Deuteronomy 4:29

4:29 But if you seek the Lord your God from there, you will find him, if, indeed, you seek him with all your heart and soul. ¹ 

Deuteronomy 6:5-6

6:5 You must love ²  the Lord your God with your whole mind, ³  your whole being, ⁴  and all your strength. ⁵ 

Exhortation to Teach the Covenant Principles

6:6 These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind,

Deuteronomy 10:12

An Exhortation to Love Both God and People

10:12 Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you except to revere him, ⁶  to obey all his commandments, ⁷  to love him, to serve him ⁸  with all your mind and being, ⁹ 

¹ tn Or “mind and being.” See Deut 6:5.

² tn The verb אָהַב (’ahav, “to love”) in this setting communicates not so much an emotional idea as one of covenant commitment. To love the Lord is to be absolutely loyal and obedient to him in every respect, a truth Jesus himself taught (cf. John 14:15). See also the note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37.

³ tn Heb “heart.” In OT physiology the heart (לֵב, לֵבָב; levav, lev) was considered the seat of the mind or intellect, so that one could think with one’s heart. See A. Luc, NIDOTTE 2:749-54.

⁴ tn Heb “soul”; “being.” Contrary to Hellenistic ideas of a soul that is discrete and separate from the body and spirit, OT anthropology equated the “soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) with the person himself. It is therefore best in most cases to translate נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) as “being” or the like. See H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 10-25; D. Fredericks, NIDOTTE 3:133-34.

⁵ sn For NT variations on the Shema see Matt 22:37-39; Mark 12:29-30; Luke 10:27.

⁶ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 10:4.

⁷ tn Heb “to walk in all his ways” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “follow his ways exactly”; NLT “to live according to his will.”

⁸ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 10:4.

⁹ tn Heb “heart and soul” or “heart and being”; NCV “with your whole being.” See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5.