Deuteronomy 4:1

The Privileges of the Covenant

4:1 Now, Israel, pay attention to the statutes and ordinances ¹  I am about to teach you, so that you might live and go on to enter and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, ²  is giving you.

Deuteronomy 4:6

4:6 So be sure to do them, because this will testify of your wise understanding ³  to the people who will learn of all these statutes and say, “Indeed, this great nation is a very wise ⁴  people.”

Deuteronomy 28:1-14

The Covenant Blessings

28:1 “If you indeed ⁵  obey the Lord your God and are careful to observe all his commandments I am giving ⁶  you today, the Lord your God will elevate you above all the nations of the earth. 28:2 All these blessings will come to you in abundance ⁷  if you obey the Lord your God: 28:3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the field. ⁸  28:4 Your children ⁹  will be blessed, as well as the produce of your soil, the offspring of your livestock, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks. 28:5 Your basket and your mixing bowl will be blessed. 28:6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. ¹⁰  28:7 The Lord will cause your enemies who attack ¹¹  you to be struck down before you; they will attack you from one direction ¹²  but flee from you in seven different directions. 28:8 The Lord will decree blessing for you with respect to your barns and in everything you do – yes, he will bless you in the land he ¹³  is giving you. 28:9 The Lord will designate you as his holy people just as he promised you, if you keep his commandments ¹⁴  and obey him. ¹⁵  28:10 Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you belong to the Lord, ¹⁶  and they will respect you. 28:11 The Lord will greatly multiply your children, ¹⁷  the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your soil in the land which he ¹⁸  promised your ancestors ¹⁹  he would give you. 28:12 The Lord will open for you his good treasure house, the heavens, to give you rain for the land in its season and to bless all you do; ²⁰  you will lend to many nations but you will not borrow from any. 28:13 The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always end up at the top and not at the bottom, if you obey his ²¹  commandments which I am urging ²²  you today to be careful to do. 28:14 But you must not turn away from all the commandments I am giving ²³  you today, to either the right or left, nor pursue other gods and worship ²⁴  them.

Leviticus 22:31

22:31 “You must be sure to do my commandments. ²⁵  I am the Lord.

Leviticus 26:1-13

Exhortation to Obedience

26:1 “‘You must not make for yourselves idols, ²⁶  so you must not set up for yourselves a carved image or a pillar, and you must not place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down before ²⁷  it, for I am the Lord your God. 26:2 You must keep my Sabbaths and reverence ²⁸  my sanctuary. I am the Lord.

The Benefits of Obedience

26:3 “‘If you walk in my statutes and are sure to obey my commandments, ²⁹  26:4 I will give you your rains in their time so that ³⁰  the land will give its yield and the trees of the field will produce their fruit. ³¹  26:5 Threshing season will extend for you until the season for harvesting grapes, ³²  and the season for harvesting grapes will extend until sowing season, so ³³  you will eat your bread until you are satisfied, ³⁴  and you will live securely in your land. 26:6 I will grant peace in the land so that ³⁵  you will lie down to sleep without anyone terrifying you. ³⁶  I will remove harmful animals ³⁷  from the land, and no sword of war ³⁸  will pass through your land. 26:7 You will pursue your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword. ³⁹  26:8 Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall before you by the sword. 26:9 I will turn to you, make you fruitful, multiply you, and maintain ⁴⁰  my covenant with you. 26:10 You will still be eating stored produce from the previous year ⁴¹  and will have to clean out what is stored from the previous year to make room for new. ⁴² 

26:11 “‘I will put my tabernacle ⁴³  in your midst and I will not abhor you. ⁴⁴  26:12 I will walk among you, and I will be your God and you will be my people. 26:13 I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from being their slaves, ⁴⁵  and I broke the bars of your yoke and caused you to walk upright. ⁴⁶ 

Jeremiah 11:4

11:4 Those are the terms that I charged your ancestors ⁴⁷  to keep ⁴⁸  when I brought them out of Egypt, that place which was like an iron-smelting furnace. ⁴⁹  I said at that time, ⁵⁰  “Obey me and carry out the terms of the agreement ⁵¹  exactly as I commanded you. If you do, ⁵²  you will be my people and I will be your God. ⁵³ 

John 14:15

Teaching on the Holy Spirit

14:15 “If you love me, you will obey ⁵⁴  my commandments. ⁵⁵ 

John 14:21-24

14:21 The person who has my commandments and obeys ⁵⁶  them is the one who loves me. ⁵⁷  The one ⁵⁸  who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal ⁵⁹  myself to him.”

