Deuteronomy 6:13

13 Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths in His name. ^[a]

Deuteronomy 6:13 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 6:13

Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him
Serve him through fear; not through slavish fear, a fear of hell and damnation; but through filial fear, a reverential affection for that God that had brought them out of a state of bondage into great and glorious liberty, out of Egypt into Canaan's land, out of a place of misery into a land of plenty; and therefore should fear the Lord and his goodness, and from such a fear of him serve him, in every part of worship, public and private, enjoined; this passage Christ refers to ( Matthew 4:10 )

and shalt swear by his name;
when they made a covenant with any, or were called to bear a testimony for the decision of any controversy which could not be otherwise finished; or whenever they took an oath on any account, which should never be taken rashly or on any trivial account, and much less falsely; it should be taken not in the name of any idol, or of any other but the true and living God; the Targum of Jonathan is,

``in the name of the Word of the Lord, in truth ye shall swear.''

Deuteronomy 6:13 In-Context

11 with houses full of every good thing with which you did not fill them, with wells that you did not dig, and with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you eat and are satisfied,

12 be careful not to forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

13 Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths in His name.

14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you.

15 For the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or serve Him, and take your oaths only in His name; cited in Matthew 4:10 and Luke 4:8