Deuteronomy 6:1-3

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. 6:3 Pay attention, Israel, and be careful to do this so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in number ⁵  – as the Lord, God of your ancestors, ⁶  said to you, you will have a land flowing with milk and honey.

[6:1]  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.

[6:1]  ² tn Heb “where you are going over to possess it” (so NASB); NRSV “that you are about to cross into and occupy.”

[6:2]  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.

[6:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “commanding.” For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation.

[6:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “may multiply greatly” (so NASB, NRSV); the words “in number” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 10, 18, 23).