The Fallible · Synthetic · Study Bible

Deuteronomy30:11–20

The Choice of Life or Death

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Generated by AI. It can be wrong, and it has no authority. Every note here is fallible commentary — never the Word itself. Public-domain sources are quoted and named; machine synthesis is marked and meant to be checked. Weigh all of it against Scripture. “They received the word with all readiness… and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” — Acts 17:11
✦ Public-domain source — quoted & attributed⚙ AI synthesis — generated, verify

Deuteronomy 30:11–20 — The Choice of Life or Death. 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.

11“For this commandment I give you today is not too difficult for y…”+

11For this commandment I give you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

kî haz·zōṯ ham·miṣ·wāh ’ă·šer ’ā·nō·ḵî mə·ṣaw·wə·ḵā hay·yō·wm lō- nip̄·lêṯ hî mim·mə·ḵā wə·lō rə·ḥō·qāh hî

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“For this the-commandment that I [am] commanding thee the-day — not too-wonderful [is] it from-thee, and-not far-off [is] it.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • נִפְלֵאת נִפְלֵאת (nip̄·lêṯ, Niphal of pālāʼ) is literally “too wonderful for thee,” not first “too difficult.” It is the word for the marvels of God beyond human grasp (Psalm 139:6; Proverbs 30:18). Ellicott, Poole and K&D all insist the root sense is wonderful / unintelligible; the BSB's “too difficult” catches the result but loses the awe — the commandment is not an inaccessible mystery.
  • מִצְוָה הַמִּצְוָה (ham·miṣ·wāh) is the singular the commandment — Keil reads it “used as in Deuteronomy 6:1 to denote the whole law,” the one sovereign duty (to love and obey the LORD), not the many statutes. English “commandment” is right but the article is emphatic: this one thing.
  • רְחֹקָה רְחֹקָה (rə·ḥō·qāh) is the plain adjective “far / remote” — of place, kindred, or time. The BSB's “beyond your reach” interprets the distance as inaccessibility; the Hebrew says only not far off. The point is location, not difficulty: the word has not stayed away.
  • הַיּוֹם הַיּוֹם (hay·yō·wm, “the day / today”) — the drumbeat of the whole peroration, struck again in vv. 15, 16, 18, 19. The commandment is not ancient and lost but pressed this very day on the hearers standing there.
Word by word14 · parsed+
כִּ֚יkîForH3588
√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction
הַזֹּ֔אתhaz·zōṯthisH2063
√ zôʼth — this (often used adverb)ArticlePronounfeminine singular
הַמִּצְוָ֣הham·miṣ·wāhcommandmentH4687
√ mitsvâh — a command, whether human or divine (collectively, the Law)ArticleNounfeminine singular
mitsvâh — command, the Law The singular the commandment. Keil and Cambridge take it for the whole law gathered into one — “a loyal, loving obedience to Jehovah” — the sum that vv. 16 and 20 will spell out as “to love the LORD thy God.”
אֲשֶׁ֛ר’ă·šerH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative
אָנֹכִ֥י’ā·nō·ḵîIH595
√ ʼânôkîy — IPronounfirst person common singular
’ânôkîy — I The emphatic first-person pronoun: I am commanding. Moses speaks, but as the mouth of the LORD whose covenant this is; the same ’ānōḵî that opens the Decalogue (“I am the LORD thy God”).
מְצַוְּךָ֖mə·ṣaw·wə·ḵāgiveH6680
√ tsâvâh — (intensively) to constitute, enjoinVerbPielParticiplemasculine singular constructsecond person masculine singular
הַיּ֑וֹםhay·yō·wmyou todayH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)ArticleNounmasculine singular
לֹֽא־lō-is notH3808
√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle
נִפְלֵ֥אתnip̄·lêṯtoo difficultH6381
√ pâlâʼ — properly, perhaps to separate, iVerbNifalParticiplefeminine singular
pâlâʼ — to be wonderful, surpassing (Niphal) The crux of the verse. The word elsewhere means too wonderful — beyond comprehension (Deut 17:8; Psalm 139:6). Cambridge sets it against Psalm 119:129 (“Thy testimonies are wonderful”) as “an interesting contrast”: there the law's wonder draws the soul to keep it; here its wonder is denied as a barrier. It is high, but not too high.
הִוא֙hî. . .H1931
√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Pronounthird person feminine singular
מִמְּךָ֔mim·mə·ḵāfor youH4480
√ min — properly, a part ofPrepositionsecond person masculine singular
וְלֹ֥אwə·lōorH3808
√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absConjunctive wawAdverbNegative particle
רְחֹקָ֖הrə·ḥō·qāhbeyond your reachH7350
√ râchôwq — remote, literally or figuratively, of place or timeAdjectivefeminine singular
râchôwq — far, remote Not distant in space, not stored up out of reach. The next two verses unfold the denial: not in heaven (too high), not beyond the sea (too far) — the revelation has come down and come near.
הִֽוא׃hî. . .H1931
√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Pronounthird person feminine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878
Is not hidden from thee — i.e., not too hard. Literally, too wonderful for thee.
Ellicott pins the literal sense: the Hebrew niphal of pālāʼ is “too wonderful,” the word for what surpasses, not merely what is hard.
✦Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s
"This commandment" (used as in Deuteronomy 6:1 to denote the whole law) is "not too wonderful for thee," i.e., is not too hard to grasp, or unintelligible (vid., Deuteronomy 17:8 ), nor is it too far off
✦Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706
The law is not too high for thee. It is not only known afar off; it is not confined to men of learning. It is written in thy books, made plain, so that he who runs may read it.
✦Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s
more frequently used of wonderful things, or extraordinary ; Psalm 119:129 : Thy testimonies are wonderful, therefore doth my soul keep them —an interesting contrast to this clause.
Cambridge catches the irony: the same word that calls God's testimonies “wonderful” (and so kept) is here denied as a wall — the law's wonder does not put it out of reach.
✦Alexander MaclarenExpositions of Holy Scripturec. 1905
No man can love as he ought; every man can love. It is blessed to have our obligations all gathered into such a commandment.
Maclaren takes the whole paragraph (vv. 11–20) as one peroration on “the spirit of the law,” and here reads vv. 11–14's “not too hard” precisely: complete conformity is beyond us, but real, imperfect love is within reach of all — the commandment gathered into one is a mercy, not a burden.
✦The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s
The idea is not, as Keil suggests, that of "an inaccessible height" which none could scale; nor is it, as suggested by Knobel, that of something "incomprehensible, impracticable, and superhuman;" it is simply a statement of fact that the Law had not been retained in heaven, but had been revealed to men.
The Pulpit Commentary (treating vv. 11–14 together) guards against two over-readings of the heaven-image — Keil's “inaccessible height” and Knobel's “superhuman” — insisting the point is plain fact: the word came down. The same note adds that the sea (v. 13) means distance, not depth (against Targum Jon.).
12“It is not in heaven, that you should need to ask, ‘Who will asce…”+

12It is not in heaven, that you should need to ask, ‘Who will ascend into heaven to get it for us and proclaim it, that we may obey it?’

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

hî lō ḇaš·šā·ma·yim lê·mōr mî ya·‘ă·leh- lā·nū haš·šā·may·māh wə·yiq·qā·ḥe·hā lā·nū wə·yaš·mi·‘ê·nū ’ō·ṯāh wə·na·‘ă·śen·nāh

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“Not in-the-heavens [is] it, to-say: Who will-ascend for-us toward-the-heavens and-take-it for-us, and-cause-us-to-hear-it, that-we-may-do-it?”

