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Deuteronomy 6:1-15
New English Translation

Exhortation to Keep the Covenant Principles

6 Now these are the commandments,[a] statutes, and ordinances that the Lord your God instructed me to teach you so that you may carry them out in the land where you are headed[b] 2 and that you may so revere the Lord your God that you will keep all his statutes and commandments[c] that I am giving[d] you—you, your children, and your grandchildren—all your lives, to prolong your days. 3 Pay attention, Israel, and be careful to do this so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in number[e]—as the Lord, the God of your ancestors,[f] said to you, you will have a land flowing with milk and honey.

The Essence of the Covenant Principles

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one![g] 5 You must love[h] the Lord your God with your whole mind,[i] your whole being,[j] and all your strength.[k]

Exhortation to Teach the Covenant Principles

6 These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, 7 and you must teach[l] them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road,[m] as you lie down, and as you get up. 8 You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm[n] and fasten them as symbols[o] on your forehead. 9 Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and gates.[p]

Exhortation to Worship the Lord Exclusively

10 Then when the Lord your God brings you to the land he promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you—a land with large, fine cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with choice things you did not accumulate, hewn-out cisterns you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—and you eat your fill, 12 be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, that place of slavery.[q] 13 You must revere the Lord your God, serve him, and take oaths using only his name. 14 You must not go after other gods, those[r] of the surrounding peoples, 15 for the Lord your God, who is present among you, is a jealous God—his anger will erupt against you and remove you from the land.[s]

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 6:1 tn Heb “commandment.” The word מִצְוָה (mitsvah) again is in the singular, serving as a comprehensive term for the whole stipulation section of the book. See note on the word “commandments” in 5:31.
  2. Deuteronomy 6:1 tn Heb “where you are going over to possess it” (so NASB); NRSV “that you are about to cross into and occupy.”
  3. Deuteronomy 6:2 tn Here the terms are not the usual חֻקִּים (khuqqim) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim; as in v. 1) but חֻקֹּת (khuqqot, “statutes”) and מִצְוֹת (mitsvot, “commandments”). It is clear that these terms are used interchangeably and that their technical precision ought not be overly stressed.
  4. Deuteronomy 6:2 tn Heb “commanding.” For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation.
  5. Deuteronomy 6:3 tn Heb “may multiply greatly” (so NASB, NRSV); the words “in number” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  6. Deuteronomy 6:3 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 10, 18, 23).
  7. Deuteronomy 6:4 tn Heb “the Lord, our God, the Lord, one.” (1) One option is to translate: “The Lord is our God, the Lord alone” (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT). This would be an affirmation that the Lord was the sole object of their devotion. This interpretation finds support from the appeals to loyalty that follow (vv. 5, 14). (2) Another option is to translate: “The Lord is our God, the Lord is unique.” In this case the text would be affirming the people’s allegiance to the Lord, as well as the Lord’s superiority to all other gods. It would also imply that he is the only one worthy of their worship. Support for this view comes from parallel texts such as Deut 7:9 and 10:17, as well as the use of “one” in Song 6:8-9, where the starstruck lover declares that his beloved is unique (literally, “one,” that is, “one of a kind”) when compared to all other women.sn Verses 4-5 constitute the so-called Shema (after the first word שְׁמַע, shemaʿ, “hear”), widely regarded as the very heart of Jewish confession and faith. When Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment of all, he quoted this text (Matt 22:37-38).
  8. Deuteronomy 6:5 tn The verb אָהֵב (ʾahev, “to love”) in this setting communicates not so much an emotional idea as one of covenant commitment. To love the Lord is to be absolutely loyal and obedient to him in every respect, a truth Jesus himself taught (cf. John 14:15). See also the note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37.
  9. Deuteronomy 6:5 tn Heb “heart.” In OT physiology the heart (לֵב, לֵבָב; levav, lev) was considered the seat of the mind or intellect, so that one could think with one’s heart. See A. Luc, NIDOTTE 2:749-54.
  10. Deuteronomy 6:5 tn Heb “soul”; “being.” Contrary to Hellenistic ideas of a soul that is discrete and separate from the body and spirit, OT anthropology equated the “soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) with the person himself. It is therefore best in most cases to translate נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) as “being” or the like. See H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 10-25; D. Fredericks, NIDOTTE 3:133-34.
  11. Deuteronomy 6:5 sn For NT variations on the Shema see Matt 22:37-39; Mark 12:29-30; Luke 10:27.
  12. Deuteronomy 6:7 tn Heb “repeat” (so NLT). If from the root I שָׁנַן (shanan), the verb means essentially to “engrave,” that is, “to teach incisively” (Piel); note NAB “Drill them into your children.” Cf. BDB 1041-42 s.v.
  13. Deuteronomy 6:7 tn Or “as you are away on a journey” (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT); NAB “at home and abroad.”
  14. Deuteronomy 6:8 sn Tie them as a sign on your forearm. Later Jewish tradition referred to the little leather containers tied to the forearms and foreheads as tefillin. They were to contain the following passages from the Torah: Exod 13:1-10, 11-16; Deut 6:5-9; 11:13-21. The purpose was to serve as a “sign” of covenant relationship and obedience.
  15. Deuteronomy 6:8 sn Fasten them as symbols on your forehead. These were also known later as tefillin (see previous note) or phylacteries (from the Greek term). These box-like containers, like those on the forearms, held the same scraps of the Torah. It was the hypocritical practice of wearing these without heartfelt sincerity that caused Jesus to speak scathingly about them (cf. Matt 23:5).
  16. Deuteronomy 6:9 sn The Hebrew term מְזוּזֹת (mezuzot) refers both to the door frames and to small cases attached on them containing scripture texts (always Deut 6:4-9 and 11:13-21; and sometimes the decalogue; Exod 13:1-10, 11-16; and Num 10:35-36). See J. H. Tigay, Deuteronomy (JPSTC), 443-44.
  17. Deuteronomy 6:12 tn Heb “out of the house of slavery” (so NASB, NRSV).
  18. Deuteronomy 6:14 tn Heb “from the gods.” The demonstrative pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
  19. Deuteronomy 6:15 tn Heb “lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you and destroy you from upon the surface of the ground.” Cf. KJV, ASV “from off the face of the earth.”
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Deuteronomy 7
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Deuteronomy 8
New English Translation

