Deuteronomy 6:13
in Deuteronomy 6Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths in His name.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God; and him shalt thou serve, and shalt swear by his name.
KJV
Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 6
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThou shalt fear the Lord thy God - Thou shalt respect and reverence him as thy Lawgiver and Judge; as thy Creator, Preserver, and the sole object of thy religious adoration. And serve him - Our blessed Lord, in Mat 4:10; Luk 4:8, quotes these words thus: And him Only (αυτῳ μονῳ) shalt thou serve. It appears, therefore, that לבדו lebaddo was anciently in the Hebrew text, as it was and is in the Septuagint, (αυτῳ μονῳ), from which our Lord quoted it. The Coptic preserves the same reading; so do also the Vulgate, (illi soli), and the Anglo-Saxon.
This site's exposition
Fear the LORD your God
Jesus answers the third temptation with this verse at Matthew 4:10. The King James reads fear here and Matthew reads worship, because the quotation follows the Septuagint.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
Augustine of HippoON THE CATHOLIC AND THE MANICHAEAN WAYS OF LIFE 1.24.44 · Written before 430.
proposed
What is to be said of justice in its relation to God? As the Lord says, "No man can serve two masters," and the apostle rebukes those who serve the creature rather than the Creator, so had it not been said before in the Old Testament: "You shall adore the Lord your God and him only shall you serve"? But what need is there to say more about this here since the Scriptures are full of such texts? Justice then offers this rule of life to the lover we are describing: that he serve with gladness the Lord whom he loves, that is to say, the supreme good, the supreme wisdom, the supreme peace; and with respect to all other things, that he govern those which are subject to him and endeavor to subject all else to the same rule. This rule of life is confirmed, as we have shown, by the authority of both Testaments.
Whoever yields assent to the supreme authority of divine Scripture should first examine these words: "The Lord your God shall you adore, and him only shall you serve." In Greek the expression used does not signify the service owed to human masters but that which is offered to God, called latreia. Thus idolatry is rightly condemned because the latreia which is due to the true God alone is offered to idols. It does not say, "You shall adore only the Lord your God," but it says, "And him only shall you serve." It used the word only with "you shall serve," meaning, no doubt, that service which is called latreia. To this service belong temple, sacrifice, priest, and other like attributes.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Swear by his name in all treaties and covenants with the neighbouring nations, and do not compliment them so far as to swear by their gods. Swearing by his mane is sometimes put for an open profession of his name. 23 , Every tongue shall swear, is expounded ( Rom. xiv.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The purport thereof is that after he commanded concerning the love of G-d, he mentioned that [one is] to fear Him so that he not sin and be punished.
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. 5 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
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֧ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| תִּירָ֖א | tira' | you will fear | H3372 → | 315 times |
| וְאֹת֣וֹ | veoto | and <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| תַעֲבֹ֑ד | taavod | you will serve | H5647 → | 288 times |
| וּבִשְׁמ֖וֹ | uvishmo | and in name his | H8034 → | 864 times |
| תִּשָּׁבֵֽעַ׃ | tishavea' | you will swear oaths | H7650 → | 186 times |
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֧הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
תִּירָ֖אyou will fear
tira'H3372 →315 times
וְאֹת֣וֹand <obj.> him
veotoH853 →10935 times
תַעֲבֹ֑דyou will serve
taavodH5647 →288 times
וּבִשְׁמ֖וֹand in name his
uvishmoH8034 →864 times
תִּשָּׁבֵֽעַ׃you will swear oaths
tishavea'H7650 →186 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 4:10“Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 10:20
You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 6:13–14
Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths in His name.
- Luke 4:8
But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 24:14
Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; cast aside the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 7:3
Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and Ashtoreths among you, prepare your hearts…
- Deuteronomy 10:20
Through
Luke 4:8But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
it leads to
- Matthew 4:10
“Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 4:10
Through
Deuteronomy 13:4You are to follow the LORD your God and fear Him. Keep His commandments and listen to His voice; serve Him and hold fast to Him.
it leads to
- Colossians 1:10
so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
- 1 Corinthians 6:17
But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit.
- Colossians 1:10
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Worship35 verses
On this page
Studies15
On this chapter
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, ON THE CATHOLIC AND THE MANICHAEAN WAYS OF LIFE 1.24.44; Augustine of Hippo, LETTER 173A; 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.