Font Size
Deuteronomy 6-8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Deuteronomy 6-8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Great Commandment
6 “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the ordinances—that the Lord your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, 2 so that you and your children and your children’s children may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long.(A) 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you.(B)
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.[a](C) 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.(D) 6 Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7 Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.(E) 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem[b] on your forehead,(F) 9 and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.(G)
Caution against Disobedience
10 “When the Lord your God has brought you into the land that he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—a land with fine, large cities that you did not build,(H) 11 houses filled with all sorts of goods that you did not fill, hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you have eaten your fill,(I) 12 take care that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13 The Lord your God you shall fear, him you shall serve, and by his name alone you shall swear.(J) 14 Do not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who are all around you, 15 because the Lord your God, who is present with you, is a jealous God. The anger of the Lord your God would be kindled against you and he would destroy you from the face of the earth.(K)
16 “Do not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.(L) 17 You must diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his decrees and his statutes that he has commanded you.(M) 18 Do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, so that it may go well with you and so that you may go in and occupy the good land that the Lord swore to your ancestors,(N) 19 thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has promised.
20 “When your children ask you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the decrees and the statutes and the ordinances that the Lord our God has commanded you?’(O) 21 then you shall say to your children, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 The Lord displayed before our eyes great and awesome signs and wonders against Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his household. 23 He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land that he promised on oath to our ancestors. 24 Then the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our lasting good, so as to keep us alive, as is now the case.(P) 25 If we diligently observe this entire commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, we will be in the right.’(Q)
A Chosen People
7 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are about to enter and occupy and he clears away many nations before you—the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than you(R)— 2 and when the Lord your God gives them over to you and you defeat them, then you must utterly destroy them. Make no covenant with them and show them no mercy.(S) 3 Do not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons,(T) 4 for that would turn away your children from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.(U) 5 But this is how you must deal with them: break down their altars, smash their pillars, cut down their sacred poles,[c] and burn their idols with fire.(V) 6 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to be his people, his treasured possession.(W)
7 “It was not because you were more numerous than any other people that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples.(X) 8 It was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath that he swore to your ancestors that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.(Y) 9 Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,(Z) 10 and who repays in their own person those who reject him. He does not delay but repays in their own person those who reject him. 11 Therefore, observe diligently the commandment—the statutes and the ordinances—that I am commanding you today.
Blessings for Obedience
12 “If you heed these ordinances by diligently observing them, the Lord your God will maintain with you the covenant loyalty that he swore to your ancestors;(AA) 13 he will love you, bless you, and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock, in the land that he swore to your ancestors to give you.(AB) 14 You shall be the most blessed of peoples, with neither sterility nor barrenness among you or your livestock.(AC) 15 The Lord will turn away from you every illness; all the dread diseases of Egypt that you experienced, he will not inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you.(AD) 16 You shall devour all the peoples that the Lord your God is giving over to you, showing them no pity; you shall not serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.(AE)
17 “If you say to yourself, ‘These nations are more numerous than I; how can I dispossess them?’ 18 do not be afraid of them. Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt,(AF) 19 the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.(AG) 20 Moreover, the Lord your God will send swarms of hornets[d] against them until even the survivors and the fugitives are destroyed.(AH) 21 Have no dread of them, for the Lord your God, who is present with you, is a great and awesome God.(AI) 22 The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to make a quick end of them, otherwise the wild animals would become too numerous for you.(AJ) 23 But the Lord your God will give them over to you and throw them into great panic until they are destroyed. 24 He will hand their kings over to you, and you shall blot out their name from under heaven; no one will be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them.(AK) 25 The images of their gods you shall burn with fire. Do not covet the silver or the gold that is on them and take it for yourself, because you could be ensnared by it, for it is abhorrent to the Lord your God.(AL) 26 Do not bring an abhorrent thing into your house, or you will be set apart for destruction like it. You must utterly detest and abhor it, for it is set apart for destruction.
A Warning Not to Forget God in Prosperity
8 “The entire commandment that I command you today you must diligently observe, so that you may live and increase and go in and occupy the land that the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors.(AM) 2 Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments.(AN) 3 He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.(AO) 4 The clothes on your back did not wear out, and your feet did not swell these forty years.(AP) 5 Know, then, in your heart that, as a parent disciplines a child, so the Lord your God disciplines you.(AQ) 6 Therefore keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him.(AR) 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills,(AS) 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey, 9 a land where you may eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron and from whose hills you may mine copper. 10 You shall eat your fill and bless the Lord your God for the good land that he has given you.(AT)
11 “Take care that you do not forget the Lord your God by failing to keep his commandments, his ordinances, and his statutes that I am commanding you today. 12 When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them 13 and when your herds and flocks have multiplied and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,(AU) 15 who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, an arid wasteland with poisonous[e] snakes and scorpions. He made water flow for you from flint rock.(AV) 16 He fed you in the wilderness with manna that your ancestors did not know, to humble you and to test you and in the end to do you good.(AW) 17 Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today.(AX) 19 If you do forget the Lord your God and follow other gods to serve and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish.(AY) 20 Like the nations that the Lord is destroying before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 6-8
New International Version
Deuteronomy 6-8
New International Version
Love the Lord Your God
6 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear(A) the Lord your God as long as you live(B) by keeping all his decrees and commands(C) that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.(D) 3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey(E) so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly(F) in a land flowing with milk and honey,(G) just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised(H) you.
