Deuteronomy 7:9
in Deuteronomy 7Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion for a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Know therefore that Jehovah thy God, he is God, the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations,
KJV
Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
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This verse in Deuteronomy 7
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
which keepeth covenant and mercy
on Deuteronomy 7:9-11
Verse 9 repeats the wording of the second commandment at Exodus 20:5-6, and verse 10 changes what stands there. Exodus visits iniquity upon the third and fourth generation, while here the repayment lands on the man himself, to his face, and the phrase falls twice in the one verse. Mercy running to a thousand generations against a repayment inside a single lifetime is an asymmetry the text means, and Deuteronomy 24:16 states the same limit as law, that fathers shall not be put to death for the children.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The only true and living God, and not the idols of the Gentiles, who are false and lifeless ones, and therefore not the proper objects of adoration: the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy; as appeared by fulfilling the promise made to their fathers, in bringing them out of Egypt, and now them to the borders of the land of Canaan given them for an inheritance: with them that love him, and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations; see Exo 20:6 which are not the causes or conditions of his covenant and mercy, nor of his keeping them, but descriptive of the persons that enjoy the benefit thereof.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God--that is, set apart to the service of God, or chosen to execute the important purposes of His providence.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְיָ֣דַעְתָּ֔ | veyada'ta | and you will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| ה֣וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים | haelohim | [is] <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הָאֵל֙ | hael | the God | H410 → | 241 times |
| הַֽנֶּאֱמָ֔ן | haneeman | <the> faithful | H539 → | 106 times |
| שֹׁמֵ֧ר | shomer | [who] keeps | H8104 → | 468 times |
| הַבְּרִ֣ית | haberit | the covenant | H1285 → | 284 times |
| וְהַחֶ֗סֶד | vehachesed | and <the> covenant loyalty | H2617 → | 247 times |
| לְאֹהֲבָ֛יו | leohavav | to [those who] love him | H157 → | 211 times |
| וּלְשֹׁמְרֵ֥י | uleshomerei | and to [those who] keep | H8104 → | 468 times |
| מִצְוֹתָ֖יו | mitzvotov | commandments his | H4687 → | 181 times |
| לְאֶ֥לֶף | leelef | to a thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| דּֽוֹר׃ | dor | generation[s] | H1755 → | 167 times |
וְיָ֣דַעְתָּ֔and you will know
veyada'taH3045 →945 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
ה֣וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים[is] <the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
הָאֵל֙the God
haelH410 →241 times
הַֽנֶּאֱמָ֔ן<the> faithful
haneemanH539 →106 times
שֹׁמֵ֧ר[who] keeps
shomerH8104 →468 times
הַבְּרִ֣יתthe covenant
haberitH1285 →284 times
וְהַחֶ֗סֶדand <the> covenant loyalty
vehachesedH2617 →247 times
לְאֹהֲבָ֛יוto [those who] love him
leohavavH157 →211 times
וּלְשֹׁמְרֵ֥יand to [those who] keep
uleshomereiH8104 →468 times
מִצְוֹתָ֖יוcommandments his
mitzvotovH4687 →181 times
לְאֶ֥לֶףto a thousand
leelefH505 →505 times
דּֽוֹר׃generation[s]
dorH1755 →167 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
Hebrews 10:23Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 5:24
The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:3
But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- 1 Corinthians 1:9
God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Titus 1:2
in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 6:18
Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:24
Through
2 Thessalonians 3:3But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Timothy 4:18
And the Lord will rescue me from every evil action and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
- 1 Corinthians 10:13
Through
2 Timothy 2:13if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
it leads to
- Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
- Numbers 23:19
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Covenant34 verses
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.