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Contemporary English Version

Deuteronomy 6:4

The Most Important Commandment Moses said to Israel: The Lord told me to give you these laws and teachings, so you can obey them in the land he is giving you. Soon you will cross the Jordan River and take that land. And if you and your descendants want to live a long time, you must always worship the Lord and obey his laws. Pay attention, Israel! Our ancestors worshiped the Lord , and he promised to give us this land that is rich with milk and honey. Be careful to obey him, and you will become a successful and powerful nation. Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only true God!

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Blessing;   Commandments;   Frontlets;   God Continued...;   Law;   Obedience;   Phylactery;   Quotations and Allusions;   Thompson Chain Reference - Bible, the;   One God;   Word;   Word of God;   The Topic Concordance - God;   Teaching;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Unity of God;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Frontlets;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Ancestors;   Ethics;   God;   Moses;   Trinity;   Yahweh;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Amos, Theology of;   Education in Bible Times;   God;   God, Names of;   Golden Rule;   Israel;   Jesus Christ, Name and Titles of;   Mercy;   New Command;   Obedience;   Old Testament in the New Testament, the;   Religion;   Sheol;   Spirituality;   Teach, Teacher;   Work;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Affection ;   Unity of God;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Door-Posts;   Frontlets;   God;   Phylacteries;   Trinity;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Frontlets;   Pharisees;   Son of God;   Synagogue;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Anthropology;   Confession;   Divine Retribution;   Frontlets;   Life;   Love;   Mezuzah;   Shema;   Trinity;   Unity;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Creed;   Deuteronomy;   Education;   God;   House;   James, Epistle of;   Law;   Number;   Phylacteries, Frontlets;   Synagogue;   Tabernacle;   Text, Versions, and Languages of Ot;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Border ;   Childhood;   Cosmopolitanism;   Criticism;   Demon, Demoniacal Possession, Demoniacs;   God (2);   Monotheism;   Old Testament (I. Christ as Fulfilment of);   Phylacteries ;   Possession;   Quotations;   Septuagint;   Synagogue;   Synagogue (2);   Temple (2);   Trinity (2);   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Numbers as Symbols;   1910 New Catholic Dictionary - frontlet;   phylacteries;   tephillim;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Frontlets;   Maker;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - God;   Phylactery;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - One;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Frontlets;   Law;   Moses;   Vocation;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Other Laws;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Catechist;   Creed;   Deuteronomy;   Door;   Faith;   Israel, Religion of;   Love;   Memorial;   Name;   Synagogue;   Talmud;   Teach;   Text of the Old Testament;   Worship;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Abudarham, David ben Joseph ben David;   Articles of Faith;   Athanasius;   Commandment;   Commandments, the 613;   Dagesh;   Debarim Rabbah;   Decalogue, the, in Jewish Theology;   Demonology;   Didache;   Education;   Gemaá¹­ria;   Giá¹­á¹­in;   God;   Hillel;   Ibn Gabirol, Solomon ben Judah (Abu Ayyub Sulaiman Ibn Yaḥya Ibn Jabirul);   Jesus of Nazareth;   Judaism;   Liturgy;   Love;   Ma'arib;   Mezuzah;   Phylacteries;   Prayer;   Shema';   Small and Large Letters;   Theology;  

Devotionals:

- Daily Light on the Daily Path - Devotion for November 20;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Hear, Yisra'el: the LORD is our God; the LORD is one:
King James Version
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord :
Lexham English Bible
"Hear, Israel, Yahweh our God, Yahweh is unique.
English Standard Version
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
New Century Version
Listen, people of Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord .
New English Translation
Listen, Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!
Amplified Bible
"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one [the only God]!
New American Standard Bible
"Hear, Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!
Geneva Bible (1587)
Heare, O Israel, The Lord our God is Lord onely,
Legacy Standard Bible
"Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one!
Complete Jewish Bible
(A:vi, S: v) "Sh'ma, Yisra'el! Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad [Hear, Isra'el! Adonai our God, Adonai is one];
Darby Translation
Hear, Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah;
Easy-to-Read Version
"Listen, people of Israel! The Lord is our God. The Lord is the only God.
George Lamsa Translation
Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD;
Good News Translation
"Israel, remember this! The Lord —and the Lord alone—is our God.
Christian Standard Bible®
“Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Literal Translation
Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Heare O Israel, the LORDE oure God is one LORDE onely.
American Standard Version
Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah:
Bible in Basic English
Give ear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord:
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Heare O Israel, the Lorde our God is Lorde only.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one.
King James Version (1611)
Heare, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord.
English Revised Version
Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD:
Berean Standard Bible
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thou Israel, here, thi Lord God is o God.
Young's Literal Translation
`Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God [is] one Jehovah;
Update Bible Version
Hear, O Israel: Yahweh our God, Yahweh is [the only] one:
Webster's Bible Translation
Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God [is] one LORD:
World English Bible
Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God; Yahweh is one:
New King James Version
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! [fn]
New Living Translation
"Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
New Life Bible
"Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord!
New Revised Standard
Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Hear, O Israel: Yahweh, is our God, - Yahweh alone.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.
Revised Standard Version
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD;
THE MESSAGE
Attention, Israel! God , our God! God the one and only!
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!