Where the English smooths the original

  • בַשָּׁמַיִם בַשָּׁמַיִם (ḇaš·šā·ma·yim) — “in the heavens.” The Pulpit Commentary corrects two over-readings: the picture is not “an inaccessible height” which none could scale (Keil) nor something “incomprehensible, impracticable, and superhuman” (Knobel), but “simply a statement of fact that the Law had not been retained in heaven, but had been revealed to men.” It came down.
  • יַעֲלֶה יַעֲלֶה (ya·‘ă·leh, “will ascend / go up”) is the verb Paul seizes for the gospel: “Who shall ascend into heaven? that is, to bring Christ down from above” (Romans 10:6). The Hebrew imagines a futile errand up to fetch a word already given; Paul reads it of a Christ already come down.
  • וְיַשְׁמִעֵנוּ וְיַשְׁמִעֵנוּ (wə·yaš·mi·‘ê·nū, Hiphil of šāmaʻ) is causative — “and make us hear it.” The BSB's “proclaim” is its drift; the root holds together hear and obey, so the imagined fetcher must both deliver the word and make it land on the ear.
Word by word13 · parsed+
הִ֑ואhîItH1931
√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Pronounthird person feminine singular
לֹ֥אlōis notH3808
√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle
בַשָּׁמַ֖יִםḇaš·šā·ma·yimin heavenH8064
√ shâmayim — the sky (as aloftPreposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine plural
shâmayim — heavens, sky The first of the two impossible distances. Cambridge reads it through 29:29: not “among the hidden things still with God… and requiring a mediator. God has not left men to hunger for it; it has been mediated and heard.”
לֵאמֹ֗רlê·mōrthat you should need to askH559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
מִ֣יmîWhoH4310
√ mîy — who? (occasionally, by a peculiar idiom, of things)Interrogative
יַעֲלֶה־ya·‘ă·leh-will ascendH5927
√ ʻâlâh — to ascend, intransitively (be high) or actively (mount)VerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
ʻâlâh — to go up, ascend The errand the verse forbids. Paul lifts this very verb into Romans 10:6 and turns it: no one need climb to heaven to fetch the word, “that is, to bring Christ down” — for He has already descended.
לָּ֤נוּlā·nūinto
Prepositionfirst person common plural
הַשָּׁמַ֙יְמָה֙haš·šā·may·māhheavenH8064
√ shâmayim — the sky (as aloftArticleNounmasculine pluralthird person feminine singular
וְיִקָּחֶ֣הָwə·yiq·qā·ḥe·hāto get itH3947
√ lâqach — to take (in the widest variety of applications)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive imperfectthird person masculine singularthird person feminine singular
לָּ֔נוּlā·nūfor us
Prepositionfirst person common plural
וְיַשְׁמִעֵ֥נוּwə·yaš·mi·‘ê·nūand proclaimH8085
√ shâmaʻ — to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etcConjunctive wawVerbHifilConjunctive imperfectthird person masculine singularfirst person common plural
shâmaʻ — to hear, obey (Hiphil) “Cause us to hear it” — the Hebrew for hearing already leans toward heeding. The objection is hollow, says Gill, because the word is “brought from thence already, and may be heard, and should be obeyed.”
אֹתָ֖הּ’ō·ṯāhitH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person feminine singular
וְנַעֲשֶֽׂנָּה׃wə·na·‘ă·śen·nāhthat we may obey itH6213
√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive imperfect Cohortative if contextualfirst person common pluralthird person feminine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s
In heaven — Shut up there, but it hath been thence delivered and published in thy hearing.
Benson reads the denial of v. 12 plainly: heaven is where the word was, before it was “delivered and published in thy hearing” — the point is that it has come down.
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
to put such a question would be the same as to ask "to bring Christ down from above", who is come down already by the assumption of human nature, to preach the Gospel, give the sense of the law, and fulfil it
Gill follows Paul's reading of v. 12: the futile ascent is answered by an Incarnation already accomplished.
✦Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s
not in heaven ] Not among the hidden things still with God, Deuteronomy 29:29 (28), and requiring a mediator. God has not left men to hunger for it; it has been mediated and heard.
13“And it is not beyond the sea, that you should need to ask, ‘Who …”+

13And it is not beyond the sea, that you should need to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it for us and proclaim it, that we may obey it?’

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

hî wə·lō- mê·‘ê·ḇer lay·yām lê·mōr mî ya·‘ă·ḇār- lā·nū ’el- ‘ê·ḇer hay·yām wə·yiq·qā·ḥe·hā lā·nū wə·yaš·mi·‘ê·nū ’ō·ṯāh wə·na·‘ă·śen·nāh

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“And-not from-across to-the-sea [is] it, to-say: Who will-cross-over for-us unto across the-sea and-take-it for-us, and-cause-us-to-hear-it, that-we-may-do-it?”

Where the English smooths the original

  • מֵעֵבֶר לַיָּם מֵעֵבֶר לַיָּם (mê·‘ê·ḇer lay·yām) is “from beyond / across the sea” — a region on the far side. The Geneva margin reads sea and heaven simply as “places most far distant,” and the Pulpit Commentary insists “the representation is not that of depth… but that of distance.” The image is horizontal: too far to reach, not too deep to plumb.
  • יַעֲבָר יַעֲבָר (ya·‘ă·ḇār, ʻābar, “cross over”) — the verb of the Hebrew (“ʻiḇrî,” the people of the one who crossed). Paul, however, replaces the sea-crossing with a descent: “Who shall descend into the deep (abyss)? that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead” (Romans 10:7). Ellicott calls the alteration “remarkable… The LXX. will not account for it.”
  • וְיִקָּחֶהָ וְיִקָּחֶהָ (wə·yiq·qā·ḥe·hā, lāqach, “take / fetch it”) — repeated verbatim from v. 12. The two impossible voyages, up to heaven and out past the sea, are framed identically; only the direction differs. The point is one: nobody has to go and get what God has already brought.
Word by word16 · parsed+
הִ֑ואhîAnd itH1931
√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Pronounthird person feminine singular
וְלֹֽא־wə·lō-is notH3808
√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absConjunctive wawAdverbNegative particle
מֵעֵ֥בֶרmê·‘ê·ḇerbeyondH5676
√ ʻêber — properly, a region acrossPreposition-mNounmasculine singular construct
ʻêber — region across Paired with yām, “sea”: the far bank of the world. The objection imagines the word stranded overseas; Poole answers that it “was brought to thy very doors and ears, and declared to thee in this wilderness.”
לַיָּ֖םlay·yāmthe seaH3220
√ yâm — a sea (as breaking in noisy surf) or large body of waterPreposition-l, ArticleNounmasculine singular
לֵאמֹ֗רlê·mōrthat you should need to askH559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
מִ֣יmîWhoH4310
√ mîy — who? (occasionally, by a peculiar idiom, of things)Interrogative
יַעֲבָר־ya·‘ă·ḇār-will crossH5674
√ ʻâbar — to cross overVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
ʻâbar — to cross over The crossing the verse forbids. Barnes records the Jerusalem Targum's striking gloss — “Oh that we had one like Jonah the prophet who could descend into the depths of the sea and bring it to us!” — the very figure (descent into the deep) Paul applies to Christ's resurrection.
לָ֜נוּlā·nū. . .
Prepositionfirst person common plural
אֶל־’el-. . .H413
√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition
עֵ֤בֶר‘ê·ḇer. . .H5676
√ ʻêber — properly, a region acrossNounmasculine singular construct
הַיָּם֙hay·yāmthe seaH3220
√ yâm — a sea (as breaking in noisy surf) or large body of waterArticleNounmasculine singular
yâm — sea With heaven in v. 12, the second pole of remoteness. Geneva: “By heaven and the sea he means places most far distant.” The Pulpit Commentary adds that the sea here means distance, not depth — though Paul (and the Targum before him) heard the deep in it.
וְיִקָּחֶ֣הָwə·yiq·qā·ḥe·hāto get itH3947
√ lâqach — to take (in the widest variety of applications)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive imperfectthird person masculine singularthird person feminine singular
לָּ֔נוּlā·nūfor us
Prepositionfirst person common plural
וְיַשְׁמִעֵ֥נוּwə·yaš·mi·‘ê·nūand proclaimH8085
√ shâmaʻ — to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etcConjunctive wawVerbHifilConjunctive imperfectthird person masculine singularfirst person common plural
אֹתָ֖הּ’ō·ṯāhitH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person feminine singular
וְנַעֲשֶֽׂנָּה׃wə·na·‘ă·śen·nāhthat we may obey itH6213
√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive imperfectfirst person common pluralthird person feminine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
nor any occasion that thou shouldest say, who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? which would be all one as to desire "to bring up Christ again from the dead"; when he is already risen, and is gone to heaven
Gill follows Paul (Rom 10:7): the futile sea-voyage is answered by a Christ already risen — “to bring up Christ again from the dead” is needless, for He is risen.
✦Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834
The paraphrase of this verse in the Jerusalem Targum is noteworthy, and should be compared with Paul's rendering in Romans 10:7 : "Neither is the law beyond the great sea, that thou shouldest say, Oh that we had one like Jonah the prophet who could descend into the depths of the sea and bring it to us!"
Barnes shows the Jonah-descent reading was already in Jewish tradition before Paul — the textual bridge from sea-crossing to descent into the deep.
✦Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599
By heaven and the sea he means places most far distant.
Geneva's gloss (i): heaven and sea are a merism for sheer distance — the word is neither too high nor too far.
14“But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your h…”+

