Deuteronomy 4:2
in Deuteronomy 4You must not add to or subtract from what I command you, so that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of Jehovah your God which I command you.
KJV
Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 4
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe Jews understand it as prohibiting the alteration of the text or letter of the law, even in the least jot or tittle; and to their great care and exactness herein we are very much indebted, under God, for the purity and integrity of the Hebrew code.
This site's exposition
Now therefore hearken, O Israel
on Deuteronomy 4:1-2
Verse 2 forbids adding to the word or taking from it, and Moses repeats the clause at 12:32. Proverbs 30:6 sets the same guard over the words of God, and Revelation 22:18-19 sets it over the book of the prophecy. A prohibition on altering the document is a standing feature of second millennium treaty texts, which is part of what Meredith Kline in Treaty of the Great King and Kenneth Kitchen in On the Reliability of the Old Testament build on when they read Deuteronomy on that pattern. The dating that follows from the correspondence is held one way by those two and another by readers who place the book in the seventh century.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Ye shall not add to the word which I command you, nether shall you diminish ought from it,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The allusion to that recent and appalling judgment was seasonably made as a powerful dissuasive against idolatry, and the fact mentioned was calculated to make a deep impression on people who knew and felt the truth of it.
Ye shall not add - Any book, chapter, verse or word, which I have not spoken; nor give any comment that has any tendency to corrupt, weaken, or destroy any part of this revelation. Neither shall ye diminish - Ye shall not only not take away any larger portion of this word, but ye shall not take one jot or tittle from the Law; it is that word of God that abideth for ever.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The main purpose of study is the observance of the commandments.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֹסִ֗פוּ | tosifu | you must add | H3254 → | 212 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַדָּבָר֙ | hadavar | the word | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אָנֹכִי֙ | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| מְצַוֶּ֣ה | metzaveh | [am] about to command | H6680 → | 494 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֔ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִגְרְע֖וּ | tigreu | you must diminish | H1639 → | |
| מִמֶּ֑נּוּ | mimenu | from it | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| לִשְׁמֹ֗ר | lishmor | to keep | H8104 → | 468 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִצְוֹת֙ | mitzvot | [the] commandments of | H4687 → | 181 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם | ʾeloheikhem | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אָנֹכִ֖י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| מְצַוֶּ֥ה | metzaveh | [am] about to command | H6680 → | 494 times |
| אֶתְכֶֽם׃ | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תֹסִ֗פוּyou must add
tosifuH3254 →212 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַדָּבָר֙the word
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אָנֹכִי֙I
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
מְצַוֶּ֣ה[am] about to command
metzavehH6680 →494 times
אֶתְכֶ֔ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
תִגְרְע֖וּyou must diminish
tigreuH1639 →
מִמֶּ֑נּוּfrom it
mimenuH4480 →1188 times
לִשְׁמֹ֗רto keep
lishmorH8104 →468 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מִצְוֹת֙[the] commandments of
mitzvotH4687 →181 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔םGod your
ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אָנֹכִ֖יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
מְצַוֶּ֥ה[am] about to command
metzavehH6680 →494 times
אֶתְכֶֽם׃<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
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
Matthew 5:18For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
it leads to
- Luke 16:17
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.
- Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”
- 1 Peter 1:25
but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
- Psalms 119:89–90
Your word, O LORD, is everlasting; it is firmly fixed in the heavens.
- Luke 16:17
Through
Proverbs 30:6Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you and prove you a liar.
it leads to
- Revelation 22:18–19
I testify to everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 12:32
See that you do everything I command you; do not add to it or subtract from it.
- Revelation 22:18–19
Through
Joshua 1:7Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that…
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 22:13
Then you will succeed, if you carefully follow the statutes and ordinances that the LORD commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
- Deuteronomy 5:32
So be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or to the left.
- 1 Chronicles 22:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.