The Lord’s Provision in the Desert

8 You must keep carefully all these commandments[a] I am giving[b] you today so that you may live, increase in number,[c] and go in and occupy the land that the Lord promised to your ancestors.[d] 2 Remember the whole way by which he[e] has brought you these forty years through the wilderness so that he might, by humbling you, test you to see if you have it within you to keep his commandments or not. 3 So he humbled you by making you hungry and then feeding you with unfamiliar manna.[f] He did this to teach you[g] that humankind[h] cannot live by bread[i] alone, but also by everything that comes from the Lord’s mouth.[j] 4 Your clothing did not wear out nor did your feet swell all these forty years. 5 Be keenly aware that just as a parent disciplines his child,[k] so the Lord your God disciplines you. 6 So you must keep his[l] commandments, live according to his standards,[m] and revere him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you to a good land, a land of brooks,[n] springs, and fountains flowing forth in valleys and hills, 8 a land of wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, and pomegranates, of olive trees and honey, 9 a land where you may eat food[o] in plenty and find no lack of anything, a land whose stones are iron[p] and from whose hills you can mine copper. 10 You will eat your fill and then praise the Lord your God because of the good land he has given you.

Exhortation to Remember That Blessing Comes from God

11 Be sure you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments, ordinances, and statutes that I am giving you today. 12 When you eat your fill, when you build and occupy good houses, 13 when your cattle and flocks increase, when you have plenty of silver and gold, and when you have abundance of everything, 14 be sure[q] you do not feel self-important and forget the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, the place of slavery, 15 and who brought you through the great, fearful wilderness of venomous serpents[r] and scorpions, an arid place with no water. He made water flow[s] from a flint rock and 16 fed you in the wilderness with manna (which your ancestors had never before known) so that he might by humbling you test you[t] and eventually bring good to you. 17 Be careful[u] not to say, “My own ability and skill[v] have gotten me this wealth.” 18 You must remember the Lord your God, for he is the one who gives ability to get wealth; if you do this he will confirm his covenant that he made by oath to your ancestors,[w] even as he has to this day. 19 Now if you forget the Lord your God at all[x] and follow other gods, worshiping and prostrating yourselves before them, I testify to you today that you will surely be annihilated. 20 Just like the nations the Lord is about to destroy from your sight, so he will do to you[y] because you would not obey him.[z]