14But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may obey it.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

kî- had·dā·ḇār mə·’ōḏ qā·rō·wḇ ’ê·le·ḵā bə·p̄î·ḵā ū·ḇil·ḇā·ḇə·ḵā la·‘ă·śō·ṯōw

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“For near unto-thee [is] the-word very, in-thy-mouth and-in-thy-heart, to-do-it.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • הַדָּבָר הַדָּבָר (had·dā·ḇār) is the word — and v. 11 called the same thing the commandment (miṣwāh). The pivot from command to word is what lets Paul read it of “the word of faith which we preach” (Romans 10:8); Geneva glosses it “Even the law and the gospel.”
  • קָרוֹב … מְאֹד קָרוֹב … מְאֹד (qā·rō·wḇ … mə·’ōḏ) — “very near.” The intensifier mᵉʼōd answers the two “far” voyages: not merely near but very near. Cambridge notes the speaker “does not add that it is ‘easy,’ but more justly and finely that it carries with it the conscience and provocation to its fulfilment by man.”
  • לַעֲשֹׂתוֹ לַעֲשֹׂתוֹ (la·‘ă·śō·ṯōw) — “to do it.” Nearness is not the goal; doing is. The infinitive of purpose caps the verse: the word is in mouth and heart so that it may be done. Knowledge that does not act has missed the point of its own accessibility.
Word by word8 · parsed+
כִּֽי־kî-ButH3588
√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction
הַדָּבָ֖רhad·dā·ḇārthe word [is]H1697
√ dâbâr — a wordArticleNounmasculine singular
dâbâr — word, matter The verse renames the commandment as the word — and it is on this single noun that Paul builds his whole reading in Romans 10:8 (“the word is nigh thee”). K&D: the declaration “the word is in thy heart” only reaches “its full realization through the preaching of the gospel of the grace of God.”
מְאֹ֑דmə·’ōḏveryH3966
√ mᵉʼôd — properly, vehemence, iAdverb
קָר֥וֹבqā·rō·wḇnearH7138
√ qârôwb — near (in place, kindred or time)Adjectivemasculine singular
qârôwb — near The answer to vv. 12–13. Not in heaven, not over the sea, but near — and intensified with mᵉʼōd, “very.” The whole rhetoric of the passage drives from far to near.
אֵלֶ֛יךָ’ê·le·ḵāyouH413
√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPrepositionsecond person masculine singular
peh — mouth The first lodging of the word: spoken, confessed, talked over (Poole: “the matter of thy common discourse”). Paul aligns it with confession — “if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus” (Rom 10:9).
בְּפִ֥יךָbə·p̄î·ḵā[it is] in your mouthH6310
√ peh — the mouth (as the means of blowing), whether literal or figurative (particularly speech)Preposition-bNounmasculine singular constructsecond person masculine singular
lêbâb — heart The second lodging: understood, believed, kept inwardly. Maclaren hears in this the law “graven on the fleshly tables of the heart,” the inward echo to which conscience says, “Thou speakest well.” Paul: “believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him.”
וּבִֽלְבָבְךָ֖ū·ḇil·ḇā·ḇə·ḵāand in your heartH3824
√ lêbâb — the heart (as the most interior organ)Conjunctive waw, Preposition-bNounmasculine singular constructsecond person masculine singular
לַעֲשֹׂתֽוֹ׃סla·‘ă·śō·ṯōwso that you may obey itH6213
√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationPreposition-lVerbQalInfinitive constructthird person masculine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s
The speaker does not add that it is ‘easy,’ but more justly and finely that it carries with it the conscience and provocation to its fulfilment by man: that thou mayest do it !
Cambridge resists the easy reading: the word's nearness is not comfort but summons — it lays the conscience under obligation to do.
✦Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599
Even the law and the gospel.
Geneva's gloss (k) on “the word”: already in 1599 the Reformers read this near word as both law and gospel — the bridge Paul had built in Romans 10.
✦Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s
But however near the law had thus been brought to man, sin had so estranged the human heart from the word of God, that doing and keeping the law had become invariably difficult, and in fact impossible; so that the declaration, "the word is in thy heart," only attains its full realization through the preaching of the gospel of the grace of God, and the righteousness that is by faith; and to this the Apostle Paul applies the passage in Romans 10:8 .
✦Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685
In thy mouth; thou knowest it so well, that it is the matter of thy common discourse; thou professest thy knowledge and belief of it
15“See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, as well as…”+

15See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, as well as death and disaster.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

rə·’êh nā·ṯat·tî lə·p̄ā·ne·ḵā hay·yō·wm ’eṯ- ha·ḥay·yîm wə·’eṯ- haṭ·ṭō·wḇ wə·’eṯ- ham·mā·weṯ wə·’eṯ- hā·rā‘

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“See, I-have-set before-thee the-day the-life and-the-good, and the-death and-the-evil.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • רְאֵה רְאֵה (rə·’êh) is the bare imperative “See!” — singular, abrupt, pointing. Not “behold, I have set” as a formula but a finger laid on what is now visibly laid out. The whole address pivots on this one verb of sight: look at the two roads.
  • הַטּוֹב … הָרָע הַטּוֹב … הָרָע (haṭ·ṭō·wḇ … hā·rā‘) — the BSB renders “prosperity… disaster,” but the words are simply the good and the evil. K&D keeps the breadth: “good” equals prosperity and salvation, “evil” (raʻ) adversity and destruction. The pairing deliberately echoes the tree “of the knowledge of good and evil” — the same two words set before the first man.
  • הַחַיִּים … הַמָּוֶת הַחַיִּים … הַמָּוֶת (ha·ḥay·yîm … ham·mā·weṯ) — the life (plural of fullness) and the death. Maclaren grants the immediate sense is “length of days,” yet “we can scarcely refuse to see some glimmer of a deeper conception gleaming through the words, ‘He is thy life.’” The literal frame is temporal; the depth is hinted.
Word by word12 · parsed+
רְאֵ֨הrə·’êhSeeH7200
√ râʼâh — to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative)VerbQalImperativemasculine singular
râʼâh — to see (imperative) “See!” — the verse turns from teaching to summons. Moses sets two visible roads before the eye. JFB compares the rising earnestness to Paul before the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:26–27).
נָתַ֤תִּיnā·ṯat·tîI have setH5414
√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcVerbQalPerfectfirst person common singular
לְפָנֶ֙יךָ֙lə·p̄ā·ne·ḵābefore youH6440
√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Preposition-lNouncommon plural constructsecond person masculine singular
הַיּ֔וֹםhay·yō·wmtodayH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)ArticleNounmasculine singular
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
הַֽחַיִּ֖יםha·ḥay·yîmlifeH2416
√ chay — aliveArticleNounmasculine plural
chay — life, alive (plural) The Hebrew ḥayyîm is a plural of abundance — life in its fullness, the first of the two goods. Bound with the good, it names not bare survival but blessing in the land.
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
הַטּ֑וֹבhaṭ·ṭō·wḇand prosperityH2896
√ ṭôwb — good (as an adjective) in the widest senseArticleNounmasculine singular
tôwb — good Paired with life, against death and raʻ (evil). Poole hears a hendiadys — “a good or a happy life.” K&D: good is “prosperity and salvation.” The word reaches as wide as the blessing it names.
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-as well asH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
הַמָּ֖וֶתham·mā·weṯdeathH4194
√ mâveth — death (natural or violent)ArticleNounmasculine singular
mâveth — death The counter-term. Set with raʻ, “evil,” it is the road of the curse. K&D: expounding the law was itself “setting before them life and death,” because the word “proved itself in every man a power of life or of death.”
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
הָרָֽע׃hā·rā‘and disasterH7451
√ raʻ — bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral)ArticleAdjectivemasculine singular
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✦Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s
Expounding the law was setting before them life and death, salvation and destruction, because the law, as the word of God, was living and powerful, and proved itself in every man a power of life or of death, according to the attitude which he assumed towards it
✦Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706
Every man wishes to obtain life and good, and to escape death and evil; he desires happiness, and dreads misery. So great is the compassion of the Lord, that he has favoured men, by his word, with such a knowledge of good and evil as will make them for ever happy, if it be not their own fault.
✦Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685
Life and good, i.e. a good or a happy life; a figure called heniaduo : or, life, and all the blessings of life
Poole reads “life and good” as a hendiadys (his “heniaduo”): one happy life, not two separate gifts.
✦Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871
in urging upon them the inducements to a wise choice, Moses warmed as he proceeded into a tone of solemn and impressive earnestness similar to that of Paul to the elders of Ephesus (Ac 20:26, 27).
16“For I am commanding you today to love the LORD your God, to walk…”+