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a](I) 5 Love(J) the Lord your God with all your heart(K) and with all your soul and with all your strength.(L) 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.(M) 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.(N) 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.(O) 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.(P)
10 When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build,(Q) 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig,(R) and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied,(S) 12 be careful that you do not forget(T) the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
13 Fear the Lord(U) your God, serve him only(V) and take your oaths(W) in his name.(X) 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the Lord your God(Y), who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. 16 Do not put the Lord your God to the test(Z) as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to keep(AA) the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you.(AB) 18 Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight,(AC) so that it may go well(AD) with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, 19 thrusting out all your enemies(AE) before you, as the Lord said.
20 In the future, when your son asks you,(AF) “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?” 21 tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.(AG) 22 Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders—great and terrible—on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. 23 But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors. 24 The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God,(AH) so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today.(AI) 25 And if we are careful to obey all this law(AJ) before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.(AK)”
Driving Out the Nations
7 When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess(AL) and drives out before you many nations(AM)—the Hittites,(AN) Girgashites,(AO) Amorites,(AP) Canaanites, Perizzites,(AQ) Hivites(AR) and Jebusites,(AS) seven nations larger and stronger than you— 2 and when the Lord your God has delivered(AT) them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy(AU) them totally.[b](AV) Make no treaty(AW) with them, and show them no mercy.(AX) 3 Do not intermarry with them.(AY) Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods,(AZ) and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy(BA) you. 5 This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles[c](BB) and burn their idols in the fire.(BC) 6 For you are a people holy(BD) to the Lord your God.(BE) The Lord your God has chosen(BF) you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.(BG)
7 The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous(BH) than other peoples, for you were the fewest(BI) of all peoples.(BJ) 8 But it was because the Lord loved(BK) you and kept the oath he swore(BL) to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand(BM) and redeemed(BN) you from the land of slavery,(BO) from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God;(BP) he is the faithful God,(BQ) keeping his covenant of love(BR) to a thousand generations(BS) of those who love him and keep his commandments.(BT) 10 But
those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction;
he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.(BU)
11 Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.
12 If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your ancestors.(BV) 13 He will love you and bless you(BW) and increase your numbers.(BX) He will bless the fruit of your womb,(BY) the crops of your land—your grain, new wine(BZ) and olive oil(CA)—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.(CB) 14 You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor will any of your livestock be without young.(CC) 15 The Lord will keep you free from every disease.(CD) He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt,(CE) but he will inflict them on all who hate you.(CF) 16 You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God gives over to you.(CG) Do not look on them with pity(CH) and do not serve their gods,(CI) for that will be a snare(CJ) to you.
17 You may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?(CK)” 18 But do not be afraid(CL) of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.(CM) 19 You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand(CN) and outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear.(CO) 20 Moreover, the Lord your God will send the hornet(CP) among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished. 21 Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you,(CQ) is a great and awesome God.(CR) 22 The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little.(CS) You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. 23 But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed.(CT) 24 He will give their kings(CU) into your hand,(CV) and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you;(CW) you will destroy them.(CX) 25 The images of their gods you are to burn(CY) in the fire. Do not covet(CZ) the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared(DA) by it, for it is detestable(DB) to the Lord your God. 26 Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction.(DC) Regard it as vile and utterly detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.
Do Not Forget the Lord
8 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live(DD) and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors.(DE) 2 Remember how the Lord your God led(DF) you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test(DG) you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled(DH) you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna,(DI) which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach(DJ) you that man does not live on bread(DK) alone but on every word that comes from the mouth(DL) of the Lord.(DM) 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.(DN) 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.(DO)
6 Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him(DP) and revering him.(DQ) 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land(DR)—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills;(DS) 8 a land with wheat and barley,(DT) vines(DU) and fig trees,(DV) pomegranates, olive oil and honey;(DW) 9 a land where bread(DX) will not be scarce and you will lack nothing;(DY) a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.(DZ)
10 When you have eaten and are satisfied,(EA) praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget(EB) the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down,(EC) 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget(ED) the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness,(EE) that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes(EF) and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock.(EG) 16 He gave you manna(EH) to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known,(EI) to humble and test(EJ) you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself,(EK) “My power and the strength of my hands(EL) have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth,(EM) and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
19 If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods(EN) and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.(EO) 20 Like the nations(EP) the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.(EQ)
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 6:4 Or The Lord our God is one Lord; or The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; or The Lord is our God, the Lord alone
- Deuteronomy 7:2 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 26.
- Deuteronomy 7:5 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in Deuteronomy
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.