Text -- Deuteronomy 6:18-25 (NET)

6:18 Do whatever is proper and good before the Lord so that it may go well with you and that you may enter and occupy the good land that he promised your ancestors, 6:19 and that you may drive out all your enemies just as the Lord said.

Exhortation to Remember the Past

6:20 When your children ask you later on, “What are the stipulations, statutes, and ordinances that the Lord our God commanded you?” 6:21 you must say to them, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt in a powerful way. 6:22 And he brought signs and great, devastating wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on his whole family 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 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 before the Lord our God, just as he demands.”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Deu 6:18

¹ tn Heb “upright.”

² tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on the word “his” in v. 17.

NET Notes: Deu 6:20

¹ tn Heb “your son.”

NET Notes: Deu 6:21

¹ tn Heb “to your son.”

² 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).

NET Notes: Deu 6:22

¹ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on the word “his” in v. 17.

² tn Heb “house,” referring to the entire household.

NET Notes: Deu 6:24

¹ tn Heb “the Lord our God.” See note on the word “his” in v. 17.

NET Notes: Deu 6:25

¹ tn The term “commandment” (מִצְוָה, mitsvah), here in the singular, refers to the entire body of covenant stipulations.

² tn Heb “as he has commanded us” (so NIV, NRSV).