16For I am commanding you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live and increase, and the LORD your God may bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’ă·šer ’ā·nō·ḵî mə·ṣaw·wə·ḵā hay·yō·wm lə·’a·hă·ḇāh ’eṯ- Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā lā·le·ḵeṯ biḏ·rā·ḵāw wə·liš·mōr miṣ·wō·ṯāw wə·ḥuq·qō·ṯāw ū·miš·pā·ṭāw wə·ḥā·yî·ṯā wə·rā·ḇî·ṯā Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā ū·ḇê·raḵ·ḵā bā·’ā·reṣ ’ă·šer- ’at·tāh ḇā- šām·māh lə·riš·tāh

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“[In] that I [am] commanding-thee the-day to-love YHWH thy-God, to-walk in-his-ways, and-to-keep his-commandments and-his-statutes and-his-judgments; and-thou-shalt-live and-multiply, and-YHWH thy-God shall-bless-thee in-the-land which thou [art] entering there to-possess-it.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • לְאַהֲבָה לְאַהֲבָה (lə·’a·hă·ḇāh, to love) stands first, before walking and keeping — and K&D marks it deliberate: “Love is placed first, as in Deuteronomy 6:5, as being the essential principle of the fulfilment of the commandments.” Maclaren: “Obedience is the result and test of love; love is the only parent of real obedience.” The order is the theology.
  • אֲשֶׁר אֲשֶׁר (’ă·šer) opens the verse — a relative “which / in that,” not a clean “for.” Cambridge calls the Hebrew construction “faulty,” restorable from the LXX as “If thou hearken to the commandment.” The seam shows: the verse is welded to v. 15, the command being the very content of the life just set forth.
  • וְחָיִיתָ וְרָבִיתָ וְחָיִיתָ וְרָבִיתָ (wə·ḥā·yî·ṯā wə·rā·ḇî·ṯā) — “and thou shalt live and multiply.” The waw-consecutive perfects make life and increase the consequence, not a parallel command: love and walk and keep, and so you will live. The blessing follows the loving.
Word by word25 · parsed+
אֲשֶׁ֨ר’ă·šerForH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative
אָנֹכִ֣י’ā·nō·ḵîIH595
√ ʼânôkîy — IPronounfirst person common singular
מְצַוְּךָ֮mə·ṣaw·wə·ḵāam commandingH6680
√ tsâvâh — (intensively) to constitute, enjoinVerbPielParticiplemasculine singular constructsecond person masculine singular
הַיּוֹם֒hay·yō·wmyou todayH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)ArticleNounmasculine singular
לְאַהֲבָ֞הlə·’a·hă·ḇāhto loveH157
√ ʼâhab — to have affection for (sexually or otherwise)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive constructthird person feminine singular
’âhab — to love The sovereign verb, set ahead of all the rest. This is the miṣwāh of v. 11 named at last: the one commandment is to love the LORD (Deut 6:5). Maclaren: “Love is recognised as the great commandment.”
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
יְהוָ֤הYah·wehthe LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙’ĕ·lō·he·ḵāyour GodH430
√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine singular
לָלֶ֣כֶתlā·le·ḵeṯto walkH1980
√ hâlak — to walk (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
hâlak — to walk Love made into a road. “To walk in His ways” is love put in motion — the daily direction of a life, not a feeling only. It follows love and flows from it.
בִּדְרָכָ֔יוbiḏ·rā·ḵāwin His waysH1870
√ derek — a road (as trodden)Preposition-bNouncommon plural constructthird person masculine singular
וְלִשְׁמֹ֛רwə·liš·mōrand to keepH8104
√ shâmar — properly, to hedge about (as with thorns), iConjunctive waw, Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
shâmar — to keep, guard “To keep His commandments” — the verb of hedging round, watching over. Love and walking issue in guarding the whole given law: commandments, statutes, judgments together.
מִצְוֺתָ֥יוmiṣ·wō·ṯāwHis commandmentsH4687
√ mitsvâh — a command, whether human or divine (collectively, the Law)Nounfeminine plural constructthird person masculine singular
וְחֻקֹּתָ֖יוwə·ḥuq·qō·ṯāwstatutesH2708
√ chuqqâh — {an enactmentConjunctive wawNounfeminine plural constructthird person masculine singular
וּמִשְׁפָּטָ֑יוū·miš·pā·ṭāwand ordinancesH4941
√ mishpâṭ — properly, a verdict (favorable or unfavorable) pronounced judicially, especially a sentence or formal decree (human or (participant's) divine law, individual or collective), including the act, the place, the suit, the crime, and the penaltyConjunctive wawNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine singular
וְחָיִ֣יתָwə·ḥā·yî·ṯāso that you may liveH2421
√ châyâh — to live, whether literally or figurativelyConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular
châyâh — to live The promised outcome (“so that you may live”). Bound with rabah, “increase,” it is life-and-multiplying in the land — the Edenic and patriarchal blessing renewed for the obedient nation.
וְרָבִ֔יתָwə·rā·ḇî·ṯāand increaseH7235
√ râbâh — to increase (in whatever respect)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular
יְהוָ֣הYah·wehand the LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵāyour GodH430
√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine singular
וּבֵֽרַכְךָ֙ū·ḇê·raḵ·ḵāmay blessH1288
√ bârak — to kneelConjunctive wawVerbPielConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singularsecond person masculine singular
bârak — to bless (Piel) The LORD's own act crowns the human ones: love, walk, keep — and the LORD will bless. Geneva: the promises are added “to signify that it is for our profit that we love him, and not for his.”
בָּאָ֕רֶץbā·’ā·reṣyou in the landH776
√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)Preposition-b, ArticleNounfeminine singular
אֲשֶׁר־’ă·šer-thatH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative
אַתָּ֥ה’at·tāhyouH859
√ ʼattâh — thou and thee, or (plural) ye and youPronounsecond person masculine singular
בָא־ḇā-are enteringH935
√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)VerbQalParticiplemasculine singular
שָׁ֖מָּהšām·māh. . .H8033
√ shâm — there (transferring to time) thenAdverbthird person feminine singular
לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃lə·riš·tāhto possessH3423
√ yârash — to occupy (by driving out previous tenants, and possessing in their place)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive constructthird person feminine singular
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✦Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599
So that to love and obey God, is only life and happiness.
Geneva's gloss (m): the whole of life and happiness is gathered into loving and obeying God — the one commandment of v. 11 named.
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
to love the Lord thy God,.... Which is the sum and substance of the first table of the law, and includes the whole worship of God
✦Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s
The constr. of the Heb. is faulty but may be restored from the LXX thus: If thou hearken to the commandment of the Lord thy God which I command thee (Dillm.).
Cambridge notes the rough Hebrew syntax and the LXX's smoother conditional — a visible seam where the peroration was stitched to v. 15.
17“But if your heart turns away and you do not listen, but are draw…”+

17But if your heart turns away and you do not listen, but are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·’im- lə·ḇā·ḇə·ḵā yip̄·neh wə·lō ṯiš·mā‘ wə·nid·daḥ·tā wə·hiš·ta·ḥă·wî·ṯā ’ă·ḥê·rîm lê·lō·hîm wa·‘ă·ḇaḏ·tām

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“But-if turns-away thy-heart, and-thou-wilt-not listen, and-thou-art-drawn-away and-bowest-down to-gods other and-servest-them —”

