Deuteronomy 6
Expanded Bible
The Command to Love God
6 These are the commands, ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements], and laws that the Lord your God told me to teach you to obey in the land you are crossing the Jordan River to ·take [possess]. 2 You, your children, and your grandchildren must ·respect [fear] the Lord your God ·as long as you live [L all the days of your life]. Obey all his ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and commands I give you so that ·you will live a long time [L your days will be long]. 3 Listen, Israel, and carefully obey these laws. Then all will go well for you, and you will become a great nation in a ·fertile land [L land flowing with milk and honey; Ex. 3:8], just as the Lord, the God of your ·ancestors [fathers], has promised you [Gen. 12:1–3; 15:17–20].
4 ·Listen, people of [T Hear, O] Israel! The Lord our God is the ·only [or one] Lord. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 Always ·remember [L keep in your heart] these commands I give you today. 7 ·Teach [Recite; Repeat] them to your children, and talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 ·Write them down and tie [L Bind] them to your hands as a sign. Tie them ·on your forehead [L between your eyes] ·to remind you [as an emblem/headband/frontlet], 9 and write them on ·your doors [L the lintels/doorposts of your house] and gates.
10 The Lord your God will bring you into the land he promised to your ·ancestors [fathers], to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he will give it to you [Gen. 12:1–3; 15:17–20]. The land has large, ·growing [L good; fine] cities you did not build, 11 houses full of good things you did not ·buy [L fill], ·wells [cisterns] you did not dig, and 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, who brought you out of the land of Egypt ·where you were slaves [L from the house of bondage].
13 ·Respect [Fear] the Lord your God. You must ·worship [serve] him and make your ·promises [oaths; vows] only in his name. 14 Do not ·worship [L go after] other gods as the people around you do, 15 because the Lord your God is a jealous God [4:24]. He is present with you, and if you worship other gods, he will become angry with you and destroy you from the earth. 16 Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah [Ex. 17:1–7; Ps. 95:8; Matt. 4:7]. 17 Be sure to obey the commands of the Lord your God and the ·rules [statutes; requirements; ordinances] and laws he has given you. 18 Do what ·the Lord says is good and right [L is good and right in the Lord’s eyes] so that things will go well for you. Then you may go in and ·take [possess] the good land the Lord promised to your ·ancestors [fathers; Gen. 12:1–3; 15:17–20]. 19 He will force all your enemies out as you go in, as the Lord has said.
20 In the future when your children ask you, “What is the meaning of the laws, ·commands [statutes; ordinances; requirements], and rules the Lord our God gave us?” 21 tell them, “We were slaves to the king of Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt ·by his great power [L with a strong hand]. 22 The Lord showed us great and terrible signs and miracles, which he did to Egypt, the king, and his whole ·family [L house]. 23 The Lord brought us out of Egypt to lead us here and to give us the land he promised our ·ancestors [fathers; Gen. 12:1–3; 15:17–20]. 24 The Lord ordered us to obey all these ·commands [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and to ·respect [fear] the Lord our God so that 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, as he has commanded.”
Deuteronomy 6
Legacy Standard Bible
The Commandment to Love Yahweh
6 “Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments, which Yahweh your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do it in the land where you are going over to possess it, 2 so that you and your son and your grandson might (A)fear Yahweh your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I am commanding you, (B)all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. 3 O Israel, you shall listen and [a]be careful to do it, that (C)it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in (D)a land flowing with milk and honey.
4 “(E)Hear, O Israel! [b]Yahweh is our God, (F)Yahweh is one! 5 (G)You shall love Yahweh your God (H)with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 (I)These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 (J)You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 (K)You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as [c]phylacteries between your eyes. 9 (L)You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
10 “Then it will be, when Yahweh your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you, (M)great and good cities which you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and (N)you will eat and be satisfied, 12 then beware, lest (O)you forget Yahweh who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of [d]slavery. 13 (P)Yahweh your God you shall [e]fear; and Him you shall serve; and by His name you shall (Q)swear. 14 (R)You shall not walk after other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, 15 for Yahweh your God in the midst of you is a (S)jealous God—lest the anger of Yahweh your God be kindled against you, and He destroy you from the face of the earth.
16 “(T)You shall not put Yahweh your God to the test, (U)as you tested Him at Massah. 17 (V)You should diligently keep the commandments of Yahweh your God and His testimonies and His statutes which He has commanded you. 18 And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of Yahweh, that (W)it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which Yahweh swore to give your fathers, 19 by driving out all your enemies from before you, as Yahweh has spoken.
20 “(X)When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What do the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments mean which Yahweh our God commanded you?’ 21 then you shall say to your son, ‘We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and Yahweh brought us from Egypt with a strong hand. 22 Moreover, Yahweh showed great and calamitous signs and wonders before our eyes against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household; 23 but He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He had sworn to our fathers.’ 24 So Yahweh commanded us to do all these statutes, (Y)to fear Yahweh our God for our good all our days and (Z)for our survival, as it is today. 25 (AA)And it will be righteousness for us if we [f]are careful to do all this commandment before Yahweh our God, just as He commanded us.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 6:3 Lit keep
- Deuteronomy 6:4 Or Yahweh our God is one Yahweh, Yahweh our God, Yahweh is unique; cf. Mark 12:29
- Deuteronomy 6:8 Or frontlet bands
- Deuteronomy 6:12 Lit slaves
- Deuteronomy 6:13 Or reverence
- Deuteronomy 6:25 Lit keep
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