Deuteronomy 6:3
New International Version
Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

New Living Translation
Listen closely, Israel, and be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

English Standard Version
Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

Berean Standard Bible
Hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you.

King James Bible
Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.

New King James Version
Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’

New American Standard Bible
Now Israel, you shall listen and be careful to do them, so that it may go well for you and that you may increase greatly, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

NASB 1995
“O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

NASB 1977
“O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

Legacy Standard Bible
O Israel, you shall listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

Amplified Bible
Therefore listen, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly [in numbers], as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

Christian Standard Bible
Listen, Israel, and be careful to follow them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly, because the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Listen, Israel, and be careful to follow them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly, because Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey.”

American Standard Version
Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as Jehovah, the God of thy fathers, hath promised unto thee, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

Contemporary English Version
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.

English Revised Version
Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD, the God of thy fathers, hath promised unto thee, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Listen, Israel, and be careful to obey these laws. Then things will go well for you and your population will increase in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD God of your ancestors promised you.

Good News Translation
Listen to them, people of Israel, and obey them! Then all will go well with you, and you will become a mighty nation and live in that rich and fertile land, just as the LORD, the God of our ancestors, has promised.

International Standard Version
Listen, Israel! Be careful to obey, so that life may go well for you and that you may increase greatly. Just as the LORD God of your ancestors told you, you'll have a land flowing with milk and honey.

Majority Standard Bible
Hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you.

NET Bible
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--as the LORD, God of your ancestors, said to you, you will have a land flowing with milk and honey.

New Heart English Bible
Hear therefore, Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with you, and that you may increase mightily, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised to you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

Webster's Bible Translation
Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.

World English Bible
Hear therefore, Israel, and observe to do it, that it may be well with you, and that you may increase mightily, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised to you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And you have heard, O Israel, and observed to do [them], that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply exceedingly, as YHWH, God of your fathers, has spoken to you, [in] the land flowing with milk and honey.

Young's Literal Translation
And thou hast heard, O Israel, and observed to do, that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest multiply exceedingly, as Jehovah, God of thy fathers, hath spoken to thee, in the land flowing with milk and honey.

Smith's Literal Translation
And hear, O Israel, and watch to do, that it shall be well to thee, and that ye shall multiply greatly as Jehovah the God of your fathers spake to thee, a land flowing with milk and honey.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Hear, O Israel, and observe to do the things which the Lord hath commanded thee, that it may be well with thee, and thou mayst be greatly multiplied, as the Lord the God of thy fathers hath promised thee a land flowing with milk and honey.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Listen and observe, O Israel, so that you may do just as the Lord has instructed you, and it may be well with you, and you may be multiplied all the more, for the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey.

New American Bible
Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them, that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly; for the LORD, the God of your ancestors, promised you a land flowing with milk and honey.

New Revised Standard Version
Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe and do them; that it may be well with you, and that you may increase greatly; for the LORD God of your fathers has promised you that he will give you a land that flows with milk and honey.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Hear, Israel, and keep and do, that it will be good for you and you will increase greatly as LORD JEHOVAH the God of your forefathers said to you, that He shall give you the land that flows with milk and honey.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD, the God of thy fathers, hath promised unto thee--a land flowing with milk and honey.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Hear, therefore, O Israel, and observe to do them, that it may be well with thee, and that ye may be greatly multiplied, as the Lord God of thy fathers said that he would give thee a land flowing with milk and honey: and these are the ordinances, and the judgments, which the Lord commanded the children of Israel in the wilderness, when they had gone forth from the land of Egypt.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Greatest Commandment
2so that you and your children and grandchildren may fear the LORD your God all the days of your lives by keeping all His statutes and commandments that I give you, and so that your days may be prolonged. 3Hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you. 4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One.…

Cross References
Matthew 22:37-40
Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ / This is the first and greatest commandment. / And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ...

Mark 12:29-31
Jesus replied, “This is the most important: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. / Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ / The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

Luke 10:27
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Exodus 19:5-6
Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine. / And unto Me you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to speak to the Israelites.”

Leviticus 26:3-12
If you follow My statutes and carefully keep My commandments, / I will give you rains in their season, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. / Your threshing will continue until the grape harvest, and the grape harvest will continue until sowing time; you will have your fill of food to eat and will dwell securely in your land. ...

Joshua 1:8
This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do.

Psalm 119:1-2
Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the Law of the LORD. / Blessed are those who keep His testimonies and seek Him with all their heart.

Jeremiah 7:23
but this is what I commanded them: Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must walk in all the ways I have commanded you, so that it may go well with you.

Ezekiel 36:27-28
And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances. / Then you will live in the land that I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.

Romans 10:17
Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Hebrews 4:2
For we also received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, since they did not share the faith of those who comprehended it.

James 1:22-25
Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves. / For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, / and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ...

1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome,

2 Corinthians 6:16
What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”

Galatians 3:14
He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.