Where the English smooths the original

  • יִפְנֶה יִפְנֶה (yip̄·neh, pānāh, “turn”) — the heart that turns away. Apostasy begins not in the feet but in the heart's direction; the same heart that in v. 14 held the near word can pivot from it. The outward acts (bowing, serving) only follow where the heart has already turned.
  • וְנִדַּחְתָּ וְנִדַּחְתָּ (wə·nid·daḥ·tā, Niphal of nādach) — “and thou art drawn / driven away,” a passive: thrust off course. K&D glosses it “to permit oneself to be torn away to idolatry” (as Deut 4:19). Poole: “either by thy own evil mind, or by the examples or persuasions of others.” The will consents to being pulled.
  • אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים (’ĕlōhîm ’ăḥêrîm, “other gods”) — the standing Deuteronomic phrase for the rivals of YHWH. The adjective ’aḥêr (“other, hinder, behind”) marks them as the alternative road of v. 15: to serve these is to choose death and evil.
Word by word10 · parsed+
וְאִם־wə·’im-But ifH518
√ ʼim — used very widely as demonstrative, lo!Conjunction
לְבָבְךָ֖lə·ḇā·ḇə·ḵāyour heartH3824
√ lêbâb — the heart (as the most interior organ)Nounmasculine singular constructsecond person masculine singular
יִפְנֶ֥הyip̄·nehturns awayH6437
√ pânâh — to turnVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
pânâh — to turn The hinge of the curse: the heart turns. The whole apostasy is traced to a change of inward direction — the opposite motion to the love commanded in v. 16. Where the heart faces, the life will follow.
וְלֹ֣אwə·lōand you do notH3808
√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absConjunctive wawAdverbNegative particle
תִשְׁמָ֑עṯiš·mā‘listenH8085
√ shâmaʻ — to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etcVerbQalImperfectsecond person masculine singular
shâmaʻ — to hear, obey “Thou wilt not listen” — the same root that named the near, hearable word (v. 12) and the obedience of v. 20. Refusing to hear is the first step of the turning; the word is near, but the ear is shut.
וְנִדַּחְתָּ֗wə·nid·daḥ·tābut are drawn awayH5080
√ nâdach — to push offConjunctive wawVerbNifalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular
nâdach — to thrust, drive away (Niphal) The passive of being lured off. K&D: “to permit oneself to be torn away to idolatry.” The grammar is half-victim, half-accomplice — drawn away, yet consenting to the draw.
וְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוִ֛יתָwə·hiš·ta·ḥă·wî·ṯāto bow downH7812
√ shâchâh — to depress, iConjunctive wawVerbHitpaelConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular
אֲחֵרִ֖ים’ă·ḥê·rîmto otherH312
√ ʼachêr — properly, hinderAdjectivemasculine plural
לֵאלֹהִ֥יםlê·lō·hîmgodsH430
√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary sensePreposition-lNounmasculine plural
וַעֲבַדְתָּֽם׃wa·‘ă·ḇaḏ·tāmand worship themH5647
√ ʻâbad — to work (in any sense)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singularthird person masculine plural
’elôhîym — gods With ’aḥêr, “other.” The single sin Deuteronomy fears above all: trading the one near word for the far, dumb idols. To bow here is to enact the death of v. 15.
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✦Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685
Drawn away, either by thy own evil mind, or by the examples or persuasions of others.
Poole locates the two springs of apostasy in the passive “drawn away”: the corrupt self within and the corrupting company without.
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
But if thine heart turn away,.... From the true God, and the right worship of him, and from his commands, statutes, and judgments
✦Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s
נדּח, to permit oneself to be torn away to idolatry (as in Deuteronomy 4:19 ).
✦Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706
If they or theirs should turn from God, desert his service, and worship other gods, that would certainly be their ruin.
18“I declare to you today that you will surely perish; you shall no…”+

18I declare to you today that you will surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

hig·gaḏ·tî lā·ḵem hay·yō·wm kî ’ā·ḇōḏ tō·ḇê·ḏūn lō- ṯa·’ă·rî·ḵun yā·mîm ‘al- hā·’ă·ḏā·māh ’ă·šer ’at·tāh ‘ō·ḇêr ’eṯ- hay·yar·dên lå̄·ḇō šām·māh lə·riš·tāh

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“I-declare to-you the-day that perishing ye-shall-perish; ye-shall-not prolong [your] days upon the-ground that thou [art] crossing the-Jordan to-come there to-possess-it.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • אָבֹד תֹּאבֵדוּן אָבֹד תֹּאבֵדוּן (’ā·ḇōḏ tō·ḇê·ḏūn) is the Hebrew infinitive-absolute doubling — “perishing ye shall perish,” the strongest form of certainty. The BSB's “surely perish” renders it; the bare Hebrew piles the same verb twice to leave no doubt. Gill: “he most solemnly averred, and it might be depended upon.”
  • הִגַּדְתִּי הִגַּדְתִּי (hig·gaḏ·tî, Hiphil of nāgad) — “I declare / make known.” Cambridge calls the old “denounce” an archaism for announce: “The Heb. simply means declare… make it public.” It is solemn proclamation, not curse-hurling; the verdict is published, witnessed, on record.
  • הָאֲדָמָה הָאֲדָמָה (hā·’ă·ḏā·māh, “the ground / soil”) — not the broad ’ereṣ of v. 16 but ’ăḏāmāh, the tilled land from which man was taken (Gen 2:7). To be cut off the ground is to lose the very soil of life and length of days; the curse is exile from the land of promise.
Word by word19 · parsed+
הִגַּ֤דְתִּיhig·gaḏ·tîI declareH5046
√ nâgad — properly, to front, iVerbHifilPerfectfirst person common singular
nâgad — to declare, make known (Hiphil) A formal, public announcement. Cambridge: the archaic “denounce” means simply announce — to “make it public.” The death-sentence is laid on record before the witnesses Moses will summon in v. 19.
לָכֶם֙lā·ḵemto you
Prepositionsecond person masculine plural
הַיּ֔וֹםhay·yō·wmtodayH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)ArticleNounmasculine singular
כִּ֥יkîthatH3588
√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction
אָבֹ֖ד’ā·ḇōḏyou will surely perishH6
√ ʼâbad — properly, to wander away, iVerbQalInfinitive absolute
’âbad — to perish (infinitive absolute) The doubled verb of certain ruin: perishing ye shall perish. The same root means “to wander away, be lost” — apostasy ends where the wilderness generation ended, lost off the road to the land.
תֹּאבֵד֑וּןtō·ḇê·ḏūn. . .H6
√ ʼâbad — properly, to wander away, iVerbQalImperfectsecond person masculine pluralParagogic nun
לֹא־lō-vvvH3808
√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle
תַאֲרִיכֻ֤ןṯa·’ă·rî·ḵunyou shall not prolongH748
√ ʼârak — to be (causative, make) long (literally or figuratively)VerbHifilImperfectsecond person masculine pluralParagogic nun
’ârak — to prolong, lengthen (Hiphil) “Ye shall not prolong days” — the exact reversal of the promise of v. 20 (“He will prolong your life”). The curse is measured in shortened time on the ground; the blessing in lengthened days.
יָמִים֙yā·mîm[your] daysH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Nounmasculine plural
עַל־‘al-inH5921
√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition
הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔הhā·’ă·ḏā·māhthe landH127
√ ʼădâmâh — soil (from its general redness)ArticleNounfeminine singular
’ădâmâh — ground, soil The tilled earth, from which Adam was formed and to which Israel is bound. To be denied length of days upon the ’ăḏāmāh is exile from the inheritance — the land sworn to the fathers (v. 20).
אֲשֶׁ֨ר’ă·šerthatH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative
אַתָּ֤ה’at·tāhyouH859
√ ʼattâh — thou and thee, or (plural) ye and youPronounsecond person masculine singular
עֹבֵר֙‘ō·ḇêrare crossingH5674
√ ʻâbar — to cross overVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
הַיַּרְדֵּ֔ןhay·yar·dênthe JordanH3383
√ Yardên — Jarden, the principal river of PalestineArticleNounproperfeminine singular
לָבֹ֥אlå̄·ḇōvvvH935
√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
שָׁ֖מָּהšām·māhvvvH8033
√ shâm — there (transferring to time) thenAdverbthird person feminine singular
לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃lə·riš·tāhto possessH3423
√ yârash — to occupy (by driving out previous tenants, and possessing in their place)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive constructthird person feminine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s
denounce ] An archaism for announce . The Heb. simply means declare , Deuteronomy 17:9 ; Deuteronomy 17:11 , R.V. shew and tell of a judgement, i.e. make it public
Cambridge corrects the King James “denounce”: the Hebrew nāgad is to make a verdict publicly known, not to fulminate.
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
I denounce unto, you this day that ye shall surely perish,.... By one judgment or another; this he most solemnly averred, and it might be depended upon that it would certainly be their case
✦Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s
He calls upon heaven and earth as witnesses ( Deuteronomy 30:19 , as in Deuteronomy 4:26 ), namely, that he had set before them life and death.
K&D ties v. 18's verdict to v. 19's summons of heaven and earth — the death-sentence is sworn before cosmic witnesses (as Deut 4:26).
19“I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I ha…”+

