The Fallible · Synthetic · Study Bible
Obedience and Discipline
Deuteronomy 11:1–7 — Obedience and Discipline. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.
1You shall therefore love the LORD your God and always keep His charge, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·’ā·haḇ·tā ’êṯ Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā kāl- hay·yā·mîm wə·šā·mar·tā miš·mar·tōw wə·ḥuq·qō·ṯāw ū·miš·pā·ṭāw ū·miṣ·wō·ṯāw
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-you-shall-love the LORD your-God, and-you-shall-keep his-keeping — his-statutes and-his-judgments and-his-commandments — all the-days.
Where the English smooths the original
Observe the connexion of these two; Thou shalt love the Lord, and keep his charge. Love will work in obedience, and that only is acceptable obedience which flows from a principle of love, 1Jo 5:3.
There is no break here in the original. “The Lord thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God.” And keep his charge. —Literally, keep his keeping, i.e., all that is to be kept in obedience to Him. Alway. —Literally, all the days.Ellicott recovers the cognate figure “keep his keeping” that the English smooths away.
Love was to show itself in the distinct perception of what had to be observed towards Jehovah (to "keep His charge," see at Leviticus 8:35 ), i.e., in the perpetual observance of His commandments and rights. The words, "and His statutes," etc., serve to explain the general notion, "His charge."
keep his charge ] ‘Only here in Dt.; often in P (esp. Numbers), but usually in a technical sense, with genitive of the object to be kept, as Numbers 1:53 ; Numbers 3:28 : “Jehovah’s charge” (of a specific duty)Driver's source-critical note, preserved verbatim; the FSSB records it without endorsing its documentary conclusions.
2Know this day that it is not your children who have known and seen the discipline of the LORD your God: His greatness, His mighty hand, and His outstretched arm;
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wî·ḏa‘·tem hay·yō·wm kî lō ’eṯ- bə·nê·ḵem ’ă·šer lō- yā·ḏə·‘ū wa·’ă·šer lō- rā·’ū ’eṯ- mū·sar Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·hê·ḵem ’eṯ- gā·ḏə·lōw ’eṯ- ha·ḥă·zā·qāh yā·ḏōw han·nə·ṭū·yāh ū·zə·rō·‘ōw
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-you-(plural)-shall-know this-day — for not with-your-children who have-not-known and-who have-not-seen the-discipline of-the-LORD your-God — his-greatness, his-hand the-strong and-his-arm the-outstretched;
Where the English smooths the original
the chastisement ] ‘mûsâr denotes neither instruction (see on Deuteronomy 4:36 ) nor chastisement (though this may be included), but moral education or discipline (Gk. παιδεία ) attended with greater ( Proverbs 3:11 ; Job 5:17 ) or less severity ( Proverbs 1:2 ; Proverbs 1:8 ; Proverbs 4:1 ) as the case may be: the sight of Jehovah’s wonders … ought to have exerted upon the Israelites a disciplinary influenceDriver, quoted in Cambridge, fixes mûsâr as paideia — the hinge between the Old Testament word and Hebrews 12.
The clause is without any verb or predicate, but this can easily be supplied from the sense. The best suggestion is that of Schultz, viz., ההוּא הדּבר, "for it is not with your children that I have to do," not to them that this admonition applies. Moses refers to the children who had been born in the desert
His mighty hand. . . .— Or, His hand in its strength, and His arm in its length. The position of the adjectives is emphatic.
Know ye this day — That is, acknowledge and consider it with diligence and thankfulness; for that is the sense of the original word here, and in a multitude of other places.
3the signs and works He did in Egypt to Pharaoh king of Egypt and all his land;
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·’eṯ- ’ō·ṯō·ṯāw wə·’eṯ- ma·‘ă·śāw ’ă·šer ‘ā·śāh bə·ṯō·wḵ miṣ·rā·yim lə·p̄ar·‘ōh me·leḵ- miṣ·ra·yim ū·lə·ḵāl- ’ar·ṣōw
Literal — word-for-word from the original
and his-signs and-his-works which he-did in-the-midst-of Egypt, to-Pharaoh king-of Egypt and-to-all his-land;
Where the English smooths the original
And his miracles, and his acts, which he did in the midst of Egypt,.... The miraculous works done there, the ten plagues inflicted on the Egyptians for refusing to let Israel go: unto Pharaoh king, of Egypt, and unto all his land; for those plagues not only affected him and his court, and his metropolis, but all parts of the land, the inhabitants of it everywhere.
and his signs, and his works ] See on Deuteronomy 4:34 ; cp. Deuteronomy 6:22 , Deuteronomy 7:19 .
