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A Call for Wholehearted Commitment

“These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life. Listen closely, Israel, and be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.[a] And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

10 “The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. 11 The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, 12 be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. 13 You must fear the Lord your God and serve him. When you take an oath, you must use only his name.

14 “You must not worship any of the gods of neighboring nations, 15 for the Lord your God, who lives among you, is a jealous God. His anger will flare up against you, and he will wipe you from the face of the earth. 16 You must not test the Lord your God as you did when you complained at Massah. 17 You must diligently obey the commands of the Lord your God—all the laws and decrees he has given you. 18 Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so all will go well with you. Then you will enter and occupy the good land that the Lord swore to give your ancestors. 19 You will drive out all the enemies living in the land, just as the Lord said you would.

20 “In the future your children will ask you, ‘What is the meaning of these laws, decrees, and regulations that the Lord our God has commanded us to obey?’

21 “Then you must tell them, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand. 22 The Lord did miraculous signs and wonders before our eyes, dealing terrifying blows against Egypt and Pharaoh and all his people. 23 He brought us out of Egypt so he could give us this land he had sworn to give our ancestors. 24 And the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear him so he can continue to bless us and preserve our lives, as he has done to this day. 25 For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us.’

Footnotes

  1. 6:4 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.

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”