19I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

haš·šā·ma·yim wə·’eṯ- hā·’ā·reṣ ha·‘î·ḏō·ṯî ḇā·ḵem hay·yō·wm ’eṯ- nā·ṯat·tî lə·p̄ā·ne·ḵā ha·ḥay·yîm wə·ham·mā·weṯ hab·bə·rā·ḵāh wə·haq·qə·lā·lāh ū·ḇā·ḥar·tā ba·ḥay·yîm lə·ma·‘an ’at·tāh wə·zar·‘e·ḵā tiḥ·yeh

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“I-call-to-witness against-you the-day the-heavens and the-earth: the-life and-the-death I-have-set before-thee, the-blessing and-the-curse. Therefore-choose in-the-life, so-that may-live thou and-thy-seed —”

Where the English smooths the original

  • הַעִידֹתִי הַעִידֹתִי (ha·‘î·ḏō·ṯî, Hiphil of ʻûd) — “I call to witness / take to record.” The root means to repeat, testify, bear witness. K&D: “He calls upon heaven and earth as witnesses (as in Deuteronomy 4:26).” Heaven and earth are summoned as the standing court before which the covenant verdict is sworn — a relatively rare and weighty verb.
  • וּבָחַרְתָּ וּבָחַרְתָּ (ū·ḇā·ḥar·tā, bāchar, “choose”) — K&D marks it the apodosis: after all the setting-forth, “therefore choose life.” The verb is the choice of testing and approving (the root sense). Cambridge notes “choose life” occurs in Deut only here — the climactic imperative of the whole book of words.
  • הַבְּרָכָה וְהַקְּלָלָה הַבְּרָכָה וְהַקְּלָלָה (hab·bə·rā·ḵāh wə·haq·qə·lā·lāh) — the blessing and the curse, the two rare covenant nouns (Deut 11:26). They re-name life and death from v. 15 in covenant terms, gathering the whole Ebal/Gerizim drama (Deut 27–28) into one final either/or.
Word by word19 · parsed+
הַשָּׁמַ֣יִםhaš·šā·ma·yimI call heavenH8064
√ shâmayim — the sky (as aloftArticleNounmasculine plural
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
הָאָרֶץ֒hā·’ā·reṣand earthH776
√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)ArticleNounfeminine singular
הַעִידֹ֨תִיha·‘î·ḏō·ṯîas witnessesH5749
√ ʻûwd — to duplicate or repeatVerbHifilPerfectfirst person common singular
ʻûwd — to witness, testify (Hiphil) The rare, solemn verb of taking to record. Heaven and earth — the permanent, impartial witnesses — are summoned (as Deut 4:26) so that no one can later plead the covenant was never set before them. Gill weighs both literal and figurative senses.
בָכֶ֣םḇā·ḵemagainst you
Prepositionsecond person masculine plural
הַיּוֹם֮hay·yō·wmtodayH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)ArticleNounmasculine singular
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
נָתַ֣תִּיnā·ṯat·tîthat I have setH5414
√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcVerbQalPerfectfirst person common singular
לְפָנֶ֔יךָlə·p̄ā·ne·ḵābeforeH6440
√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Preposition-lNouncommon plural constructsecond person masculine singular
הַחַיִּ֤יםha·ḥay·yîmyou lifeH2416
√ chay — aliveArticleNounmasculine plural
וְהַמָּ֙וֶת֙wə·ham·mā·weṯand deathH4194
√ mâveth — death (natural or violent)Conjunctive waw, ArticleNounmasculine singular
הַבְּרָכָ֖הhab·bə·rā·ḵāhblessingH1293
√ Bᵉrâkâh — benedictionArticleNounfeminine singular
Bᵉrâkâh — blessing The covenant name for life and good. With its opposite qᵉlālāh it carries the whole liturgy of Gerizim and Ebal (Deut 11:26–29; 27–28) into the closing summons.
וְהַקְּלָלָ֑הwə·haq·qə·lā·lāhand cursingH7045
√ qᵉlâlâh — vilificationConjunctive waw, ArticleNounfeminine singular
qᵉlâlâh — curse The covenant name for death and evil. A rare word (33 verses) deliberately paired with Bᵉrâkāh; together they fix the two destinies between which the next verb forces a choice.
וּבָֽחַרְתָּ֙ū·ḇā·ḥar·tāTherefore chooseH977
√ bâchar — properly, to try, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular
bâchar — to choose (Conjunctive perfect) The book's climactic imperative. K&D reads it as the apodosis to everything before: therefore choose life. Benson: “They shall have life that choose it… they die, because they will die.” The verdict is set; the choosing is left to the hearer.
בַּֽחַיִּ֔יםba·ḥay·yîmlifeH2416
√ chay — alivePreposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine plural
לְמַ֥עַןlə·ma·‘anso thatH4616
√ maʻan — properly, heed, iConjunction
אַתָּ֥ה’at·tāhyouH859
√ ʼattâh — thou and thee, or (plural) ye and youPronounsecond person masculine singular
וְזַרְעֶֽךָ׃wə·zar·‘e·ḵāand your descendantsH2233
√ zeraʻ — seedConjunctive wawNounmasculine singular constructsecond person masculine singular
תִּחְיֶ֖הtiḥ·yehmay liveH2421
√ châyâh — to live, whether literally or figurativelyVerbQalImperfectsecond person masculine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s
Choose life — They shall have life that choose it: they that choose the favour of God, and communion with him, shall have what they choose. They that come short of life and happiness, must thank themselves only.
✦Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599
That is, love and obey God; which is not in man's power, but only God's Spirit works it in his elect.
Geneva's gloss (o) frames the tension our sola-reading must hold: the command “choose life” is real, yet the Reformers insist the choosing itself is the Spirit's work in the elect.
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
the heavens above him, and the earth on which he stood, those inanimate bodies, which are frequently called upon as witnesses to matters of moment and importance
✦Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s
וּבחרתּ, in Deuteronomy 30:19 , is the apodosis: "therefore choose life."
K&D shows grammatically that everything before bends toward this verb: the whole peroration is the protasis to one imperative — choose.
20“and that you may love the LORD your God, obey Him, and hold fast…”+

20and that you may love the LORD your God, obey Him, and hold fast to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

lə·’a·hă·ḇāh ’eṯ- Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā liš·mō·a‘ bə·qō·lōw ū·lə·ḏā·ḇə·qāh- ḇōw kî hū ḥay·ye·ḵā wə·’ō·reḵ yā·me·ḵā lā·še·ḇeṯ ‘al- hā·’ă·ḏā·māh ’ă·šer Yah·weh niš·ba‘ lā·ṯêṯ lā·hem la·’ă·ḇō·ṯe·ḵā lə·’aḇ·rā·hām lə·yiṣ·ḥāq ū·lə·ya·‘ă·qōḇ

