1Now 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:6.1 go: Heb. pass over 2That 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.
4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7And 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.6.7 teach: Heb. whet, or, sharpen 8And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. 10And 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, 11And 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; 12Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.6.12 bondage: Heb. bondmen or, servants 13Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. 14Ye 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.
17Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee. 18And 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, 19To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken. 20And 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?6.20 in…: Heb. to morrow 21Then 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: 22And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:6.22 sore: Heb. evil 23And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers. 24And 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. 25And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.
Love the Lord Your God
1The Lord your God has directed me to teach you his commands, rules and laws. Obey them in the land you will take over when you go across the Jordan River. 2Then you, your children and their children after them will honor the Lord your God as long as you live. Obey all his rules and commands I’m giving you. If you do, you will enjoy long life. 3Israel, listen to me. Make sure you obey me. Then things will go well with you. The number of your people will increase greatly in a land that has plenty of milk and honey. That’s what the Lord, the God of your parents, promised you.
4Israel, listen to me. The Lord is our God. The Lord is the one and only God. 5Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your strength. 6The commandments I give you today must be in your hearts. 7Make sure your children learn them. Talk about them when you are at home. Talk about them when you walk along the road. Speak about them when you go to bed. And speak about them when you get up. 8Write them down and tie them on your hands as a reminder. Also tie them on your foreheads. 9Write them on the doorframes of your houses. Also write them on your gates.
10The Lord your God will bring you into the land of Canaan. He gave his word. He promised he would give the land to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The land has large, wealthy cities you didn’t build. 11It has houses filled with all kinds of good things you didn’t provide. The land has wells you didn’t dig. And it has vineyards and groves of olive trees you didn’t plant. You will have plenty to eat. 12But be careful that you don’t forget the Lord. Remember that he brought you out of Egypt. That’s the land where you were slaves.
13Worship the Lord your God. He is the only one you should serve. When you make promises, do so in his name. 14Don’t serve the gods of the nations around you. 15The Lord your God is among you. He wants you to worship only him. If you worship other gods, God will be very angry with you. And he will destroy you from the face of the land. 16Don’t test the Lord your God as you did at Massah. 17Be sure to obey the Lord’s commands. Obey the terms and rules he has given you. 18Do what is right and good in the Lord’s eyes. Then things will go well with you. You will go in and take over the land. It’s the good land the Lord promised to your people of long ago. 19You will drive out all your enemies to make room for you. That’s what the Lord said would happen.
20Later on, your child might ask you, “What is the meaning of the terms, rules and laws the Lord our God has commanded you to obey?” 21If they do ask you, tell them, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. But the Lord used his mighty hand to bring us out of Egypt. 22With our own eyes we saw the Lord send amazing signs. They were great and terrible. He sent them on Egypt and Pharaoh and everyone in his house. 23But the Lord brought us out of Egypt. He planned to bring us into the land of Canaan and give it to us. It’s the land he promised to our people of long ago. 24The Lord our God commanded us to obey all his rules. He commanded us to honor him. If we do, we will always succeed and be kept alive. That’s what is happening today. 25We must make sure we obey the whole law in the sight of the Lord our God. That’s what he has commanded us to do. If we obey his law, we’ll be doing what he requires of us.”