Moses is here giving a brief summary of the marvels and miracles of awful judgment which God had wrought in effecting their release from the tyranny of Pharaoh, as well as those which had taken place in the wilderness. He knew that he might dwell upon these, for he was addressing many who had been witnesses of those appalling incidents.
4what He did to the Egyptian army and horses and chariots when He made the waters of the Red Sea engulf them as they pursued you, and how He destroyed them completely, even to this day;
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wa·’ă·šer ‘ā·śāh miṣ·ra·yim lə·ḥêl lə·sū·sāw ū·lə·riḵ·bōw ’ă·šer mê sūp̄ yam- hê·ṣîp̄ ’eṯ- ‘al- pə·nê·hem bə·rā·ḏə·p̄ām ’a·ḥă·rê·ḵem Yah·weh way·’ab·bə·ḏêm ‘aḏ hay·yō·wm haz·zeh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
and-what he-did to-the-army-of Egypt, to-its-horses and-to-its-chariot, when he-made the-waters-of the-Reed Sea to-overflow over their-face as-they-pursued after-you — and-the-LORD destroyed-them unto this day;
Where the English smooths the original
how he made the water of the Red sea to overflow them; "or to flow over their faces" (b): as they pursued after you; so that they could not see their way, nor steer their course after them; and not only so, but were covered with the waters of the sea, drowned in them, and sunk to the bottom of them
the Red Sea ] On the Heb. name, probably Sea of Reeds or Sedge , see note to Exodus 13:18 . On the passage of the sea, see Exodus 14. D does not mention it elsewhere than here
The effect of which destruction continueth to this day, in their weakness and fear, and our safety from all their further attempts against us.
Hath destroyed them unto this day — Brought them so low that they have not yet recovered their strength. Or, the effect of which destruction continueth to this day, in their weakness and fear, and our safety from their further attempts against us.
5what He did for you in the wilderness until you reached this place;
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wa·’ă·šer ‘ā·śāh lā·ḵem bam·miḏ·bār ‘aḏ- bō·’ă·ḵem ‘aḏ- haz·zeh ham·mā·qō·wm
Literal — word-for-word from the original
and-what he-did for-you in-the-wilderness, until your-coming unto this place;
Where the English smooths the original
what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came into this place; (b) As well concerning his benefits, as his corrections.
Meaning not so much the good things he did for them in divers places, as the chastisements and corrections he had exercised them with for their murmurings, rebellions, idolatry, and uncleanness, as at Taberah, Kibrothhattaavah, on the coast of Edom, and plains of Moab; by fire, by sword, by plagues, and fiery serpents
The doings of God to the people in the wilderness comprehend the manifestations of his omnipotence, both in their guidance and protection, and in the punishment of those who transgressed.
6and what He did in the midst of all the Israelites to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing that belonged to them.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wa·’ă·šer ‘ā·śāh bə·qe·reḇ kāl- yiś·rā·’êl lə·ḏā·ṯān wə·la·’ă·ḇî·rām bə·nê ’ĕ·lî·’āḇ ben- rə·’ū·ḇên ’ă·šer hā·’ā·reṣ ’eṯ- pā·ṣə·ṯāh pî·hā wat·tiḇ·lā·‘êm wə·’eṯ- bāt·tê·hem wə·’eṯ- ’ā·ho·lê·hem wə·’êṯ kāl- hay·qūm ’ă·šer bə·raḡ·lê·hem
Literal — word-for-word from the original
and-what he-did in-the-midst-of all Israel to-Dathan and-to-Abiram, sons-of Eliab son-of Reuben, when the-earth opened its-mouth and-swallowed-them, and-their-households and-their-tents, and-every living-thing that-was at-their-feet, in-the-midst-of all Israel;
Where the English smooths the original
Here Moses only mentions Dathan and Abiram, the followers of Korah, and not Korah himself, probably from regard to his sons, who were not swallowed up by the earth along with their father, but had lived to perpetuate the family of Korah.
literally, "every living thing at their feet." The expression does not mean their goods, which would be included in their "households and tents," but their followers Numbers 16:32 .
It is impossible to separate the rebellion of Korah from that of Dathan and Abiram, and seeing that the whole point of Korah’s rebellion was the priesthood, it is difficult to see how the writer of Deuteronomy could be ignorant of any priesthood save that of the whole tribe of Levi.Ellicott raises the priesthood question that Cambridge answers from the documentary side; the FSSB records both without adjudicating authorship.
In their possession, Heb. at their feet , i.e. under their power, Psalm 8:6 , which followed them, or belonged to them.