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“To-love YHWH thy-God, to-obey his-voice, and-to-cleave unto-him; for he [is] thy-life and-length-of thy-days, to-dwell upon the-ground which YHWH swore to-thy-fathers, to-Abraham, to-Isaac, and-to-Jacob, to-give to-them.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • וּלְדָבְקָה וּלְדָבְקָה (ū·lə·ḏā·ḇə·qāh, dābaq, “cleave”) — the verb of clinging, gluing, holding fast; the same word as a man cleaving to his wife (Gen 2:24). Love, obedience, and now cleaving form an ascending triple: not duty at arm's length but a person bound to a Person.
  • הוּא חַיֶּיךָ כִּי הוּא חַיֶּיךָ (kî hū ḥay·ye·ḵā) — “for He [is] thy life.” The pronoun is emphatic. The Pulpit Commentary and K&D weigh whether to read “He is thy life” or “this (to love the LORD) is thy life”; either way life is not a thing possessed but a Person held. Ellicott hears here the seed of “I am… the life” (John 11:25).
  • נִשְׁבַּע נִשְׁבַּע (niš·ba‘, šābaʻ, “swore”) — the verb is rooted in seven (to “seven oneself”). The land rests not on Israel's choosing but on an oath sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The closing word grounds the whole life-and-death summons in a prior, unbreakable promise.
Word by word25 · parsed+
לְאַֽהֲבָה֙lə·’a·hă·ḇāhand that you may loveH157
√ ʼâhab — to have affection for (sexually or otherwise)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive constructthird person feminine singular
’âhab — to love The book of words ends where its one commandment began (v. 16; Deut 6:5): love the LORD. The final triple — love, obey, cleave — is the whole law in three verbs, life itself reduced to a bond with God.
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
יְהוָ֣הYah·wehthe LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵāyour GodH430
√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine singular
לִשְׁמֹ֥עַliš·mō·a‘obey HimH8085
√ shâmaʻ — to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etcPreposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
shâmaʻ — to hear, obey “To obey His voice” — to hear the near word (v. 14) and act on it. Hearing rightly is the opposite of the deaf turning of v. 17; obedience is love made audible.
בְּקֹל֖וֹbə·qō·lōw. . .H6963
√ qôwl — a voice or soundPreposition-bNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular
וּלְדָבְקָה־ū·lə·ḏā·ḇə·qāh-and hold fastH1692
√ dâbaq — properly, to impinge, iConjunctive waw, Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive constructthird person feminine singular
dâbaq — to cling, cleave The third and tightest verb: to be glued to the LORD (as Gen 2:24). Beyond loving and obeying, cleaving — a settled, personal attachment that will not let go.
ב֑וֹḇōwto Him
Prepositionthird person masculine singular
כִּ֣יkîForH3588
√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction
ה֤וּאhūHe [is]H1931
√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Pronounthird person masculine singular
hûwʼ — He Emphatic: He is thy life. Poole: “the cause or author of thy life.” Barnes and the Pulpit Commentary alternatively read “this is thy life” — to love the LORD is living. Ellicott hears the Old Testament form of “I am the resurrection and the life.”
חַיֶּ֙יךָ֙ḥay·ye·ḵāyour lifeH2416
√ chay — aliveNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine singular
וְאֹ֣רֶךְwə·’ō·reḵand He will prolongH753
√ ʼôrek — lengthConjunctive wawNounmasculine singular construct
יָמֶ֔יךָyā·me·ḵāyour lifeH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Nounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine singular
לָשֶׁ֣בֶתlā·še·ḇeṯ. . .H3427
√ yâshab — properly, to sit down (specifically as judgePreposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
עַל־‘al-inH5921
√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition
הָאֲדָמָ֗הhā·’ă·ḏā·māhthe landH127
√ ʼădâmâh — soil (from its general redness)ArticleNounfeminine singular
אֲשֶׁר֩’ă·šerthatH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative
יְהוָ֧הYah·wehthe LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
נִשְׁבַּ֨עniš·ba‘sworeH7650
√ shâbaʻ — to seven oneself, iVerbNifalPerfectthird person masculine singular
shâbaʻ — to swear (Niphal) The land is held by oath. The summons to choose closes not on human resolve but on God's sworn word to the patriarchs — the same covenant faithfulness that makes the whole choice possible.
לָתֵ֥תlā·ṯêṯto giveH5414
√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcPreposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
לָהֶֽם׃פlā·hem. . .
Preposition-lPronounthird person masculine plural
לַאֲבֹתֶ֛יךָla·’ă·ḇō·ṯe·ḵāto your fathersH1
√ ʼâb — father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote applicationPreposition-lNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine singular
לְאַבְרָהָ֛םlə·’aḇ·rā·hāmto AbrahamH85
√ ʼAbrâhâm — Abraham, the later name of AbramPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular
לְיִצְחָ֥קlə·yiṣ·ḥāqIsaacH3327
√ Yitschâq — Jitschak (or Isaac), son of AbrahamPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular
וּֽלְיַעֲקֹ֖בū·lə·ya·‘ă·qōḇand JacobH3290
√ Yaʻăqôb — Jaakob, the Israelitish patriarchConjunctive waw, Preposition-lNounpropermasculine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878
He is thy life, and the length of thy days. —This is the Old Testament form of a well-known saying in the New Testament, which may yet be fulfilled in Israel, “ I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live
Ellicott reads “He is thy life” as the seed of John 11:25 — a typological forward-glance, his own (fallible) figural reading, not a verbal citation.
✦Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685
He is thy life, i.e. the cause or author of thy life, as life is used John 14:6 17:3 .
✦Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834
He is thy life - Or, "that" (i. e., "to love the Lord") "is thy life;" i. e., the condition of thy life and of its prolongation in the promised land.
Barnes offers the alternative reading — “to love the Lord is thy life” — which keeps the sentence's plain covenant sense without yet claiming the Johannine identification.
✦Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s
He gives life, preserves life, restores life, and prolongs it, by his power, though it be a frail life, and by his presence, though it be a forfeited life. He sweetens life by his comforts, and completes all in life everlasting.
✣

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.

⚙Grand Commentary — the unit, read wholesynthesis · verify+

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. Not too wonderful, not too far — the near word — 11–14

The peroration opens by demolishing two excuses. The commandment is נִפְלֵאת (nip̄·lêṯ) — not “too wonderful,” which Ellicott fixes as the literal sense (“Literally, too wonderful for thee”) and Keil glosses “not too hard to grasp, or unintelligible.” Nor is it far off: not in the heavens (so no one need ascend, v. 12), not across the sea (so no one need cross over, v. 13). The Pulpit Commentary guards against over-reading the heaven image — “it is simply a statement of fact that the Law had not been retained in heaven, but had been revealed to men.” Instead the word is קָרוֹב … מְאֹד, “very near,” lodged “in thy mouth and in thy heart” — which Cambridge will not soften into “easy,” insisting rather that it “carries with it the conscience and provocation to its fulfilment.” It is here, across these four verses, that Paul (Romans 10:6–8) reads the gospel: Ellicott, Barnes, JFB, Gill, and K&D all record the apostolic application, and Ellicott candidly flags that Paul's substitution of a descent into the deep for the sea-crossing is “remarkable. The LXX. will not account for it” — a provenance the cross-references below record honestly.

ii. Love set first — the one commandment named — 15–16

“See,” the imperative רְאֵה, turns teaching into summons: set before them are the life and the good, the death and the evil. Poole hears “life and good” as a hendiadys — “a good or a happy life” — while K&D keeps the breadth: good is “prosperity and salvation,” evil “adversity and destruction,” because the law “proved itself in every man a power of life or of death.” Verse 16 then discloses what the whole miṣwāh of v. 11 has been all along: to love the LORD thy God. K&D marks the order as deliberate — “Love is placed first, as in Deuteronomy 6:5, as being the essential principle of the fulfilment of the commandments” — and Maclaren draws out the logic: “Obedience is the result and test of love; love is the only parent of real obedience… When Paul proclaimed that ‘love is the fulfilling of the law,’ he was only repeating the teaching of this passage.” Geneva reduces it to a line: “to love and obey God, is only life and happiness.”

iii. The turning heart and the published verdict — 17–18

The dark alternative is traced to its root: not the feet but the heart that יִפְנֶה, “turns away” (v. 17). The drift to idolatry is named with וְנִדַּחְתָּ, a passive K&D renders “to permit oneself to be torn away to idolatry,” and Poole locates its double spring — “either by thy own evil mind, or by the examples or persuasions of others.” The verdict (v. 18) is then published: the doubled infinitive אָבֹד תֹּאבֵדוּן, “perishing ye shall perish,” which Gill calls a thing “most solemnly averred… it might be depended upon.” Cambridge corrects the old “denounce” to its true weight — “An archaism for announce… the Heb. simply means declare… make it public.” The sentence is laid on record, ready for the witnesses Moses will summon.

