Old Testament · Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 6

The Greatest Commandment

(Matthew 22:34–40; Mark 12:28–34)

1And this is the commandment^a, the statutes^b and the judgments^c, which the LORD your God commanded^d to teach you, to do in the land where you are crossing over to possess it, 2so that you may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes^e and His commandments which I am commanding you, you, and your son, and your son's son, all the days of your life^f; and so that your days may be prolonged. 3And you shall hear, O Israel, and you shall keep to do, that it may be well for you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD the God of your fathers spoke to you — a land flowing with milk and honey.

4Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD one. 5And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul^g and with all your might.

6And these words, which I am commanding you this day, shall be upon your heart; 7And you shall teach them diligently to your sons, and you shall speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk in the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8And you shall bind them for a sign^h upon your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. 9And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

10And it shall be, when the LORD your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to you — great and good cities which you did not build, 11and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not hew, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant — and you shall eat and be satisfied — 12beware for yourself, lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves.

13The LORD your God you shall fear, and Him you shall serveⁱ, and by His name you shall swear. 14You shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples who are around you; 15for a jealous God^j is the LORD your God in your midst; lest the anger of the LORD your God be kindled against you, and He destroy you from upon the face of the ground^k.

16You shall not test the LORD your God, as you tested Him in Massah. 17You shall surely keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and His testimonies and His statutes which He commanded you. 18And you shall do the right and the good in the eyes of the LORD, so that it may be well for you, and you may go in and possess the good land which the LORD swore to your fathers, 19to thrust out all your enemies from before you, as the LORD spoke.

Teach Your Children

20When your son asks you tomorrow, saying: What are the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments which the LORD our God commanded you? 21then you shall say to your son: We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the LORD brought us out from Egypt with a strong hand; 22And the LORD gave signs and wonders^l, great and grievous, in Egypt, upon Pharaoh and upon all his house, before our eyes; 23And He brought us out from there, so that He might bring us in, to give to us the land which He swore to our fathers.

24And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for good for us all the days, to keep us alive, as it is this day. 25And it shall be righteousness for us, if we keep to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as He commanded us.