7For it is your own eyes that have seen every great work that the LORD has done.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
kî ‘ê·nê·ḵem hā·rō·’ōṯ ’eṯ- kāl- hag·gā·ḏōl ma·‘ă·śêh ’ă·šer Yah·weh ‘ā·śāh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
For your own eyes are the-ones-seeing all the-great work of-the-LORD which he-did.
Where the English smooths the original
But your eyes have seen. —Literally, For your eyes are the witnesses (literally; the seers ) of all the great working of Jehovah which He hath wrought.
All of them had seen some, and some of them had seen all the great things done in Egypt, and at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness.
For but , read yea : Yea, your eyes have seen, etc.
As if he had said, You yourselves have had experience of God’s goodness and power, and therefore you should be the more affected therewith. What our eyes have seen, especially in our younger days, should be improved by us long after.
There might, therefore, have been many thousands of the Israelites at that time of whom Moses could say, "Your eyes have seen all the great acts which He did"; and with regard to those the historic review of Moses was well calculated to stir up their minds to the duty and advantages of obedience.JFB does the demography Moses leaves implicit: the death-in-the-wilderness sentence fell only on males twenty and upward fit for war, so the assembly still held many true eyewitnesses.
The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.
AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.
The unit opens with no seam in the Hebrew. As Ellicott observes, “There is no break here in the original” — wə·’ā·haḇ·tā (H157) runs straight on from the promise of multiplied seed into the command to love. The grammar is the theology: love (H157, the verb of 6:5) stands first, and only then the keeping. Matthew Henry draws the connexion tight: “Love will work in obedience, and that only is acceptable obedience which flows from a principle of love.” The object of that keeping is a cognate figure the English cannot hold — wə·šā·mar·tā miš·mar·tōw, “keep his keeping” (H8104/H4931), which Keil rightly takes as the general heading that the following triad — statutes, judgments, commandments — merely unpacks. Cambridge, quoting Driver, notes that “charge” is a term elsewhere technical and Priestly; the FSSB records that observation without adopting its conclusions about sources.
Verse 2 turns from precept to memory, and its central word governs the whole catalogue: mū·sar (H4148). The translations strain. Driver (in Cambridge) insists it “denotes neither instruction nor chastisement (though this may be included), but moral education or discipline (Gk. παιδεια).” Keil agrees: paideia, “not punishment only, but education by the manifestation of love as well as punishment.” The sentence itself is broken — verbless — and Keil, following Schultz, mends it: “for it is not with your children that I have to do.” The appeal is to eyewitnesses, men now between forty and sixty (Keil) who saw Egypt fall with their own eyes. Ellicott catches the emphatic Hebrew word-order of the next clause: not two stock epithets but “His hand in its strength, and His arm in its length.” That the LXX renders mūsār by paideia is the load-bearing fact for this unit's reach into the New Testament — the same Greek word Hebrews 12 takes up for a Father's training of sons.
Now the deeds themselves, each clause headed by ‘ā·śāh (H6213), “he did” — a drumbeat from v.3 through v.6. The signs fell bə·ṯō·wḵ miṣ·rā·yim, “in the midst of Egypt” (H8432); Gill notes they touched “not only… his court, and his metropolis, but all parts of the land.” At the Sea, the rare causative hê·ṣîp̄ (H6687) — a verb in only three verses of all Scripture — makes the water “flow over their faces” (Gill, after Pagninus); the name yam sūp̄ is, as Cambridge flags, the “Sea of Reeds”, not of red. Then v.5 widens to the wilderness, bam·miḏ·bār (H4057): Geneva reads it as “his benefits, as his corrections” together, while Gill weights the corrections — Taberah, Kibroth-hattaavah, the fiery serpents — the mūsār of v.2 made history.
The discipline fell “in the midst of all Israel” too. The earth pā·ṣə·ṯāh (H6475) — rent open — its mouth and wat·tiḇ·lā·‘êm (H1104), swallowed Dathan and Abiram with “every hay·qūm” (H3351) at their feet. Keil presses the rare noun: yəqûm “is only applied to living beings, as in Genesis 7” — the Flood's word for all that stood and was blotted out. Barnes and Poole agree the “feet” idiom means not goods but followers (Numbers 16:32). Korah goes unnamed; Keil reasons it is “from regard to his sons,” who survived. Cambridge observes that Deuteronomy here even uses a different verb for “opened” than Numbers — an independent telling. Verse 7 closes the frame opened in v.2: Ellicott reads ‘ê·nê·ḵem hā·rō·’ōṯ as “your eyes are the witnesses (literally, the seers),” and Pulpit urges “yea” for the clinching kî. The whole Exodus is gathered into one singular “great work” their own eyes saw.