14:22 “Lord,” Judas (not Judas Iscariot) ⁶⁰  said, ⁶¹  “what has happened that you are going to reveal ⁶²  yourself to us and not to the world?” 14:23 Jesus replied, ⁶³  “If anyone loves me, he will obey ⁶⁴  my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up residence with him. ⁶⁵  14:24 The person who does not love me does not obey ⁶⁶  my words. And the word ⁶⁷  you hear is not mine, but the Father’s who sent me.

[4:1]  ¹ tn These technical Hebrew terms (חֻקִּים [khuqqim] and מִשְׁפָּטִים [mishpatim]) occur repeatedly throughout the Book of Deuteronomy to describe the covenant stipulations to which Israel had been called to subscribe (see, in this chapter alone, vv. 1, 5, 6, 8). The word חֻקִּים derives from the verb חֹק (khoq, “to inscribe; to carve”) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim) from שָׁפַט (shafat, “to judge”). They are virtually synonymous and are used interchangeably in Deuteronomy.

[4:1]  ² tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 31, 37).

[4:6]  ³ tn Heb “it is wisdom and understanding.”

[4:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “wise and understanding.”

[28:1]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “indeed.”

[28:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today” (likewise in v. 15).

[28:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “come upon you and overtake you” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “come upon you and accompany you.”

[28:3]  ⁸ tn Or “in the country” (so NAB, NIV, NLT). This expression also occurs in v. 15.

[28:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[28:6]  ¹⁰ sn Come in…go out. To “come in” and “go out” is a figure of speech (merism) indicating all of life and its activities.

[28:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “who rise up against” (so NIV).

[28:7]  ¹² tn Heb “way” (also later in this verse and in v. 25).

[28:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” Because English would not typically reintroduce the proper name following a relative pronoun (“he will bless…the Lord your God is giving”), the pronoun (“he”) has been employed here in the translation.

[28:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the commandments of the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in the previous verse.

[28:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and walk in his ways” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[28:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the name of the Lord is called over you.” The Hebrew idiom indicates ownership; see 2 Sam 12:28; Isa 4:1, as well as BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph. 2.d.(4).

[28:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “will give you a lot of children.”

[28:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 28:8.

[28:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 36, 64).

[28:12]  ²⁰ tn Heb “all the work of your hands.”

[28:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “the Lord your God’s.” See note on “he” in 28:8.

[28:13]  ²² tn Heb “commanding” (so NRSV); NASB “which I charge you today.”

[28:14]  ²³ tn Heb “from all the words which I am commanding.”

[28:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “in order to serve.”

[22:31]  ²⁵ tn Heb “And you shall keep my commandments and you shall do them.” This appears to be a kind of verbal hendiadys, where the first verb is a modifier of the action of the second verb (see GKC 386 §120.d, although שָׁמַר [shamar, “to keep”] is not cited there; cf. Lev 20:8, etc.).

[26:1]  ²⁶ sn For the literature regarding the difficult etymology and meaning of the term for “idols” (אֱלִילִם, ’elilim), see the literature cited in the note on Lev 19:4. It appears to be a diminutive play on words with אֵל (’el, “god, God”) and, perhaps at the same time, recalls a common Semitic word for “worthless, weak, powerless, nothingness.” Snaith suggests a rendering of “worthless godlings.”

[26:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “on.” The “sculpted stone” appears to be some sort of stone with images carved into (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 181, and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 449).

[26:2]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and my sanctuary you shall fear.” Cf. NCV “respect”; CEV “honor.”

[26:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and my commandments you shall keep and do them.” This appears to be a kind of verbal hendiadys, where the first verb is a modifier of the action of the second verb (see GKC 386 §120.d, although שָׁמַר [shamar, “to keep”] is not cited there; cf. Lev 20:8; 25:18, etc.).

[26:4]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.

[26:4]  ³¹ tn Heb “the tree of the field will give its fruit.” As a collective singular this has been translated as plural.

[26:5]  ³² tn Heb “will reach for you the vintage season.”

[26:5]  ³³ tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.

