Passage

Deuteronomy 6

Book: Deuteronomy · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. Now this is the commandment, the statutes, and the ordinances, which Jehovah your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it; 2. that thou mightest fear Jehovah thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. 3. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as Jehovah, the God of thy fathers, hath promised unto thee, in a land flowing with milk and honey. 4. Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah: 5. and thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart; 7. and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes. 9. And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates. 10. And it shall be, when Jehovah thy God shall bring thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee, great and goodly cities, which thou buildest not, 11. and houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and cisterns hewn out, which thou hewedst not, vineyards and olive-trees, which thou plantedst not, and thou shalt eat and be full; 12. then beware lest thou forget Jehovah, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 13. Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God; and him shalt thou serve, and shalt swear by his name. 14. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples that are round about you; 15. for Jehovah thy God in the midst of thee is a jealous God; lest the anger of Jehovah thy God be kindled against thee, and he destroy thee from off the face of the earth. 16. Ye shall not tempt Jehovah your God, as ye tempted him in Massah. 17. Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of Jehovah your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee. 18. And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of Jehovah; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which Jehovah sware unto thy fathers, 19. to thrust out all thine enemies from before thee, as Jehovah hath spoken. 20. When thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Jehovah our God hath commanded you? 21. then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt: and Jehovah brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; 22. and Jehovah showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his house, before our eyes; 23. and he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers. 24. And Jehovah commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear Jehovah our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as at this day. 25. And it shall be righteousness unto us, if we observe to do all this commandment before Jehovah our God, as he hath commanded us." (Deuteronomy 6:1-25, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Now this is the commandment, the statutes, and the ordinances, which Yahweh your God commanded to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you go over to possess it; 2. that you might fear Yahweh your God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you; you, and your son, and your son’s son, all the days of your life; and that your days may be prolonged. 3. Hear therefore, Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with you, and that you may increase mightily, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised to you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. 4. Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one. 5. You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. 6. These words, which I command you today, shall be on your heart; 7. and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk 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. You shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. 9. You shall write them on the door posts of your house, and on your gates. 10. It shall 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, great and goodly cities, which you didn’t build, 11. and houses full of all good things, which you didn’t fill, and cisterns dug out, which you didn’t dig, vineyards and olive trees, which you didn’t plant, and you shall eat and be full; 12. then beware lest you forget Yahweh, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 13. You shall fear Yahweh your God; and you shall serve him, and shall swear by his name. 14. You shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples who are around you; 15. for Yahweh your God among you is a jealous God; lest the anger of Yahweh your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth. 16. You shall not tempt Yahweh your God, as you tempted him in Massah. 17. You shall diligently keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he has commanded you. 18. You shall do that which is right and good in Yahweh’s sight; that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, 19. to thrust out all your enemies from before you, as Yahweh has spoken. 20. When your son asks you in time to come, saying, “What do the testimonies, the statutes, and the ordinances, which Yahweh our God has commanded you mean?” 21. then you shall tell your son, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; 22. and Yahweh showed great and awesome signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his house, before our eyes; 23. and he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he swore to our fathers. 24. Yahweh commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear Yahweh our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are today. 25. It shall be righteousness to us, if we observe to do all this commandment before Yahweh our God, as he has commanded us.”" (Deuteronomy 6:1-25, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: ^{go: Heb. pass over} 2. That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. 3. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. 4. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5. And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. ^{teach: Heb. whet, or, sharpen} 8. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. 10. And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, 11. And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; 12. Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. ^{bondage: Heb. bondmen or, servants} 13. Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. 14. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; 15. (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth. 16. Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah. 17. Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee. 18. And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, 19. To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken. 20. And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you? ^{in: Heb. to morrow} 21. Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: 22. And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes: ^{sore: Heb. evil} 23. And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers. 24. And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. 25. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us." (Deuteronomy 6:1-25, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. 'And this [is] the command, the statutes and the judgments which Jehovah your God hath commanded to teach you, to do in the land which ye are passing over thither to possess it, 2. so that thou dost fear Jehovah thy God, to keep all His statutes and His commands, which I am commanding thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all days of thy life, and so that thy days are prolonged. 3. 'And thou hast heard, O Israel, and observed to do, that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest multiply exceedingly, as Jehovah, God of thy fathers, hath spoken to thee, [in] the land flowing with milk and honey. 4. 'Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God [is] one Jehovah; 5. and thou hast loved Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might, 6. and these words which I am commanding thee to-day have been on thine heart, 7. and thou hast repeated them to thy sons, and spoken of them in thy sitting in thine house, and in thy walking in the way, and in thy lying down, and in thy rising up, 8. and hast bound them for a sign upon thy hand, and they have been for frontlets between thine eyes, 9. and thou hast written them on door-posts of thy house, and on thy gates. 10. 'And it hath been, when Jehovah thy God doth bring thee in unto the land which He hath sworn to thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to thee, cities great and good, which thou hast not built, 11. and houses full of all good things which thou hast not filled, and wells digged which thou hast not digged, vineyards and olive-yards which thou hast not planted, and thou hast eaten, and been satisfied; 12. 'Take heed to thyself lest thou forget Jehovah who hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of servants; 13. Jehovah thy God thou dost fear, and Him thou dost serve, and by His name thou dost swear; 14. ye do not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples who [are] round about you; 15. for a zealous God [is] Jehovah thy God in thy midst, lest the anger of Jehovah thy God burn against thee, and He hath destroyed thee from off the face of the ground. 16. 'Ye do not try Jehovah your God as ye tried in Massah; 17. ye do diligently keep the commands of Jehovah your God, and His testimonies, and His statutes which He hath commanded thee, 18. and thou hast done that which is right and good in the eyes of Jehovah, so that it is well with thee, and thou hast gone in and possessed the good land which Jehovah hath sworn to thy fathers, 19. to drive away all thine enemies from thy presence, as Jehovah hath spoken. 20. 'When thy son asketh thee hereafter, saying, What [are] the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Jehovah our God hath commanded you? 21. then thou hast said to thy son, Servants we have been to Pharaoh in Egypt, and Jehovah bringeth us out of Egypt by a high hand; 22. and Jehovah giveth signs and wonders, great and sad, on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his house, before our eyes; 23. and us He hath brought out thence, in order to bring us in, to give to us the land which He had sworn to our fathers. 24. And Jehovah commandeth us to do all these statutes, to fear Jehovah our God, for good to ourselves all the days, to keep us alive, as [at] this day; 25. and righteousness it is for us, when we observe to do all this command before Jehovah our God, as He hath commanded us." (Deuteronomy 6:1-25, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.