Deuteronomy 5:3

3 Not with our ancestors did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today.

Deuteronomy 5:3 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 5:3

The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers
That is, not with them only, as Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Abendana remark; for certain it is that this covenant was made, or law was given, to the immediate fathers of this present generation of Israelites, whose carcasses had fallen in the wilderness; unless this is to be understood of their more remote ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with whom the covenant of grace was made, or afresh made manifest, especially with the former; when the law, the covenant here spoken of, was not delivered until four hundred and thirty years after, ( Galatians 3:16 Galatians 3:17 ) ,

but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day;
many of them were then present at the giving of the law, and though under twenty years of age, could remember it, and the circumstances of it; and besides, they were the same people to whom it was given, though not consisting wholly of the same individuals.

Deuteronomy 5:3 In-Context

1 Moses convened all Israel, and said to them: Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances that I am addressing to you today; you shall learn them and observe them diligently.
2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.
3 Not with our ancestors did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today.
4 The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the fire.
5 (At that time I was standing between the Lord and you to declare to you the words of the Lord; for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.