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Deuteronomy 6:13

Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.

KJV

cave diligenter ne obliviscaris Domini, qui eduxit te de terra Ægypti, de domo servitutis. Dominum Deum tuum timebis, et illi soli servies, ac per nomen illius jurabis.

Vulgate

Κύριον τὸν θεόν σου φοβηθήσῃ καὶ αὐτῷ λατρεύσεις, καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν κολληθήσῃ, καὶ τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ ὀμῇ.

LXX

Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God; and him shalt thou serve, and shalt swear by his name.

ASV

אֶת יְהוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֶ֛י/ךָ תִּירָ֖א וְ/אֹת֣/וֹ תַעֲבֹ֑ד וּ/בִ/שְׁמ֖/וֹ תִּשָּׁבֵֽעַ

Hebrew

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In the original Hebrew

7 distinct Hebrew words appear in this verse.

אֶת
't
pronoun · 10895×
וֹ
v
noun · 848×
יְהוָ֖ה
yhvh
proper_noun · 6455×
ךָ
k
noun · 2564×
ם
m
verb · 287×
נִשְׁבַּ֥ע
nshb'
verb · 182×
תִּירָ֖א
tyr'
verb · 325×

Intertextual echoes

Quoted or echoed by 2 later passages.

  • Matt 4:10 · exact_quote
    "Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."
    Jesus quotes Deuteronomy: worship the Lord your God only
  • Luke 4:8 · adapted
    "And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."
    Deuteronomy: worship the Lord your God only — Jesus' temptation in Luke

Themes

Historic Christian voices

6 passages from patristic writers, Reformers, and church catechisms citing this verse.

§2084God makes himself known by recalling his all-powerful loving, and liberating action in the history of the one he addresses: "I brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." the first word contains the first commandment of the Law: "You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve him.... You shall not go after other gods."5 God's first call and just deman…
§2096Adoration is the first act of the virtue of religion. To adore God is to acknowledge him as God, as the Creator and Savior, the Lord and Master of everything that exists, as infinite and merciful Love. "You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve," says Jesus, citing Deuteronomy.13
§2150The second commandment forbids false oaths. Taking an oath or swearing is to take God as witness to what one affirms. It is to invoke the divine truthfulness as a pledge of one's own truthfulness. An oath engages the Lord's name. "You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve him, and swear by his name."81
Heidelberg Catechism · 2 passages
Q. What is God's will for us in the third commandment? A. That we neither blaspheme nor misuse the name of God by cursing, perjury, or unnecessary oaths, nor share in such horrible sins by being silent bystanders. In a word, that we use the holy name of God only with reverence and awe, so that we may properly confess him, pray to him, and praise him in everything we do and say.
Q. But may we swear an oath in God's name if we do it reverently? A. Yes, when the government demands it, or when necessity requires it, in order to maintain and promote truth and trustworthiness for the glory of God and our neighbor's good. Such oaths are approved in God's Word and were rightly used by Old and New Testament believers.

Cross-references

  • 1Sam 7:3 — And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the
  • 1Sam 20:3 — And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the LORD liveth, and
  • 2Kgs 17:36 — But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.
  • Deut 5:11 — Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
  • Deut 5:29 — O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!
  • Deut 6:2 — That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be
  • Deut 10:12 — And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy s
  • Deut 10:12 — And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy s
  • Deut 10:20 — Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.
  • Deut 10:20 — Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.
  • Deut 13:4 — Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
  • Deut 13:4 — Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
  • Exod 23:25 — And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
  • Gen 31:53 — The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac.
  • Isa 45:23 — I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
  • Isa 45:23 — I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
  • Isa 48:1 — Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the LORD, and make mention of the God of Israel, but n
  • Isa 65:16 — That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and bec
  • Jer 4:2 — And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
  • Jer 5:2 — And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely.
  • Jer 5:7 — How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops i
  • Jer 12:16 — And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The LORD liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst o
  • Josh 2:12 — Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token:
  • Lev 19:12 — And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
  • Luke 4:8 — And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
  • Luke 4:8 — And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
  • Matt 4:10 — Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
  • Matt 4:10 — Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
  • Ps 15:4 — In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.
  • Ps 63:11 — But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.
  • Ps 63:11 — But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.