Deuteronomy 6:1-2

Exhortation to Keep the Covenant Principles

6:1 Now these are the commandments, 1  statutes, and ordinances that the Lord your God instructed me to teach you so that you may carry them out in the land where you are headed 2  6:2 and that you may so revere the Lord your God that you will keep all his statutes and commandments 3  that I am giving 4  you – you, your children, and your grandchildren – all your lives, to prolong your days.

Deuteronomy 6:21-25

6:21 you must say to them, 5  “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt in a powerful way. 6  6:22 And he 7  brought signs and great, devastating wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on his whole family 8  before our very eyes. 6:23 He delivered us from there so that he could give us the land he had promised our ancestors. 6:24 The Lord commanded us to obey all these statutes and to revere him 9  so that it may always go well for us and he may preserve us, as he has to this day. 6:25 We will be innocent if we carefully keep all these commandments 10  before the Lord our God, just as he demands.” 11 

1 tn Heb “commandment.” The word מִצְוָה (mitsvah) again is in the singular, serving as a comprehensive term for the whole stipulation section of the book. See note on the word “commandments” in 5:31.

2 tn Heb “where you are going over to possess it” (so NASB); NRSV “that you are about to cross into and occupy.”

3 tn Here the terms are not the usual חֻקִּים (khuqqim) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim; as in v. 1) but חֻקֹּת (khuqqot, “statutes”) and מִצְוֹת (mitsot, “commandments”). It is clear that these terms are used interchangeably and that their technical precision ought not be overly stressed.

4 tn Heb “commanding.” For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation.

5 tn Heb “to your son.”

6 tn Heb “by a strong hand.” The image is that of a warrior who, with weapon in hand, overcomes his enemies. The Lord is commonly depicted as a divine warrior in the Book of Deuteronomy (cf. 5:15; 7:8; 9:26; 26:8).

7 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on the word “his” in v. 17.

8 tn Heb “house,” referring to the entire household.

9 tn Heb “the Lord our God.” See note on the word “his” in v. 17.

10 tn The term “commandment” (מִצְוָה, mitsvah), here in the singular, refers to the entire body of covenant stipulations.

11 tn Heb “as he has commanded us” (so NIV, NRSV).