[26:5]  ³⁴ tn Heb “to satisfaction”; KJV, ASV, NASB “to the full.”

[26:6]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.

[26:6]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and there will be no one who terrifies.” The words “to sleep” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[26:6]  ³⁷ tn Heb “harmful animal,” singular, but taken here as a collective plural (so almost all English versions).

[26:6]  ³⁸ tn Heb “no sword”; the words “of war” are supplied in the translation to indicate what the metaphor of the sword represents.

[26:7]  ³⁹ tn Heb “to the sword.”

[26:9]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “cause to arise,” but probably used here for the Lord’s intention of confirming or maintaining the covenant commitment made at Sinai. Cf. KJV “establish”; NASB “will confirm”; NAB “carry out”; NIV “will keep.”

[26:10]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “old [produce] growing old.”

[26:10]  ⁴² tn Heb “and old from the presence of new you will bring out.”

[26:11]  ⁴³ tn LXX codexes Vaticanus and Alexandrinus have “my covenant” rather than “my tabernacle.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV “my dwelling.”

[26:11]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and my soul [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh] will not abhor you.”

[26:13]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “from being to them slaves.”

[26:13]  ⁴⁶ tn In other words, to walk as free people and not as slaves. Cf. NIV “with (+ your CEV, NLT) heads held high”; NCV “proudly.”

[11:4]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 5, 7, 10).

[11:4]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “does not listen…this covenant which I commanded your fathers.” The sentence is broken up this way in conformity with contemporary English style.

[11:4]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace.”

[11:4]  ⁵⁰ tn In place of the words “I said at that time” the Hebrew text has “saying.” The sentence is again being restructured in English to avoid the long, confusing style of the Hebrew original.

[11:4]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “Obey me and carry them out.” The “them” refers back to the terms of the covenant which they were charged to keep according to the preceding. The referent is made specific to avoid ambiguity.

[11:4]  ⁵² tn The words, “If you do” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to break up a long sentence consisting of an imperative followed by a consequential sentence.

[11:4]  ⁵³ sn Obey me and carry out the terms of the agreement…and I will be your God. This refers to the Mosaic law which was instituted at Sinai and renewed on the Plains of Moab before Israel entered into the land. The words “the terms of the covenant” are explicitly used for the Ten Commandments in Exod 34:28 and for the additional legislation given in Deut 28:69; 29:8. The formulation here is reminiscent of Deut 29:9-14 (29:10-15 HT). The book of Deuteronomy is similar in its structure and function to an ancient Near Eastern treaty. In these the great king reminded his vassal of past benefits that he had given to him, charged him with obligations (the terms or stipulations of the covenant) chief among which was absolute loyalty and sole allegiance, promised him future benefits for obeying the stipulations (the blessings), and placed him under a curse for disobeying them. Any disobedience was met with stern warnings of punishment in the form of destruction and exile. Those who had witnessed the covenant were called in to confirm the continuing goodness of the great king and the disloyalty of the vassal. The vassal was then charged with a list of particular infringements of the stipulations and warned to change his actions or suffer the consequences. This is the background for Jer 11:1-9. Jeremiah is here functioning as a messenger from the Lord, Israel’s great king, and charging both the fathers and the children with breach of covenant.

[14:15]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “will keep.”

[14:15]  ⁵⁵ sn Jesus’ statement If you love me, you will obey my commandments provides the transition between the promises of answered prayer which Jesus makes to his disciples in vv. 13-14 and the promise of the Holy Spirit which is introduced in v. 16. Obedience is the proof of genuine love.

[14:21]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “keeps.”

[14:21]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “obeys them, that one is the one who loves me.”

[14:21]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “And the one.” Here the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated to improve the English style.

[14:21]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “will disclose.”

[14:22]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “(not Iscariot).” The proper noun (Judas) has been repeated for clarity and smoothness in English style.

[14:22]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “said to him.”

[14:22]  ⁶² tn Or “disclose.”

[14:23]  ⁶³ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[14:23]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “will keep.”

[14:23]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “we will come to him and will make our dwelling place with him.” The context here is individual rather than corporate indwelling, so the masculine singular pronoun has been retained throughout v. 23. It is important to note, however, that the pronoun is used generically here and refers equally to men, women, and children.

[14:24]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “does not keep.”

[14:24]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “the message.”