Deuteronomy 6:1–25

The Greatest Commandment

6“This is the command—the statutes and ordinances—the Lord your God has instructed me to teach you, so that you may follow them in the land you are about to enter and possess. ^w2Do this so that you may fear ^xthe Lord your God ^yall the days of your life ^zby keeping all His statutes and commands I am giving you, your son, and your grandson, and so that you may have a long life. ^a3Listen, Israel, and be careful to follow them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly, because Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey. ^b

⁴“Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. ^cd5Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. ^e6These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. ^f7Repeat them to your children. ^gTalk 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 ^hon your forehead. ^ij9Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Remembering God through Obedience

¹⁰“When the Lord your God brings you into the land He swore to your fathers 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, wells dug that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant ^k—and when you eat and are satisfied, ^l12be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. ^m13Fear Yahweh your God, worship Him, and take your oaths in His name. ⁿ¹⁴Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you, ¹⁵for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. ^oOtherwise, the Lord your God will become angry with you and wipe you off the face of the earth. ¹⁶Do not test ^pthe Lord your God as you tested Him at Massah. ^q17Carefully observe the commands of the Lord your God, the decrees and statutes He has commanded you. ¹⁸Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that you may prosper and so that you may enter and possess the good land ^rthe Lord your God swore to give your fathers, ^s19by driving out all your enemies before you, as the Lord has said. ^t

²⁰“When your son asks you in the future, ‘What is the meaning ^uof the decrees, statutes, and ordinances, which the Lord our God has commanded you?’ ²¹tell him, ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand. ^v22Before our eyes the Lord inflicted great and devastating signs and wonders on Egypt, ^won Pharaoh, and on all his household, ²³but He brought us from there in order to lead us in and give us the land that He swore to our fathers. ²⁴The Lord commanded us to follow all these statutes and to fear the Lord our God for our prosperity always and for our preservation, as it is today. ²⁵Righteousness will be ours if we are careful to follow every one of these commands before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.’