 And (J)you shall repeat them diligently to your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk on the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. 8 (K)You shall also tie them as a [b]sign to your [c]hand, and they shall be as [d]frontlets [e]on your forehead. 9 (L)You shall also write them on the [f]doorposts of your house and on your gates.
10 “Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land that He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you, (M)great and splendid cities which you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and carved cisterns which you did not carve out, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and (N)you eat and are satisfied, 12 be [g]careful that (O)you do not forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of [h]slavery. 13 (P)You shall [i]fear only the Lord your God; and you shall [j]worship Him and (Q)swear by His name. 14 (R)You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, 15 for the Lord your God who is in the midst of you is a (S)jealous God; so follow Him, or else the anger of the Lord your God will be kindled against you, and He will [k]wipe you off the face of the earth.
16 “(T)You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, (U)as you tested Him at Massah. 17 (V)You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and His provisions and His statutes which He has commanded you. 18 You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, so that (W)it may go well for you and that you may go in and take possession of the good land which the Lord swore to give your fathers, 19 by driving out all your enemies from you, as the Lord has spoken.
20 “(X)When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What do the provisions and the statutes and the judgments mean which the Lord our God commanded you?’ 21 then you shall say to your son, ‘We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 Moreover, the Lord provided great and terrible signs and wonders before our eyes against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household; 23 He brought us out of there in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He had sworn to our fathers.’ 24 So the Lord commanded us to [l]follow all these statutes, (Y)to fear the Lord our God for our own good always and (Z)for our survival, as it is today. 25 And (AA)it will be righteousness for us if we are careful to [m]follow all this commandment before the Lord our God, just as He commanded us.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 6:3 Lit spoken to
- Deuteronomy 6:8 I.e., reminder
- Deuteronomy 6:8 Or forearm
- Deuteronomy 6:8 Or phylacteries
- Deuteronomy 6:8 Lit between your eyes
- Deuteronomy 6:9 Heb mezuzoth
- Deuteronomy 6:12 Or careful yourself
- Deuteronomy 6:12 Lit slaves
- Deuteronomy 6:13 Or revere
- Deuteronomy 6:13 Or serve
- Deuteronomy 6:15 Lit destroy
- Deuteronomy 6:24 Lit perform
- Deuteronomy 6:25 Lit perform
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.