Deuteronomy 7:12
in Deuteronomy 7If you listen to these ordinances and keep them carefully, then the LORD your God will keep His covenant and the loving devotion that He swore to your fathers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it shall come to pass, because ye hearken to these ordinances, and keep and do them, that Jehovah thy God will keep with thee the covenant and the lovingkindness which he sware unto thy fathers:
KJV
Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:
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This verse in Deuteronomy 7
Commentary
6 notes on this verseWherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep and do them,.... Attentively listen to the declaration made of them, and be careful to observe them: that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers; to bring them into the land of Canaan, and continue them in it; yea, to send the Messiah to them, and bring him the salvation of Israel out of Zion; see Luk 1:68.
This site's exposition
the LORD your God will keep His covenant
on Deuteronomy 7:12-14
These blessings are the seed of chapter 28, where the same items return before the curses. Grain, new wine and oil is a set phrase here, recurring at 11:14, 14:23, 18:4 and 28:51.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The covenant and the mercy - That is, the covenant of mercy, which he out of his own mere grace made with them.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:82%@v8-12
Let us be constant in our duty, and we cannot question the constancy of God's mercy. That if they would love God and serve him, and devote themselves and theirs to him, he would love them, and bless them, and multiply them greatly,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
That people accordingly were truly happy as a nation, and found every promise which the faithful God made to them amply fulfilled, so long as they adhered to that obedience which was required of them.
The Lord - shall keep unto thee the covenant - So we find their continuance in the state of favor was to depend on their faithfulness to the grace of God. If they should rebel, though God had chosen them through his love, yet he would cast them off in his justice. The elect, we see, may become unfaithful, and so become reprobates. So it happened to 24,000 of them, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness because they had sinned; yet these were of the elect that came out of Egypt. Let him that standeth take heed lest he fall.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS ‘EIKEV’ YE HEARKEN. Eikev means “because.” So also, ‘eikev’ ( because ) that Abraham hearkened to My voice. 1 Genesis:5.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The meaning thereof is that when you will observe the ordinances [i.e., the judgments] out of a love for G-d, He will love you as well.
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
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָ֣ה׀ | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עֵ֣קֶב | ʾekev | consequence | H6118 → | |
| תִּשְׁמְע֗וּן | tishmeun | you will hear ! | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֵ֤ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים֙ | hamishpatim | the judgments | H4941 → | 422 times |
| הָאֵ֔לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֥ם | ushemartem | and you will take care | H8104 → | 468 times |
| וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם | vaasitem | and you will observe | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֹתָ֑ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְשָׁמַר֩ | veshamar | and he will keep | H8104 → | 468 times |
| יְהוָ֨ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| לְךָ֗ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| אֶֽת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַבְּרִית֙ | haberit | the covenant | H1285 → | 284 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַחֶ֔סֶד | hachesed | <the> covenant loyalty | H2617 → | 247 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נִשְׁבַּ֖ע | nishba' | he swore | H7650 → | 186 times |
| לַאֲבֹתֶֽיךָ׃ | laavoteikha | to ancestors your | H1 → | 1212 times |
וְהָיָ֣ה׀and it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
עֵ֣קֶבconsequence
ʾekevH6118 →
תִּשְׁמְע֗וּןyou will hear !
tishmeunH8085 →1159 times
אֵ֤ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים֙the judgments
hamishpatimH4941 →422 times
הָאֵ֔לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֥םand you will take care
ushemartemH8104 →468 times
וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖םand you will observe
vaasitemH6213 →2628 times
אֹתָ֑ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
וְשָׁמַר֩and he will keep
veshamarH8104 →468 times
יְהוָ֨הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
לְךָ֗to <the> you
lekha
אֶֽת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַבְּרִית֙the covenant
haberitH1285 →284 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַחֶ֔סֶד<the> covenant loyalty
hachesedH2617 →247 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נִשְׁבַּ֖עhe swore
nishba'H7650 →186 times
לַאֲבֹתֶֽיךָ׃to ancestors your
laavoteikhaH1 →1212 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Deuteronomy 7:9Know 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.
it leads to
- Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.
- 2 Timothy 2:13
if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:3
But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
- Daniel 9:4
And I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed, “O, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of loving devotion to those who love Him and keep His commandments,
- 1 Corinthians 1:9
God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
- Hebrews 10:23
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.