Contextual Overview

4The Most Important Commandment Moses said to Israel: The Lord told me to give you these laws and teachings, so you can obey them in the land he is giving you. Soon you will cross the Jordan River and take that land. And if you and your descendants want to live a long time, you must always worship the Lord and obey his laws. Pay attention, Israel! Our ancestors worshiped the Lord , and he promised to give us this land that is rich with milk and honey. Be careful to obey him, and you will become a successful and powerful nation. Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only true God! 5 So love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. 6 Memorize his laws 7 and tell them to your children over and over again. Talk about them all the time, whether you're at home or walking along the road or going to bed at night, or getting up in the morning. 8 Write down copies and tie them to your wrists and foreheads to help you obey them. 9 Write these laws on the door frames of your homes and on your town gates. 10 Moses said to Israel: The Lord promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he would give you this land. Now he will take you there and give you large towns, with good buildings that you didn't build, 11 and houses full of good things that you didn't put there. The Lord will give you wells that you didn't have to dig, and vineyards and olive orchards that you didn't have to plant. But when you have eaten so much that you can't eat any more, 12 don't forget it was the Lord who set you free from slavery and brought you out of Egypt. 13 Worship and obey the Lord your God with fear and trembling, and promise that you will be loyal to him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Shema Yisrael, Yehowah, Elohainoo, Yehowah aichod. "Hear, Israel, Jehovah, our God, is one Jehovah." On this passage the Jews lay great stress; and it is one of the four passages which they write on their phylacteries. On the word Elohim, Simeon ben Joachi says: "Come and see the mystery of the word Elohim. There are three degrees, and each degree is by itself alone, and yet they are all one, and joined together in one, and are not divided from each other."

the Lord: Deuteronomy 4:35, Deuteronomy 4:36, Deuteronomy 5:6, 1 Kings 18:21, 2 Kings 19:5, 1 Chronicles 29:10, Isaiah 42:8, Isaiah 44:6, Isaiah 44:8, Isaiah 45:5, Isaiah 45:6, Jeremiah 10:10, Jeremiah 10:11, Mark 12:29-32, John 17:8, 1 Corinthians 8:4-6, 1 Timothy 2:5

Reciprocal: Exodus 20:2 - the Lord Nehemiah 9:6 - even thou Psalms 86:10 - God Isaiah 43:11 - General Mark 11:14 - No Mark 12:32 - for Galatians 3:20 - but James 2:19 - General 1 John 5:7 - and these

Cross-References

Genesis 6:15
Make it four hundred fifty feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high.
Genesis 6:21
Store up enough food both for yourself and for them.
Genesis 6:22
Noah did everything the Lord told him to do.
Numbers 13:33
In fact, we saw the Nephilim who are the ancestors of the Anakim. They were so big that we felt as small as grasshoppers."
Deuteronomy 3:11
King Og was the last of the Rephaim, and his coffin is in the town of Rabbah in Ammon. It is made of hard black rock and is thirteen and a half feet long and six feet wide.
1 Samuel 17:4
The Philistine army had a hero named Goliath who was from the town of Gath and was over nine feet tall.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Hear, O Israel,.... These are the words of Moses, stirring up the people to an attention to what he was about to say of this great and momentous article, the unity of God, to prevent their going into polytheism and idolatry. From one of the words here used, the Jews call this section Kiriathshema, which they oblige themselves to read twice a day, morning and evening n; the last letter of the first word in this verse, "Shema", meaning "hear", and the last letter of the last word in it, "Echad", meaning "one", are greater than ordinary; which seems designed to excite the attention to what is contained in this passage:

