Love the Lord Your God

These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear(A) the Lord your God as long as you live(B) by keeping all his decrees and commands(C) that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.(D) Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey(E) so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly(F) in a land flowing with milk and honey,(G) just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised(H) you.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a](I) Love(J) the Lord your God with all your heart(K) and with all your soul and with all your strength.(L) These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.(M) Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.(N) Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.(O) Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.(P)

10 When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build,(Q) 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig,(R) and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied,(S) 12 be careful that you do not forget(T) the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

13 Fear the Lord(U) your God, serve him only(V) and take your oaths(W) in his name.(X) 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the Lord your God(Y), who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. 16 Do not put the Lord your God to the test(Z) as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to keep(AA) the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you.(AB) 18 Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight,(AC) so that it may go well(AD) with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, 19 thrusting out all your enemies(AE) before you, as the Lord said.

20 In the future, when your son asks you,(AF) “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws 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 mighty hand.(AG) 22 Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders—great and terrible—on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. 23 But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors. 24 The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God,(AH) so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today.(AI) 25 And if we are careful to obey all this law(AJ) before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.(AK)

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 6:4 Or The Lord our God is one Lord; or The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; or The Lord is our God, the Lord alone

The Greatest Commandment

“Now this is (A)the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, (B)that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, (C)and that your days may be prolonged. Therefore hear, O Israel, and [a]be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may (D)multiply greatly (E)as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you—(F)‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’

(G)“Hear, O Israel: [b]The Lord our God, the Lord is one! (H)You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, (I)with all your soul, and with all your strength.

“And (J)these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. (K)You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. (L)You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. (M)You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Caution Against Disobedience

10 “So it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which He [c]swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities (N)which you did not build, 11 houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant—(O)when you have eaten and are full— 12 then beware, lest you forget the (P)Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 13 You shall (Q)fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and (R)shall take oaths in His name. 14 You shall not go after other gods, (S)the gods of the peoples who are all around you 15 (for (T)the Lord your God is a jealous God (U)among you), lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth.

16 (V)“You shall not [d]tempt the Lord your God (W)as you [e]tempted Him in Massah. 17 You shall (X)diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. 18 And you (Y)shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land of which the Lord swore to your fathers, 19 (Z)to cast out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has spoken.

20 (AA)“When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded you?’ 21 then you shall say to your son: ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt (AB)with a mighty hand; 22 and the Lord showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household. 23 Then He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He [f]swore to our fathers. 24 And the Lord commanded us to [g]observe all these [h]statutes, (AC)to fear the Lord our God, (AD)for our good always, that (AE)He might preserve us alive, as it is [i]this day. 25 Then (AF)it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.’

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 6:3 Lit. observe to do
  2. Deuteronomy 6:4 Or The Lord is our God, the Lord alone, i.e., the only one
  3. Deuteronomy 6:10 promised
  4. Deuteronomy 6:16 test
  5. Deuteronomy 6:16 tested
  6. Deuteronomy 6:23 promised
  7. Deuteronomy 6:24 do
  8. Deuteronomy 6:24 ordinances
  9. Deuteronomy 6:24 today

The great commandment

Now these are the commandments, the regulations, and the case laws that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you to follow in the land you are entering to possess, so that you will fear the Lord your God by keeping all his regulations and his commandments that I am commanding you—both you and your sons and daughters—all the days of your life and so that you will lengthen your life. Listen to them, Israel! Follow them carefully so that things will go well for you and so that you will continue to multiply exactly as the Lord, your ancestors’ God, promised you, in a land full of milk and honey.

Israel, listen! Our God is the Lord! Only the Lord![a]

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your being, and all your strength. These words that I am commanding you today must always be on your minds. Recite them to your children. Talk about them when you are sitting around your house and when you are out and about, when you are lying down and when you are getting up. Tie them on your hand as a sign. They should be on your forehead as a symbol.[b] Write them on your house’s doorframes and on your city’s gates.

