Deuteronomy 11:21
in Deuteronomy 11so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be multiplied in the land that the LORD swore to give your fathers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which Jehovah sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of the heavens above the earth.
KJV
That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth.
⋯
This verse in Deuteronomy 11
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The sense is: “Keep the covenant faithfully, and so shall your own and your children’s days be multiplied as long as the heaven covers the earth.” The promise of Canaan to Israel was thus a perpetual promise, but also a conditional one.
This site's exposition
Fix these words of mine in your hearts
on Deuteronomy 11:18-21
This repeats 6:6-9 within the same speech: the words in the heart, on the hand and forehead, and on doorposts and gates. Verse 18 is plural where 6:6 was singular, and verse 19 returns to the singular for the house.
This site's exposition
as long as the heavens are
Barnes calls the promise of the land perpetual and conditional at once. The LORD swore the land to the fathers, and their children's days in it would be multiplied as long as they kept His commandments. 2 Kings 17:23 records the northern tribes carried off to Assyria.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
That your days may be multiplied,....
Their days should be multiplied; and, when they were fulfilled, the days of their children likewise should be many, as the days of heaven, that is, Canaan should be sure to them and their heirs for ever, as long as the world stands, if they did not by their own sin throw themselves out of it.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3425: “Days of Heaven Upon the Earth” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
As this text was originally written, it referred only to the length of life and the length of endurance which God promised to His obedient Israel. If they walked in His statutes, the Kingdom was to abide from generation to generation, without end, "as the days of Heaven upon earth."
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3425: “Days of Heaven Upon the Earth” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
As this text was originally written, it referred only to the length of life and the length of endurance which God promised to His obedient Israel. If they walked in His statutes, the Kingdom was to abide from generation to generation, without end, "as the days of Heaven upon earth." But it seems to me that such a phrase as this ought to mean something more, if it did not, and might be used to express—and must be used to express many of those happy seasons which we have enjoyed when the Lord has manifested Himself to us—and which have been to us "as the days of Heaven upon the earth." But is not the expression exaggeration? Is it not too strong? Brothers and Sisters, I think not. There were days of Heaven upon earth once. Every day upon earth was a day of Heaven before our first parent stretched out his hand and broke his Lord's command. When he walked through the Garden of Eden, by the side of the rippling Hiddekel, or the streaming Euphrates, which rolled over sands of gold. As he reclined under the shadow of the trees from the heat of the sun, and plucked the generous fruit, God was with him as his Companion and manifested Himself to His favorite creature.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לְמַ֨עַן | lemaan | so that | H4616 → | 272 times |
| יִרְבּ֤וּ | yirbu | they may increase | H7235 → | 227 times |
| יְמֵיכֶם֙ | yemeikhem | days your | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וִימֵ֣י | vimei | and [the] days of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| בְנֵיכֶ֔ם | veneikhem | children your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַ֚ל | ʾal | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָֽאֲדָמָ֔ה | haadamah | the land | H127 → | 225 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נִשְׁבַּ֧ע | nishba' | he swore | H7650 → | 186 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לַאֲבֹתֵיכֶ֖ם | laavoteikhem | to ancestors your | H1 → | 1212 times |
| לָתֵ֣ת | latet | to give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָהֶ֑ם | lahem | to <the> them | ||
| כִּימֵ֥י | kimei | like [the] days of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | above | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ ס | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
לְמַ֨עַןso that
lemaanH4616 →272 times
יִרְבּ֤וּthey may increase
yirbuH7235 →227 times
יְמֵיכֶם֙days your
yemeikhemH3117 →2304 times
וִימֵ֣יand [the] days of
vimeiH3117 →2304 times
בְנֵיכֶ֔םchildren your
veneikhemH1121 →4930 times
עַ֚לon
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
הָֽאֲדָמָ֔הthe land
haadamahH127 →225 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נִשְׁבַּ֧עhe swore
nishba'H7650 →186 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לַאֲבֹתֵיכֶ֖םto ancestors your
laavoteikhemH1 →1212 times
לָתֵ֣תto give
latetH5414 →2011 times
לָהֶ֑םto <the> them
lahem
כִּימֵ֥יlike [the] days of
kimeiH3117 →2304 times
הַשָּׁמַ֖יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
עַל־above
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃ סthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 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
Proverbs 3:2for they will add length to your days, years and peace to your life.
it leads to
- Ephesians 6:1–3
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
- Proverbs 4:10
Listen, my son, and receive my words, and the years of your life will be many.
- Psalms 91:16
With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation.”
- Proverbs 9:11
For through wisdom your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.
- Ephesians 6:1–3
Through
Proverbs 9:11For through wisdom your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:2
for they will add length to your days, years and peace to your life.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 3:16
Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 6:2
so that you and your children and grandchildren may fear the LORD your God all the days of your lives by keeping all His statutes and commandments that I give you, and so that…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 10:27
The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be cut short.
- Proverbs 3:2
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3425: “Days of Heaven Upon the Earth” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); 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.