Deuteronomy 6:1–15

THE GREATEST COMMAND

6“This is the command—the statutes and ordinances—the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you, so that you may follow them in the land you are about to enter and possess.^{b 2}Do this so that you may fear^c the Lord your God^d all the days of your life^e by keeping all his statutes and commands I am giving you, your son, and your grandson, and so that you may have a long life.^{f 3}Listen, Israel, and be careful to follow them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly, because the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey.^g

⁴“Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^{Bh 5}Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.^{i 6}These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.^{j 7}Repeat them to your children.^k Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead.^{Dl 9}Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.

REMEMBERING GOD THROUGH OBEDIENCE

¹⁰“When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he would give you—a land with large and beautiful cities that you did not build, ¹¹houses full of every good thing that you did not fill them with, cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant^m—and when you eat and are satisfied,^{n 12}be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.^{o 13}Fear the Lord your God, worship him, and take your oaths in his name.^{p 14}Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you, ¹⁵for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God.^q Otherwise, the Lord your God will become angry with you and obliterate you from the face of the earth.