10 Now once the Lord your God has brought you into the land that he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to you—a land that will be full of large and wonderful towns that you didn’t build, 11 houses stocked with all kinds of goods that you didn’t stock, cisterns that you didn’t make, vineyards and olive trees that you didn’t plant—and you eat and get stuffed, 12 watch yourself! Don’t forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13 Revere the Lord your God, serve him, and take your solemn pledges in his name! 14 Don’t follow other gods, those gods of the people around you— 15 because the Lord your God, who is with you and among you, is a passionate God. The Lord your God’s anger will burn against you, and he will wipe you off the fertile land. 16 Don’t test the Lord your God the way you frustrated him at Massah. 17 You must carefully follow the Lord your God’s commands along with the laws and regulations he has given you. 18 Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight so that things will go well for you and so you will enter and take possession of the wonderful land that the Lord swore to your ancestors, 19 and so the Lord will drive out all your enemies from before you, just as he promised.

The next generation

20 In the future, your children will ask you, “What is the meaning of the laws,[c] the regulations, and the case laws that the Lord our God commanded you?” 21 Tell them: We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. But the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 Before our own eyes, the Lord performed great and awesome deeds of power[d] against Egypt, Pharaoh, and his entire dynasty. 23 But the Lord brought us out from there so that he could bring us in, giving us the land that he swore to our ancestors. 24 Then the Lord commanded us to perform all these regulations, revering the Lord our God, so that things go well for us always and so we continue to live, as we’re doing right now. 25 What’s more, we will be considered righteous if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, just as he commanded us.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 6:4 Or The Lord is our God, the Lord only; or The Lord is our God, the Lord alone; or The Lord our God is one Lord; or The Lord our God, the Lord is one; or The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.
  2. Deuteronomy 6:8 Heb uncertain; cf Exod 13:16; Syr sign or mark; Tg phylacteries
  3. Deuteronomy 6:20 Or What are the laws…?
  4. Deuteronomy 6:22 Or signs and wonders

The Command to Love God

These are the commands, rules and laws of the Lord your God. He told me to teach them to you. Obey them in the land you are crossing the Jordan River to own. You, your children and grandchildren must respect the Lord your God. You must do this as long as you live. Obey all his rules and commands I give you. Then you will live a long time. Listen, Israel, and carefully obey these laws. Then all will go well for you. You will become a great nation in a land where much food grows. The Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised it to you.

Listen, people of Israel! The Lord is our God. He is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength. Always remember these commands I give you today. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road. Talk about them when you lie down and when you get up. Write them down and tie them to your hands as a sign. Tie them on your forehead to remind you. Write them on your doors and gates.

10 The Lord your God will bring you into the land. He promised it to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He will give it to you. The land has large, growing cities you did not build. 11 The houses there are full of good things that you did not buy. They have wells you did not dig. There are vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. You will eat as much as you want. 12 But be careful! Do not forget the Lord. He brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves.

13 Respect the Lord your God. Serve only him. Make your promises in his name. 14 Do not worship other gods as the people around you do. 15 The Lord your God is a jealous God. He is present with you. If you worship other gods, he will become angry with you. And he will destroy you from the earth. 16 Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to obey the commands of the Lord your God. Obey the rules and laws he has given you. 18 Do what the Lord says is good and right. Then things will go well for you. Then you may go in and take the good land the Lord promised to your ancestors. 19 He will force all your enemies out as you go in. This is what the Lord has said.

20 In the future your son will ask you, “What do the laws, commands and rules the Lord our God gave us mean?” 21 Tell him, “We were slaves to the king of Egypt. But the Lord brought us out of Egypt by his great power. 22 The Lord showed us great and terrible signs and miracles. He did them to Egypt, the king and his whole family. 23 The Lord brought us out of Egypt. He led us here. And he will give us the land he promised our ancestors. 24 The Lord ordered us to obey all these commands. And we must respect the Lord our God. Then we will always do well and stay alive as we are today. 25 The right thing for us to do is this: Obey all these rules in the presence of the Lord our God. He has commanded it.”