Deuteronomy 6:1-9

The Greatest Commandment

1 "This is the command-the statutes and ordinances-the Lord your God has instructed [me] to teach you, so that you may follow [them] in the land you are about to enter and possess.
2 [Do this] so that you may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life by keeping all His statutes and commands I am giving you, your son, and your grandson, and so that you may have a long life.
3 Listen, Israel, and be careful to follow [them], so that you may prosper and multiply greatly, because the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey.
4 "Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.[a] [b]
5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.[c]
6 These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.
7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
8 Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol[d] on your forehead.[e] [f]
9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.[g]

Footnotes 7

  • [a]. Or Yahweh is our God; Yahweh is One, or The Lord is our God, the Lord alone, or The Lord our God is one Lord
  • [b]. Mk 12:29,32; Jms 2:19
  • [c]. Mt 22:37; Mk 12:30; Lk 10:27
  • [d]. Or phylactery; Mt 23:5
  • [e]. Lit symbol between your eyes
  • [f]. Dt 11:18; Ex 13:16
  • [g]. Dt 11:18-20
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