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 8:1 tn The singular term (מִצְוָה, mitsvah) includes the whole corpus of covenant stipulations, certainly the book of Deuteronomy at least (cf. Deut 5:28; 6:1, 25; 7:11; 11:8, 22; 15:5; 17:20; 19:9; 27:1; 30:11; 31:5). The plural (מִצְוֹת, mitsvot) refers to individual stipulations (as in vv. 2, 6).
  2. Deuteronomy 8:1 tn Heb “commanding” (so NASB). For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation (likewise in v. 11).
  3. Deuteronomy 8:1 tn Heb “multiply” (so KJV, NASB, NLT); NIV, NRSV “increase.”
  4. Deuteronomy 8:1 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 16, 18).
  5. Deuteronomy 8:2 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  6. Deuteronomy 8:3 tn Heb “manna which you and your ancestors did not know.” By popular etymology the word “manna” comes from the Hebrew phrase מָן הוּא (man huʾ), i.e., “What is it?” (Exod 16:15). The question remains unanswered to this very day. Elsewhere the material is said to be “white like coriander seed” with “a taste like honey cakes” (Exod 16:31; cf. Num 11:7). Modern attempts to associate it with various desert plants are unsuccessful for the text says it was a new thing and, furthermore, one that appeared and disappeared miraculously (Exod 16:21-27).
  7. Deuteronomy 8:3 tn Heb “in order to make known to you.” In the Hebrew text this statement is subordinated to what precedes, resulting in a very long sentence in English. The translation makes this statement a separate sentence for stylistic reasons.
  8. Deuteronomy 8:3 tn Heb “the man,” but in a generic sense, referring to the whole human race (“mankind” or “humankind”).
  9. Deuteronomy 8:3 tn The Hebrew term may refer to “food” in a more general sense (cf. CEV).
  10. Deuteronomy 8:3 sn Jesus quoted this text to the devil in the midst of his forty-day fast to make the point that spiritual nourishment is incomparably more important than mere physical bread (Matt 4:4; cf. Luke 4:4).
  11. Deuteronomy 8:5 tn Heb “just as a man disciplines his son.” The Hebrew text reflects the patriarchal idiom of the culture.
  12. Deuteronomy 8:6 tn Heb “the commandments of the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
  13. Deuteronomy 8:6 tn Heb “by walking in his ways.” The “ways” of the Lord refer here to his moral standards as reflected in his commandments. The verb “walk” is used frequently in the Bible (both OT and NT) for one’s moral and ethical behavior.
  14. Deuteronomy 8:7 tn Or “wadis.”
  15. Deuteronomy 8:9 tn The Hebrew term may refer to “food” in a more general sense (cf. NASB, NCV, NLT) or “bread” in particular (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV).
  16. Deuteronomy 8:9 sn A land whose stones are iron. Since iron deposits are few and far between in Palestine, the reference here is probably to iron ore found in mines as opposed to the meteorite iron more commonly known in that area.
  17. Deuteronomy 8:14 tn The words “be sure” are not in the Hebrew text; vv. 12-14 are part of the previous sentence. For stylistic reasons a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 12 in the translation and the words “be sure” repeated from v. 11 to indicate the connection.
  18. Deuteronomy 8:15 tn Heb “flaming serpents”; KJV, NASB “fiery serpents”; NAB “saraph serpents.” This figure of speech (metonymy) probably describes the venomous and painful results of snakebite. The feeling from such an experience would be like a burning fire (שָׂרָף, saraf).
  19. Deuteronomy 8:15 tn Heb “the one who brought out for you water.” In the Hebrew text this continues the preceding sentence, but the translation begins a new sentence here for stylistic reasons.
  20. Deuteronomy 8:16 tn Heb “in order to humble you and in order to test you.” See 8:2.
  21. Deuteronomy 8:17 tn For stylistic reasons a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 17 in the translation and the words “be careful” supplied to indicate the connection.
  22. Deuteronomy 8:17 tn Heb “my strength and the might of my hand.”
  23. Deuteronomy 8:18 tc Smr and Lucian add “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” the standard way of rendering this almost stereotypical formula (cf. Deut 1:8; 6:10; 9:5, 27; 29:13; 30:20; 34:4). The MT’s harder reading presumptively argues for its originality, however.
  24. Deuteronomy 8:19 tn Heb “if forgetting, you forget.” The infinitive absolute is used for emphasis; the translation indicates this with the words “at all” (cf. KJV).
  25. Deuteronomy 8:20 tn Heb “so you will perish.”
  26. Deuteronomy 8:20 tn Heb “listen to the voice of the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
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