Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Amplified Bible
Obey God and Prosper
6 “Now this is the command; the statutes and the judgments (precepts) which the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you, so that you might do (follow, obey) them in the land which you are crossing over [the Jordan] to possess, 2 so that you and your son and your grandson may fear and worship the Lord your God [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect], to keep [and actively do] all His statutes and His commandments which I am commanding you, all the days of your life, so that your days may be prolonged. 3 Therefore listen, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly [in numbers], as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land [a]flowing with milk and honey.
4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one [the only God]! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and with all your soul and with all your strength [your entire being]. 6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be [written] on your heart and mind. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your [b]children [impressing God’s precepts on their minds and penetrating their hearts with His truths] and shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up. 8 And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand (forearm), and they shall be used as [c]bands (frontals, frontlets) on your forehead. 9 You shall write them on the [d]doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Deuteronomy 6:3 This phrase referred to the abundant fertility of the land of Canaan. Milk (typically that of goats and sheep) was associated with abundance; “honey” referred mainly to syrups made from dates or grapes and was the epitome of sweetness. Bees’ honey was very rare and was considered the choicest of foods.
- Deuteronomy 6:7 Lit sons.
- Deuteronomy 6:8 Or phylacteries. This is originally a Greek word meaning “safeguard.” In Jewish tradition these are also called tefillin, and are understood to be small leather boxes tied to the forearm and to the top of the head with leather straps. The boxes contain small parchment copies of the passage found here and three others.
- Deuteronomy 6:9 Heb mezuzoth, which—like tefillin (v 8)—also have special significance in Jewish tradition. The (singular) mezuzah is a piece of parchment on which is written this passage (6:4-9) and 11:13-21. The parchment is encased to protect it, and is attached to the right doorpost. By Jewish law, all rooms where people live or sleep (excluding bathrooms) are required to have mezuzoth on the doorposts.
Isaiah 57:8-16
Amplified Bible
8
“Behind the door and the doorpost
You have set up your [pagan] symbol;
Indeed, far removed from Me, you have uncovered yourself,
And have gone up and made your bed wide.
And you have made a [new] agreement for yourself with the adulterers,
You have loved their bed,
You have looked [with passion] on their [a]manhood.(A)
9
“You have gone to [b]the king [of a pagan land] with oil
And increased your [c]perfumes;
You have sent your messengers a great distance
And made them go down to Sheol (the realm of the dead).
10
“You were wearied by the length of your road,
Yet you did not say, ‘It is no use.’
You found [d]renewed strength,
Therefore you did not grow weak.
11
“About whom were you worried and fearful
That you lied and did not [e]remember Me,
Nor [f]give Me a thought?
Was I not silent even for a long time
And [as a result] you do not fear Me?
12
“I will declare your [hypocritical] righteousness and your deeds,
But they will not benefit you.
13
“When you cry out [for help], let your [ridiculous] collection of idols save you.
But the wind will carry them all away,
A [mere] breath will take them.
But he who takes refuge in Me will possess the land [Judea]
And will inherit My holy mountain.”(B)
14
And it will be said,
“Build up, build up, clear the way.
Remove the stumbling block out of the way [of the spiritual return] of My people.”
15
For the high and exalted One
He who inhabits eternity, Whose name is Holy says this,
“I dwell on the high and holy place,
But also with the [g]contrite and humble in spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the humble
And to revive the heart of the contrite [overcome with sorrow for sin].(C)
16
“For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For [if I did stay angry] the spirit [of man] would grow weak before Me,
And the breath of those whom I have created.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:8 Lit hand.
- Isaiah 57:9 Another reading is Molech, i.e. to an idol of the pagan god.
- Isaiah 57:9 Lit ointments.
- Isaiah 57:10 Lit the life of your hand.
- Isaiah 57:11 Or mention.
- Isaiah 57:11 Lit put on your heart.
- Isaiah 57:15 Lit crushed.
John 1:1-14
Amplified Bible
The Deity of Jesus Christ
1 In the beginning [before all time] was the Word ([a]Christ), and the Word was with God, and [b]the Word was God Himself.(A) 2 He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. 3 All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him not even one thing was made that has come into being. 4 In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines on in the [c]darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].(B)
The Witness of John the Baptist
6 There came a man commissioned and sent from God, whose name was [d]John.(C) 7 This man came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe [in Christ, the Light] through him. 8 John was not the Light, but came to testify about the Light.
9 There it was—the true Light [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone.(D) 10 He (Christ) was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. 11 He came to that which was His own [that which belonged to Him—His world, His creation, His possession], and those who were His own [people—the Jewish nation] did not receive and welcome Him. 12 But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name—(E) 13 who were born, not of blood [natural conception], nor of the will of the flesh [physical impulse], nor of the will of man [that of a natural father], but of God [that is, a divine and supernatural birth—they are born of God—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified].
The Word Made Flesh
14 And the Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception).(F)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- John 1:1 In John the Apostle’s vision (Rev 19), he sees Christ returning as Warrior-Messiah-King, and “...His name is called The Word of God...and LORD OF LORDS.” (Rev 19:13, 16).
- John 1:1 In this phrase, “God” appears first in the Greek word order, emphasizing the fact that “the Word” (Christ) was God—so “God Himself.”
- John 1:5 I.e. the world immersed in sin: all that stands in opposition to God and biblical truth.
- John 1:6 The births of both John the Baptist and Jesus were foretold by the angel, Gabriel (Luke 1:5-80). This passage is about John the Baptist, the son of Zacharias the priest and his wife, Elizabeth. Elizabeth was related to Mary the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:36). John the Baptist is considered to be the last of the OT prophets, and is not to be confused with John the Apostle who wrote this Gospel, three brief letters (1 John, 2 John, 3 John) and Revelation.
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