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Deuteronomy 6
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]

Exhortation to Obey the Lord Exclusively

16 You must not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.[t] 17 Keep his[u] commandments very carefully,[v] as well as the stipulations and statutes he commanded you to observe. 18 Do whatever is proper[w] and good before the Lord so that it may go well with you and that you may enter and occupy the good land that he[x] promised your ancestors, 19 and that you may drive out all your enemies just as the Lord said.

Exhortation to Remember the Past

20 When your children[y] ask you later on, “What are the stipulations, statutes, and ordinances that the Lord our God commanded you?” 21 you must say to them,[z] “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt in a powerful way.[aa] 22 And he[ab] brought signs and great, devastating wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on his whole family[ac] before our very eyes. 23 He delivered us from there so that he could give us the land he had promised our ancestors. 24 The Lord commanded us to obey all these statutes and to revere him[ad] so that it may always go well for us and he may preserve us, as he has to this day. 25 We will be innocent if we carefully keep all these commandments[ae] before the Lord our God, just as he demands.”[af]

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.”
  20. Deuteronomy 6:16 sn The place name Massah (מַסָּה, massah) derives from a root (נָסָה, nasah) meaning “to test; to try.” The reference here is to the experience in the Sinai desert when Moses struck the rock to obtain water (Exod 17:1-2). The complaining Israelites had, thus, “tested” the Lord, a wickedness that gave rise to the naming of the place (Exod 17:7; cf. Deut 9:22; 33:8).
  21. Deuteronomy 6:17 tn Heb “the commandments of the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
  22. Deuteronomy 6:17 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute before the finite verb to emphasize the statement. The imperfect verbal form is used here with an obligatory nuance that can be captured in English through the imperative. Cf. NASB, NRSV “diligently keep (obey NLT).”
  23. Deuteronomy 6:18 tn Heb “upright.”
  24. Deuteronomy 6:18 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on the word “his” in v. 17.
  25. Deuteronomy 6:20 tn Heb “your son.”
  26. Deuteronomy 6:21 tn Heb “to your son.”
  27. Deuteronomy 6:21 tn Heb “by a strong hand.” The image is that of a warrior who, with weapon in hand, overcomes his enemies. The Lord is commonly depicted as a divine warrior in the Book of Deuteronomy (cf. 5:15; 7:8; 9:26; 26:8).
  28. Deuteronomy 6:22 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on the word “his” in v. 17.
  29. Deuteronomy 6:22 tn Heb “house,” referring to the entire household.
  30. Deuteronomy 6:24 tn Heb “the Lord our God.” See note on the word “his” in v. 17.
  31. Deuteronomy 6:25 tn The term “commandment” (מִצְוָה, mitsvah), here in the singular, refers to the entire body of covenant stipulations.
  32. Deuteronomy 6:25 tn Heb “as he has commanded us” (so NIV, NRSV).
Close DRA

Deuteronomy 6
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition

6 These are the precepts, and ceremonies, and judgments, which the Lord your God commanded that I should teach you, and that you should do them in the land into which you pass over to possess it:

2 That thou mayst fear the Lord thy God, and keep all his commandments and precepts, which I command thee, and thy sons, and thy grandsons, all the days of thy life, that thy days may be prolonged.

3 Hear, O Israel, and observe to do the things which the Lord hath commanded thee, that it may be well with thee, and thou mayst be greatly multiplied, as the Lord the God of thy fathers hath promised thee a land flowing with milk and honey.

4 Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.

5 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength.

6 And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart:

7 And thou shalt tell them to thy children, and thou shalt meditate upon them sitting in thy house, and walking on thy journey, sleeping and rising.

8 And thou shalt bind them as a sign on thy hand, and they shall be and shall move between thy eyes.

9 And thou shalt write them in the entry, and on the doors of thy house.

10 And when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land, for which he swore to thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: and shall have given thee great and goodly cities, which thou didst not build,

11 Houses full of riches, which thou didst not set up, cisterns which thou didst not dig, vineyards and oliveyards, which thou didst not plant,

12 And thou shalt have eaten and be full:

13 Take heed diligently lest thou forget the Lord, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and shalt serve him only, and thou shalt swear by his name.

14 You shall not go after the strange gods of all the nations, that are round about you:

15 Because the Lord thy God is a jealous God in the midst of thee: lest at any time the wrath of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and take thee away from the face of the earth.

16 Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, as thou temptedst him in the place of temptation.

17 Keep the precepts of the Lord thy God, and the testimonies and ceremonies which he hath commanded thee.

18 And do that which is pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with thee: and going in thou mayst possess the goodly land, concerning which the Lord swore to thy fathers,

19 That he would destroy all thy enemies before thee, as he hath spoken.

20 And when thy son shall ask thee to morrow, saying: What mean these testimonies, and ceremonies and judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded us?

21 Thou shalt say to him: We were bondmen of Pharao in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand.

22 And he wrought signs and wonders great and very grievous in Egypt against Pharao, and all his house, in our sight,

23 And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in and give us the land, concerning which he swore to our fathers.

24 And the Lord commanded that we should do all these ordinances, and should fear the Lord our God, that it might be well with us all the days of our life, as it is at this day.

25 And he will be merciful to us, if we keep and do all his precepts before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.

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