Deuteronomy 10:14
in Deuteronomy 10Behold, to the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, and the earth and everything in it.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, unto Jehovah thy God belongeth heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth, with all that is therein.
KJV
Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord’s thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 10
Commentary
8 notes on this verseBehold, the heaven, and the heaven of heavens, are the Lord's thy God,.... Made and possessed by him; the airy and starry heaven, the third heaven, which is the heaven of heavens, the seat of the divine Majesty, the habitation of angels and glorified saints: the earth also, with all that therein is; that is his property, and at his disposal, being made by him, and all that is upon it, or contained in it, even whatsoever is on or in the whole terraqueous globe; see Psa 115:15.
This site's exposition
Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens
on Deuteronomy 10:14-15
The verse hands God everything, the heaven, the heaven of heavens, the earth and all that is in it, and Solomon uses the same phrase at 1 Kings 8:27 to say that the heaven of heavens cannot contain him. Verse 15 then narrows all of that to one family, and the only reason offered is that the Lord had a delight in thy fathers to love them. Deuteronomy 7:7 puts it from the other side, that the choice fell on the fewest of all people, so the text keeps merit out of the account twice over.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The heaven - The airy and starry heaven. The heaven of heavens - The highest or third heaven, called the heaven of heavens for its eminency. All that therein is - With all creatures and all men, which being all his, he might have chosen what nation he pleased to be his people.
Heaven and earth are his possession, and yet the Lord's portion is his people. Consider the goodness and grace of God, and therefore love him, and from that principle serve and obey him. His goodness is his glory as much as his greatness.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens - All these words in the original are in the plural number: הן השמים ושמי השמים hen hashshamayim, ushemey hashshamayim; behold the heavens and the heavens of heavens. But what do they mean? To say that the first means the atmosphere, the second the planetary system, and the third the region of the blessed, is saying but very little in the way of explanation.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Moses here resumes his address, and having made a passing allusion to the principal events in their history, concludes by exhorting them to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully.
HE WHO PREACHES the whole truth as it is in Jesus will labor under continual disadvantages; albeit, that the grand advantage of having the presence and blessing of God will more than compensate the greatest loss. It has been my earnest endeavor ever since I have preached the Word, never to keep back a single doctrine which I believe to be taught of God. It is time that we had done with the old and rusty systems that have so long curbed the freeness of religious speech.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
HE WHO PREACHES the whole truth as it is in Jesus will labor under continual disadvantages; albeit, that the grand advantage of having the presence and blessing of God will more than compensate the greatest loss. It has been my earnest endeavor ever since I have preached the Word, never to keep back a single doctrine which I believe to be taught of God. It is time that we had done with the old and rusty systems that have so long curbed the freeness of religious speech. The Arminian trembles to go an inch beyond Arminius or Wesley, and many a Calvinist refers to John Gill or John Calvin, as any ultimate authority. It is time that the systems were broken up, and that there was sufficient grace in all our hearts to believe everything taught in God’s Word, whether it was taught by either of these men or not. I have frequently found when I have preached what is called high doctrine, because I found it in my text, that some people have been offended; they could not enjoy it, could not endure it, and went away. They were generally people who were best gone; I have never regretted their absence. On the other hand, when I have taken for my text some sweet invitation, and have preached the freeness of Christ’s love to man; when I have warned sinners that they are responsible while they hear the gospel, and that if they reject Christ their blood will be upon their own heads, I find another class of doubtless excellent individuals who cannot see how these two things agree. And therefore, they also turn aside, and wade into the deceptive miry bogs of Antinomianism. I can only say with regard to them, that I had rather also that they should go to their own sort, than that they should remain with my congregation. We seek to hold the truth. We know no difference between high doctrine and low doctrine. If God teaches it, it is enough.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֵ֚ן | hen | there! | H2005 → | 316 times |
| לַיהוָ֣ה | layahweh | [belong] to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| וּשְׁמֵ֣י | ushemei | and [the] heavens of | H8064 → | 421 times |
| הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| הָאָ֖רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בָּֽהּ׃ | bah | [is] in <the> it |
הֵ֚ןthere!
henH2005 →316 times
לַיהוָ֣ה[belong] to Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
הַשָּׁמַ֖יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
וּשְׁמֵ֣יand [the] heavens of
ushemeiH8064 →421 times
הַשָּׁמָ֑יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
הָאָ֖רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁר־that
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
בָּֽהּ׃[is] in <the> it
bah
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 24:1The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein.
it leads to
- Psalms 89:11
The heavens are Yours, and also the earth. The earth and its fullness You founded.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Corinthians 10:26
for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.”
- 1 Chronicles 29:11
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom,…
- Job 41:11
Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.
- Exodus 9:29
Moses said to him, “When I have left the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may…
- Psalms 89:11
Through
Exodus 19:5Now 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.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 14:2
for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all the peoples on the face of the…
- Deuteronomy 7:6
For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of…
- Deuteronomy 26:18
And today the LORD has proclaimed that you are His people and treasured possession as He promised, that you are to keep all His commandments,
- Deuteronomy 14:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Spurgeon, The New Park Street Pulpit, Sermon No. 303: “Election and Holiness” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.