Deuteronomy 5:10
in Deuteronomy 5but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and showing lovingkindness unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
KJV
And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 5
Commentary
2 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
You shall not make for yourself an idol
on Deuteronomy 5:8-11
The second word forbids making an idol and bowing to it, and verse 9 names God "a jealous God" as the reason. The "third and fourth generations" stand against "a thousand generations," so mercy far outreaches the visiting of iniquity.
This site's exposition
showing loving devotion
Loving devotion translates the Hebrew hesed, the steadfast loyalty God keeps within his covenant. Those who receive it love Me and keep My commandments, so love and obedience are named together before 6:5 makes love the first command.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
and performs kindliness for thousands [of generations] for those who love Me and for those who guard My 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. 3 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
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעֹ֤֥שֶׂה | veoseh | and [who] does | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| חֶ֖֙סֶד֙ | chesed | covenant loyalty | H2617 → | 247 times |
| לַֽאֲלָפִ֑֔ים | laalafim | to thousands | H505 → | 505 times |
| לְאֹהֲבַ֖י | leohavai | of [those who] love me | H157 → | 211 times |
| וּלְשֹׁמְרֵ֥י | uleshomerei | and of [those who] keep | H8104 → | 468 times |
| מִצְוֹתָֽי׃ ס | mitzvoi | commandments my | H4687 → | 181 times |
וְעֹ֤֥שֶׂהand [who] does
veosehH6213 →2628 times
חֶ֖֙סֶד֙covenant loyalty
chesedH2617 →247 times
לַֽאֲלָפִ֑֔יםto thousands
laalafimH505 →505 times
לְאֹהֲבַ֖יof [those who] love me
leohavaiH157 →211 times
וּלְשֹׁמְרֵ֥יand of [those who] keep
uleshomereiH8104 →468 times
מִצְוֹתָֽי׃ סcommandments my
mitzvoiH4687 →181 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
Romans 8:28And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish…
- James 1:12
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.
- Genesis 50:20
As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people.
- Romans 5:3–5
Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
- 1 Corinthians 2:9
Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
- 1 Peter 5:10
Through
1 John 1:7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
it leads to
- Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
- Romans 13:12
The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
- Revelation 1:5
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by…
- Ephesians 5:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy

This page draws on John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
