Deuteronomy 6
Big idea: The book's centre. Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God; Yahweh is one — and you shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. What follows is not a programme of religious instruction but a description of ordinary life: these words shall be on your heart, taught diligently to your children, talked of when you sit in your house, walk by the way, lie down and rise up; bound on your hand, between your eyes, written on your doorposts and gates. Then the danger, named immediately: when you come into cities you didn't build, houses you didn't fill, cisterns you didn't dig, vineyards you didn't plant — and you eat and are full — then beware lest you forget. And when your son asks what all this means, the answer is a story: we were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt.
Chapter 6 says love him with everything, because he brought you out. Chapter 7 explains why he set his love on you in the first place.
6:1–9 — Hear, O Israel
These are the commandments Yahweh your God commanded to teach you, that you might do them in the land you go over to possess — that you might fear Yahweh your God, keeping all his statutes, you, your son and your son's son, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, Israel, and observe to do it, that it may be well with you and you may increase mightily, in a land flowing with milk and honey. Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one. You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. These words which I command you today shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
1 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances, which Yahweh your God commanded to teach you, that you might do them in the land that you go over to possess; 2 that you might fear Yahweh 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. 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.
6:10–19 — When you have eaten and are full
When Yahweh your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers — great and goodly cities which you didn't build, houses full of good things which you didn't fill, cisterns you didn't dig, vineyards and olive trees you didn't plant — and you eat and are full, then beware lest you forget Yahweh, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall fear Yahweh your God, serve him, and swear by his name. You shall not go after other gods of the peoples around you, for Yahweh your God among you is a jealous God, lest his anger be kindled and he destroy you from off the face of the earth. You shall not tempt Yahweh your God as you tempted him in Massah. Diligently keep his commandments, testimonies and statutes. Do what is right and good in Yahweh's sight, that it may be well with you and you may go in and possess the good land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, thrusting out all your enemies before you.
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.
6:20–25 — When your son asks you
When your son asks you in time to come, what do the testimonies, the statutes and the ordinances which Yahweh our God has commanded you mean? — then you shall tell your son: we were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt, and Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Yahweh showed great and awesome signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh and on all his house, before our eyes. He brought us out from there, that he might bring us in, to give us the land he swore to our fathers. 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. And it shall be righteousness to us, if we observe to do all these commandments before Yahweh our God, as he has commanded us.
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 these commandments before Yahweh our God, as he has commanded us.”
Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain).