Deuteronomy 5:32
in Deuteronomy 5So 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Ye shall observe to do therefore as Jehovah your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
KJV
Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 5
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
So be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you
on Deuteronomy 5:32-33
The command not "to turn aside to the right or to the left" recurs for the judges at 17:11 and the king at 17:20. It returns for the nation at 28:14 and for Joshua at Joshua 1:7.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
1 And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them. 2 The L ORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 The L ORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v1-3
Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God doth command you,.... Observe every precept, as to matter and manner, which the Lord has commanded, and that under a sense of the great obligations laid on them by him, in giving them freely so good a land to possess: you shall not turn to the right hand or to the left; but walk in the way of the commandments of God, and not depart from them at all, but follow the Lord in his own ways fully.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Ye shall observe to do - He who marks not the word of God is never likely to fulfill the will of God. Ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left - The way of truth and righteousness is a right line; a man must walk straight forward who wishes to go to glory; no crooked or devious path ever led to God or happiness.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֣ם | ushemartem | and you will take care | H8104 → | 468 times |
| לַעֲשׂ֔וֹת | laasot | to do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| צִוָּ֛ה | tzivah | he has commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֖ם | ʾeloheikhem | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֑ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תָסֻ֖רוּ | tasuru | you must turn aside | H5493 → | 299 times |
| יָמִ֥ין | yamin | right [hand] | H3225 → | 140 times |
| וּשְׂמֹֽאל׃ | usemol | and left [hand] | H8040 → | 54 times |
וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֣םand you will take care
ushemartemH8104 →468 times
לַעֲשׂ֔וֹתto do
laasotH6213 →2628 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
צִוָּ֛הhe has commanded
tzivahH6680 →494 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֖םGod your
ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 times
אֶתְכֶ֑ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תָסֻ֖רוּyou must turn aside
tasuruH5493 →299 times
יָמִ֥יןright [hand]
yaminH3225 →140 times
וּשְׂמֹֽאל׃and left [hand]
usemolH8040 →54 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 4:27Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your feet away from evil.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:14
Do not turn aside to the right or to the left from any of the words I command you today, and do not go after other gods to serve them.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 1:7
Above 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…
- Deuteronomy 28:14
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 12:32
See that you do everything I command you; do not add to it or subtract from it.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 1:8
This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper…
- Proverbs 4:27
Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your feet away from evil.
- Joshua 11:15
As the LORD had commanded His servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua. That is what Joshua did, leaving nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.
- 1 Chronicles 22:13
Through
Deuteronomy 28:14Do not turn aside to the right or to the left from any of the words I command you today, and do not go after other gods to serve them.
it leads to
- Proverbs 4:26–27
Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 4:26–27
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the 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.