the Lord our God is one Lord; the doctrine of which is, that the Lord, who was the covenant God and Father of his people Israel, is but one Jehovah; he is Jehovah, the Being of beings, a self-existent Being, eternal and immutable; and he is but one in nature and essence; this appears from the perfection of his nature, his eternity, omnipotence, omnipresence, infinity, goodness, self-sufficiency, and perfection; for there can be but one eternal, one omnipotent, one omnipresent, one infinite, one that is originally and of himself good; one self, and all sufficient, and perfect Being; and which also may be concluded from his being the first cause of all things, which can be but one; and from his relations to his creatures, as their King, ruler, governor, and lawgiver. And for this purpose these words are cited in Mark 12:29 but then they no ways contradict the doctrine of a trinity of persons in the unity of the divine essence, the Father, Word, and Holy Spirit, which three are one; the one God, the one Jehovah, as here expressed; see 1 John 5:7 and so the ancient Jews understood this passage. In an ancient book of theirs it is said o Jehovah, Elohenu, Jehovah (i.e. Jehovah, our God, Jehovah); these are the three degrees with respect to this sublime mystery; "in the beginning God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth"; and again p, Jehovah, Elohenu, Jehovah, they are one; the three forms (modes or things) which are one; and elsewhere q it is observed, there are two, and one is joined to them, and they are three; and when the three are one, he says to (or of) them, these are the two names which Israel heard, Jehovah, Jehovah, and Elohenu (our God) is joined unto them; and it is the seal of the ring of truth, and when they are joined they are one in one unity; which is illustrated by the three names the soul of man is called by, the soul, spirit, and breath; and elsewhere they say r the holy blessed God, and his Shechinah, are called one; see John 10:30.

n Mist. Beracot, c. 1. sect. 1, 2. o Zohar in Gen. fol. 1, 3. p Ib. in Exod. fol. 18. 3, 4. q Ib. in Numb. fol. 67. 3. r Tikkune Zohar, Correct. 47. fol. 86. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

These words form the beginning of what is termed the “Shema” (“Hear”) in the Jewish Services, and belong to the daily morning and evening office. They may be called “the creed of the Jews.”

This weighty text contains far more than a mere declaration of the unity of God as against polytheism; or of the sole authority of the revelation that He had made to Israel as against other pretended manifestations of His will and attributes. It asserts that the Lord God of Israel is absolutely God, and none other. He, and He alone, is Jehovah (Yahweh) the absolute, uncaused God; the One who had, by His election of them, made Himself known to Israel.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Deuteronomy 6:4. Hear, O Israel — שמע ישראל יהוה אלהינו יהוה אחד shemA Yisrael, Yehovah Eloheinu, Yehovah achaD. These words may be variously rendered into English; but almost all possible verbal varieties in the translation (and there can be none other) amount to the same sense: "Israel, hear! Jehovah, our God, is one Jehovah;" or, "Jehovah is our God, Jehovah is one;" or, "Jehovah is our God, Jehovah alone;" or, "Jehovah is our God, Jehovah who is one;" or, "Jehovah, who is our God, is the one Being." On this verse the Jews lay great stress; it is one of the four passages which they write on their phylacteries, and they write the last letter in the first and last words very large, for the purpose of exciting attention to the weighty truth it contains. It is perhaps in reference to this custom of the Jews that our blessed Lord alludes, Matthew 22:38; Mark 12:29-30, where he says, This is the first and great commandment; and this is nearly the comment that Maimonides gives on this place: "Hear, O Israel; because in these words the property, the love, and the doctrine of God are contained."

Many think that Moses teaches in these words the doctrine of the Trinity in Unity. It may be so; but if so, it is not more clearly done than in the first verse of Genesis, to which the reader is referred. When this passage occurs in the Sabbath readings in the synagogue, the whole congregation repeat the last word achad for several minutes together with the loudest vociferations: this I suppose they do to vent a little of their spleen against the Christians, for they suppose the latter hold three Gods, because of their doctrine of the Trinity; but all their skill and cunning can never prove that there is not a plurality expressed in the word אלהינו Eloheinu, which is translated our God; and were the Christians, when reading this verse, to vociferate Eloheinu for several minutes as the Jews do achad, it would apply more forcibly in the way of conviction to the Jews of the plurality of persons in the Godhead, than the word achad, of one, against any pretended false tenet of Christianity, as every Christian receives the doctrine of the unity of God in the most conscientious manner. It is because of their rejection of this doctrine that the wrath of God continues to rest on them; for the doctrine of the atonement cannot be received, unless the doctrine of the Godhead of Christ is received too. Some Christians have joined the Jews against this doctrine, and some have even outdone them, and have put themselves to extraordinary pains to prove that אלהים Elohim is a noun of the singular number! This has not yet been proved. It would be as easy to prove that there is no plural in language.


 
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