Read on its own terms, the passage makes memory the engine of love. Moses does not first command the heart and then leave it bare; he commands love (v.1) and then, for seven verses, shows the people what there is to love — signs in Egypt, waters over Pharaoh's faces, forty years of pasture-and-correction, the ground torn open under rebels. The pivot word, mūsār (H4148), refuses the modern split between mercy and severity: the drowning of Egypt and the feeding in the desert are one curriculum, one paideia, and both are love teaching. The argument runs through the eyes (v.2 “seen”, v.7 “your eyes are the seers”): covenant love is not asked of the blind but of witnesses. The FSSB's own tentative reading — offered to be tested, not as Scripture — is that this is why the Spirit later names the believer's hardships by the same Greek word, paideia (Hebrews 12): not because God has changed His pedagogy, but because He never had two. The God who disciplined Israel by what their eyes saw still disciplines sons He loves — and the call is the same: know it this day, and love.
The drowning of Egypt and the manna in the desert are one curriculum — love does not teach with two hands.
AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.
The judgment of v.6 is one of the most heavily cross-attested events in the Torah. The proper names Dathan (H1885, only 8 verses) and Abiram (H48, only 9 verses) function almost as a fingerprint, recurring with the swallowing-verb bālaʿ (H1104) in the Numbers account and in Psalm 106's poetic recital. Because the shared lexemes are rare proper names tied to a single event, the verbal linkage is firm; the Verifier confirms the shared Strong's across each pair.
Numbers 16:1 · Numbers 16:12 · Numbers 26:9 · Psalm 106:17
basis: rare shared lexemes Dathan (H1885, 8 vv) + Abiram (H48, 9 vv), with Eliab (H446) / Reuben (H7205) in Num 16:1 & 26:9, and the swallowing-verb bālaʿ (H1104) in Ps 106:17 — Verifier-confirmed on each pair
Verse 6 stacks two verbs that recur together nowhere else as a pair in the way they do here and in Lamentations 2:16: the earth pā·ṣə·ṯāh (H6475, pāṣâh, to rend/open, only 15 vv) pî·hā (H6310, “its mouth”) and wat·tiḇ·lā·ʿêm (H1104, bālaʿ, to swallow). In Lamentations the same word-cluster is turned against Jerusalem — her enemies “have opened their mouth (pāṣâh peh) against thee… we have swallowed her up (bālaʿ).” The Verifier confirms all three lexemes shared. We tier this structural/thematic rather than verbal-quotation: the agent is reversed (in Deuteronomy the earth swallows rebels at God's command; in Lamentations the enemy mouth swallows the city), so it is a reused motif of devouring judgment, not a citation of the same event.
Lamentations 2:16
basis: shared lexemes pāṣâh (H6475, 15 vv) + peh (H6310) + bālaʿ (H1104) with Lam 2:16 — Verifier-confirmed; the same open-mouth-and-swallow word-pair, but agent reversed (earth vs. enemy), so a reused motif, not a quotation of the event
Keil notes that hay·qūm (H3351, yəqûm, “living/standing thing”) “is only applied to living beings, as in Genesis 7:4 and Genesis 7:23.” The word occurs in only three verses in the whole Hebrew Bible — here and the two Flood verses. Its rarity makes the verbal echo real and pointed: Korah's company, like the antediluvian world, is “every standing thing” wiped from the earth. The Verifier confirms H3351 shared on both pairs.
Genesis 7:4 · Genesis 7:23
basis: rare shared lexeme yəqûm (H3351) — occurs in only 3 verses in the canon (Deut 11:6; Gen 7:4; Gen 7:23); Verifier-confirmed
The causative verb hê·ṣîp̄ (H6687, ṣûp, “to overflow / float”) of v.4 is among the rarest in Scripture — three verses only. Beyond Egypt's drowning here, it surfaces in the floating axe-head of 2 Kings 6:6 and the closing waters of Lamentations 3:54 (“waters flowed over my head”). The link is verbal but not thematic-quotation: the same vivid water-verb, three uses, no shared narrative. We record it as a rare-lexeme verbal link, not a citation.
2 Kings 6:6 · Lamentations 3:54
basis: rare shared lexeme ṣûp (H6687) — occurs in only 3 verses (Deut 11:4; 2 Kgs 6:6; Lam 3:54); Verifier-confirmed. A lexical, not narrative, echo.
The triad of v.2 — gōdel (H1433), strong hāzāq (H2389) hand, outstretched arm zərôaʿ (H2220) — is a fixed liturgical formula recurring across Deuteronomy. With 3:24 it shares the rarer noun gōdel (only 13 vv) plus ḥāzāq and maʿăseh; with Psalm 79:11 it shares gōdel and arm. This is shared confessional pattern, not quotation, so it is tiered structural rather than verbal despite the real lexical overlap.