Treasury of Scripture

Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with you, and that you may increase mightily, as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you, in the land that flows with milk and honey.

and observe

Deuteronomy 4:6
Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

Deuteronomy 5:32
Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

Ecclesiastes 8:12
Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:

that ye may

Genesis 12:2
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

Genesis 13:16
And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

Genesis 15:5
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

in the land

Exodus 3:8
And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

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Deuteronomy 6
1. The end of the law is obedience
3. An exhortation thereto
20. What they are to teach their children














Hear, O Israel
The Hebrew word for "hear" is "shema," which implies not just listening but also understanding and obeying. This call to attention is a central theme in Jewish tradition, emphasizing the importance of active listening and response to God's commandments. The phrase "O Israel" signifies a collective call to the nation, reminding them of their identity as God's chosen people. Historically, this call to hear and obey was crucial as the Israelites prepared to enter the Promised Land, reinforcing their covenant relationship with God.

be careful to observe them
The Hebrew root for "be careful" is "shamar," meaning to guard or keep. This implies a diligent and intentional effort to follow God's laws. "Observe" suggests not just passive acknowledgment but active practice. The Israelites are reminded of the importance of living out God's commandments in their daily lives. This phrase underscores the covenantal responsibility of the Israelites to maintain their part of the agreement with God, ensuring His continued blessings.

so that it may go well with you
This phrase highlights the conditional nature of God's blessings. The well-being of the Israelites is directly linked to their obedience to God's commandments. The historical context here is significant; as the Israelites stood on the brink of entering Canaan, they were reminded that their prosperity in the new land depended on their faithfulness to God. This reflects a broader biblical principle that obedience to God leads to spiritual and material blessings.

and you may increase greatly
The promise of increase, both in numbers and prosperity, is a recurring theme in God's covenant with Israel. The Hebrew word for "increase" is "rabah," which conveys the idea of multiplication and abundance. This promise is rooted in God's original blessing to Abraham, where He promised to make his descendants as numerous as the stars. It serves as a reminder of God's faithfulness to His promises and His desire for His people to flourish.

in a land flowing with milk and honey
This phrase paints a vivid picture of abundance and prosperity. "Milk and honey" symbolize fertility and richness, indicating a land that can sustain and nourish its inhabitants. Archaeologically, the land of Canaan was indeed fertile, with evidence of advanced agricultural practices. This description serves as a powerful motivator for the Israelites, encouraging them to trust in God's provision and look forward to the fulfillment of His promises.

just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you
This phrase reaffirms the continuity of God's covenantal promises from the patriarchs to the present generation. "The LORD" (YHWH) is the covenant name of God, emphasizing His eternal and unchanging nature. "The God of your fathers" connects the current generation to their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, reminding them of the longstanding relationship and promises God made to their forefathers. This historical continuity provides assurance of God's faithfulness and the certainty of His promises being fulfilled.

(3) That ye may increase mightily . . . in the land.--The position of Israel in the land, and their continuance therein, depended entirely on their fulfilment of the purpose for which they were brought there--the observance of the Law of Jehovah, as it applied to their peculiar situation.

Verse 3. - God had promised from the first to the patriarchs that he would make of their posterity a great nation (Genesis 12:1; Genesis 17:6; Genesis 18:18). But the fulfillment of this promise was conditioned by their continuing as a people in the fear of God, and in obedience to his Law. Everything, then, depended on their hearing what Moses had been commanded to teach them, and observing to do it (cf. Leviticus 26:9, etc.). In the land, etc. This is to be connected with the clause, "that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily;" the land was to be the scene and sphere of their prosperity and increase. Some would render thus: "As the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee a laud," etc., i.e. a place in which thou mayest prosper and increase; the other, however, is the more natural construction and rendering. There is, indeed, no preposition before "the land" in the Hebrew; but nothing is more common in that language than for the accusative of a noun to be used adverbially to describe the place where anything is done. Milk and honey; emblem of fruitfulness and sweetness (Song of Solomon 4:11); proverbially descriptive of Canaan, as rich in pasturage for flocks, and abounding in flowers whence the bees could extract honey (cf. Exodus 3:8, 17).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Hear,
וְשָׁמַעְתָּ֤ (wə·šā·ma‘·tā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 8085: To hear intelligently

O Israel,
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

and be careful
וְשָׁמַרְתָּ֣ (wə·šā·mar·tā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 8104: To hedge about, guard, to protect, attend to

to observe them,
לַעֲשׂ֔וֹת (la·‘ă·śō·wṯ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 6213: To do, make

so that
אֲשֶׁר֙ (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

you may prosper
יִיטַ֣ב (yî·ṭaḇ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3190: To be good, well, glad, or pleasing

and multiply
תִּרְבּ֖וּן (tir·būn)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural | Paragogic nun
Strong's 7235: To be or become much, many or great

greatly
מְאֹ֑ד (mə·’ōḏ)
Adverb
Strong's 3966: Vehemence, vehemently, wholly, speedily

in a land
אֶ֛רֶץ (’e·reṣ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

flowing
זָבַ֥ת (zā·ḇaṯ)
Verb - Qal - Participle - feminine singular construct
Strong's 2100: To flow freely, to have a, flux, to waste away, to overflow

with milk
חָלָ֖ב (ḥā·lāḇ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2461: Milk

and honey,
וּדְבָֽשׁ׃ (ū·ḏə·ḇāš)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1706: Honey, syrup

just as
כַּאֲשֶׁר֩ (ka·’ă·šer)
Preposition-k | Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

the LORD,
יְהוָ֜ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

the God
אֱלֹהֵ֤י (’ĕ·lō·hê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

of your fathers,
אֲבֹתֶ֙יךָ֙ (’ă·ḇō·ṯe·ḵā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 1: Father

has promised
דִּבֶּ֨ר (dib·ber)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1696: To arrange, to speak, to subdue

you.
לָ֔ךְ (lāḵ)
Preposition | second person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew


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OT Law: Deuteronomy 6:3 Hear therefore Israel and observe to do (Deut. De Du)
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