The Greatest Commandment
1 “Now thisisthe commandment,andthesearethe statutes and judgments which theLordyour God has commanded to teach you, that you may observethemin the land which you are crossing over to possess,
2 that you may fear theLordyour God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life,and that your days may be prolonged.
3 Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observeit,that it may be well with you, and that you maymultiply greatlyas theLordGod of your fathers has promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’
4 “Hear, O Israel: TheLordour God, theLordisone!
5 You shall love theLordyour God with all your heart,with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 “Andthese words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Caution Against Disobedience
10 “So it shall be, when theLordyour God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful citieswhich you did not build,
11 houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant—when you have eaten and are full—
12 thenbeware, lest you forget theLordwho brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
13 You shallfear theLordyour God and serve Him, andshall take oaths in His name.
14 You shall not go after other gods,the gods of the peoples whoareall around you
15 (fortheLordyour Godisa jealous Godamong you), lest the anger of theLordyour God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth.
16 “You shall not tempt theLordyour Godas you temptedHimin Massah.
17 You shalldiligently keep the commandments of theLordyour God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you.
18 And youshall dowhatisright and good in the sight of theLord, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land of which theLordswore to your fathers,
19 to cast out all your enemies from before you, as theLordhas spoken.
20 “When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘Whatisthemeaningofthe testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which theLordour God has commanded you?’
21 then you shall say to your son: ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and theLordbrought us out of Egyptwith a mighty hand;
22 and theLordshowed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household.
23 Then He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our fathers.
24 And theLordcommanded us to observe all these statutes,to fear theLordour God,for our good always, thatHe might preserve us alive, asitisthis day.
25 Thenit will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before theLordour God, as He has commanded us.’