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Pentateuch · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Deuteronomy 6

Moses renews the covenant and calls Israel to remember, love, and obey God.

Old Testament

Deuteronomy 6

1Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that you might do them in the land that you go over to possess;

2that you might fear the LORD your God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you—you, your son, and your son’s son, all the days of your life; and that your days may be prolonged.

3Hear therefore, Israel, and observe to do it, that it may be well with you, and that you may increase mightily, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised to you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

4Hear, Israel: The LORD is our God. The LORD is one.

5You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.

6These words, which I command you today, shall be on your heart;

7and 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.

8You shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.

9You shall write them on the door posts of your house and on your gates.

10It 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 you, great and goodly cities which you didn’t build,

11and 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;

12then beware lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

13You shall fear the LORD your God; and you shall serve him, and shall swear by his name.

14You shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples who are around you,

15for the LORD your God among you is a jealous God, lest the anger of the LORD your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.

16You shall not tempt the LORD your God, as you tempted him in Massah.

17You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he has commanded you.

18You shall do that which is right and good in the LORD’s sight, that it may be well with you and that 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 has spoken.

20When your son asks you in time to come, saying, “What do the testimonies, the statutes, and the ordinances, which the LORD our God has commanded you mean?”

21then you shall tell your son, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand;

22and the LORD showed great and awesome signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his house, before our eyes;

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

24The 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 we are today.

25It shall be righteousness to us, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.”

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Moses renews the covenant and calls Israel to remember, love, and obey God. Read Deuteronomy 6 within the complete Deuteronomy overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Deuteronomy 6

Deuteronomy 6 contains 25 verses and about 622 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that you might do them in the land that you go over to…” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 25 closes: “It shall be righteousness to us, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.”” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include land, statutes, commanded, might, commandments, fathers. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Deuteronomy 6

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Deuteronomy 6:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

Start with prayer