Deuteronomy 3:24 · Deuteronomy 9:26 · Psalm 79:11
basis: shared formulaic lexemes gōdel (H1433, 13 vv) + ḥāzāq (H2389) + maʿăseh (H4639) with Deut 3:24; gōdel + zərôaʿ (H2220) with Ps 79:11 — a recurring confessional pattern, no quotation claim
The opening imperative of v.1, wə·ʾā·haḇ·tā (H157, ‘āhab), resumes the Great Commandment of Deuteronomy 6:5, as Cambridge notes (“thou shalt love — See on Deuteronomy 6:5”). The bond is the shared verb of covenant love and the parallel structure (love + keep), not a quotation; the Verifier records the shared lexeme H157 and tiers the connexion structural/thematic.
Deuteronomy 6:5 · Deuteronomy 10:12
basis: shared lexeme ʼāhab (H157, 197 vv) with the love-then-keep structure of Deut 6:5; 10:12 develops the same demand (Keil) — thematic, not a citation
This unit (Deuteronomy 11) does not contain Joshua 1:5, so the mandated flag does not bear on the present text directly. It is recorded here only to register the FSSB's standing caution on contested NT quotation-provenance: where a New Testament citation's wording is debated — as with Hebrews 13:5's “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” whose Old Testament source is variously assigned — the link must be flagged, not asserted. No claim is made that Deuteronomy 11 is the source.
Joshua 1:5 · Hebrews 13:5
basis: directive flag: contested NT quotation-provenance (Heb 13:5); NOT a thread internal to Deut 11 — recorded for honesty per standing rule, no shared-lexeme claim
AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.
The pivot word of v.2, mūsār (H4148), is rendered by the LXX with paideia — the very Greek noun Hebrews 12:5–11 takes up: “the Lord disciplines (paideuei) the one he loves… God is treating you as sons.” Deuteronomy already fuses mercy and severity into one fatherly training (Driver, Keil); the New Testament does not invent this but reads the Exodus discipline as the pattern of how God forms the children He loves in Christ. This is a cross-Testament (Greek↔Hebrew) link, so it cannot rest on a shared Strong's number; it rests on the LXX's lexical bridge and a widely-held reading.
Deuteronomy 11:2 · Hebrews 12:5 · Hebrews 12:10 · Proverbs 3:11
Moses grounds the call to love in “all the great work (maʿăseh, H4639) that the LORD has done,” seen with the people's own eyes (v.7). The Gospel of John gathers this logic into Christ: “the works that I do… bear witness of me” (John 5:36; 14:11), and faith is asked of those whose eyes have seen. As Deuteronomy roots love in witnessed deeds, the New Testament roots faith in the witnessed works of the incarnate LORD. The connexion is typological-structural, across Testaments, and so is offered as a figural reading, not a verbal quotation.
Deuteronomy 11:7 · John 5:36 · John 14:11 · 1 John 1:1
The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.
Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:
Honesty notes specific to Deuteronomy 11:1–7. (1) The verbal threads to Dathan/Abiram, yəqûm, and ṣûp are all rare-lexeme links confirmed by the Verifier on each pair; the ṣûp link (2 Kings 6:6; Lamentations 3:54) is lexical only and shares no narrative, which we say plainly rather than over-reading. The Lamentations 2:16 link shares the same three lexemes (pāṣâh + peh + bālaʿ) but reverses the agent, so it is recorded as a reused motif (structural/thematic), deliberately not tiered verbal-quotation. (2) The “greatness / strong hand / outstretched arm” and “love the LORD” threads do share Strong's numbers, but the overlap is formulaic/structural; we have deliberately under-claimed them as structural rather than verbal, since no party quotes another. (3) Both Christ links cross the Testaments (Greek↔Hebrew) and therefore cannot use shared Strong's numbers; the paideia link rests on the LXX rendering of mūsār and is widely held, while the “works” link is offered as a novel figural reading, to be tested. (4) The Joshua 1:5 → Hebrews 13:5 entry is included by standing editorial directive as a provenance flag; it is not a thread internal to this passage, and we make no claim that Deuteronomy 11 is its source. (5) On v.6 the commentators differ on authorship questions (Ellicott on the priesthood; Cambridge/Driver on JE vs P): the FSSB preserves these voices verbatim and records the tension without adjudicating it. (6) The parses are sourced from Berean/Strong's data and are not contradicted here; where the literal rendering diverges from BSB it is to expose the Hebrew, never to correct the parse.
✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)