iv. Heaven and earth witness — therefore choose — 19–20

Moses calls the permanent court: הַעִידֹתִי, “I take to witness… the heavens and the earth” (v. 19, as Deut 4:26, so K&D and Gill). Life and death, the blessing and the curse, are set forth one last time — and the whole architecture bends to a single verb, וּבָחַרְתָּ, which K&D parses as the apodosis: “therefore choose life.” Benson presses the freedom and the peril together: “They shall have life that choose it… they die, because they will die.” Geneva adds the counterweight the sola-reading must hold — that this very choosing “is not in man's power, but only God's Spirit works it in his elect.” The book of words then ends on three verbs (v. 20) — love, obey, cleave — and on the emphatic הוּא חַיֶּיךָ, “He [is] thy life.” Barnes keeps the plain reading (“to love the Lord is thy life”); Ellicott lifts his eyes: “This is the Old Testament form of… ‘I am the resurrection and the life.’” The last word, נִשְׁבַּע, “swore,” grounds it all on an oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — the choice is real, but the land was promised first.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ Read whole, Deuteronomy 30:11–20 is the gospel's own logic laid down in the Law's last breath, and Paul did not impose it — he heard it. The passage's drive is from far to near: not up in heaven, not over the sea, but the word already in thy mouth and in thy heart. That is not first a claim about how easy obedience is (Cambridge rightly refuses “easy”); it is a claim about how close God has come. The whole miṣwāh, vv. 16 and 20 finally confess, is a single thing — to love the LORD — and love cannot be fetched from a distance; it can only be given a near object and a near word. So the near word and the demanded love belong together: God brings Himself close enough to be loved. Yet the same passage that says “choose life” also says (Geneva's instinct, and Deut 30:6 just before it) that the Spirit must circumcise the heart to do the choosing. Both stand. The command is unconditioned — therefore choose — and the power to obey it is a gift. Paul reads the near word as “the word of faith which we preach,” and he is not twisting it: a word so near it is already in the heart, demanding a love no fallen heart can manufacture, is a word that can only finally be kept by grace. The Law's last page already leans on the gospel it cannot yet name.

God did not leave His word in heaven to be climbed for, nor past the sea to be sailed for; He brought it near enough to be loved — and then asked for the love only He can give. (⚙ a fallible reading, not Scripture)

⚙Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripturecross-refs · verify+

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

“Too wonderful for thee” — the word that elsewhere bars the way structural / thematic — confirmed

The Niphal נִפְלֵאת (pālāʼ, H6381, “be too wonderful/surpassing”) that v. 11 denies as a barrier is the same root that, at Deut 17:8, names a case “too hard” (yippālēʼ) for a local court and so must go up to the central sanctuary. The Verifier confirms the shared lexeme. Cambridge sharpens the irony against Psalm 119:129, where God's testimonies are “wonderful” and therefore kept. The point of Deut 30:11 is precise: the commandment is high, but its height does not put it out of reach.

Deuteronomy 17:8

basis: Verifier: shared Hebrew lexeme H6381 pâlâʼ (freq 69) — the relatively rare ‘too wonderful/hard’ verb, used at Deut 17:8 of a case too hard for the lower court; a real verbal link within a shared motif of difficulty, not a quotation

Heaven and earth as covenant witnesses structural / thematic — confirmed

When Moses says הַעִידֹתִי (ʻûd, H5749, “I take to witness”) “the heavens and the earth” (v. 19), he repeats the formula of Deut 4:26 — the very link K&D and Gill both name. The Verifier records the shared, relatively rare witness-verb ʻûd together with shāmayim. The two unfading elements stand as the permanent court before which the covenant verdict (life or death) is sworn, so that no generation can plead it was never set before them.

Deuteronomy 4:26 · Deuteronomy 31:28

basis: Verifier (Deut 30:19↔4:26): shared Hebrew lexemes H5749 ʻûwd (freq 40, the witness-verb) and H8064 shâmayim — the recurring covenant-witness formula; Deut 31:28 added as the same formula by motif (heaven-and-earth witnesses)

Blessing and curse — the Gerizim/Ebal alternative gathered up verbal / quotation — confirmed

The pair הַבְּרָכָה וְהַקְּלָלָה (Bᵉrākāh, H1293, and qᵉlālāh, H7045) in v. 19 is the same rare pairing that opens the long covenant section at Deut 11:26 (“a blessing and a curse”) and is enacted between the two mountains (Deut 11:29; 27–28). The Verifier confirms both nouns shared — a strong verbal link, since each word is uncommon. Deuteronomy 30 re-names life and death (v. 15) in these covenant terms, folding the whole Ebal/Gerizim drama into one closing either/or.

Deuteronomy 11:26 · Deuteronomy 11:29

basis: Verifier (Deut 30:19↔11:26): shared Hebrew lexemes H7045 qᵉlâlâh (freq 33) and H1293 Bᵉrâkâh (freq 64) — both rare; the matched ‘blessing and curse’ word-pair is a deliberate verbal echo of the same covenant formula, not mere shared theme

“He is thy life” — the recurring Deuteronomic refrain structural / thematic — confirmed

The closing claim that loving the LORD is Israel's life and length of days (v. 20) is the standing refrain of the book: Deut 4:40 (“that it may go well… and that thou mayest prolong thy days”) and Deut 32:47 (“it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life”) say the same with the same words. The Verifier confirms the shared lexemes (ḥay, “life”; ’ăḏāmāh, “ground”; yôm, “days”). Barnes and the Pulpit Commentary both cross-reference these very verses; K&D cites 4:40 directly.

Deuteronomy 4:40 · Deuteronomy 32:47

basis: Verifier (Deut 30:20↔32:47): shared Hebrew lexemes H2416 chay (life), H127 ʼădâmâh (ground), H3117 yôwm (days) — the recurring ‘this is your life / prolong your days in the land’ formula; thematic-structural, common Deuteronomic vocabulary rather than a unique quotation

Paul's gospel reading of the near word (Romans 10:6–8) flagged — verify source

Paul takes Deut 30:12–14 onto his own lips for “the righteousness which is of faith”: do not ask who shall ascend (that is, to bring Christ down) or who shall descend into the deep (to bring Christ up from the dead), “for the word is nigh thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart” (Rom 10:6–8). Because this is a Hebrew→Greek link, the Verifier finds no shared Strong's lexeme (the OT and NT lexicons do not share numbers) and returns “flagged.” Ellicott himself flags the deeper difficulty: Paul's descent into the deep departs from both the Hebrew (“beyond the sea”) and the LXX — “The alteration here is remarkable. The LXX. will not account for it.” The link is real and apostolic, but its tier is structural/typological, and its provenance is openly debated by the commentators (Denney, quoted in Cambridge, calls it “a free reproduction of these ancient inspired words”). We record it flagged, not as a verbal quotation.

Romans 10:6 · Romans 10:7 · Romans 10:8

basis: Cross-Testament (Hebrew↔Greek): Verifier finds no shared Strong's lexeme, so this cannot be a ‘verbal’ link by number; provenance is itself debated — Paul substitutes ‘descend into the deep’ for the Hebrew/LXX ‘beyond the sea’ (Ellicott: ‘remarkable… The LXX. will not account for it’; Denney via Cambridge: ‘a free reproduction’). Recorded flagged per the rule that debated NT-quotation provenance is flagged

“Choose life” and the sworn land structural / thematic — confirmed

The imperative וּבָחַרְתָּ (bāchar, H977, “choose”) is, Cambridge notes, unique to this place in Deuteronomy, though Joshua's “choose you this day whom ye will serve” (Josh 24:15) answers it. And the whole choice rests on the closing נִשְׁבַּע (šābaʻ, “swore”) — the land was promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by oath (v. 20) before it was ever a matter of obedience. The summons to choose stands inside a prior, unbreakable promise; Israel chooses its way into a land already given.

Joshua 24:15 · Deuteronomy 1:8

basis: Verifier (Deut 30:19↔Josh 24:15): shared Hebrew lexeme H977 bâchar (the choose-verb, freq 164) — Joshua's ‘choose you this day’ is the narrative answer to Deut 30:19's imperative bāchar. Verifier (Deut 30:20↔Deut 1:8): shared patriarchal-oath cluster H85 ʼAbrâhâm, H3327 Yitschâq, H3290 Yaʻăqôb with H7650 shâbaʻ (swore) — the same land-oath grounding the choice. Tiered structural/thematic: common Deuteronomic land-oath and choice vocabulary, not a unique quotation

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify+

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The Word brought near — and the Word made flesh ancient/widely-held

⚙ The passage's whole motion is a descent into nearness: the word is not in heaven, not beyond the sea, but “very near thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart” (v. 14). The New Testament hears in this the trajectory of the Incarnation itself. Gill, reading v. 12 with Paul, says the futile cry “who shall ascend” is answered by One “who is come down already by the assumption of human nature, to preach the Gospel, give the sense of the law, and fulfil it.” John's prologue names the same descent — “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” — and Paul applies the verses to “the word of faith which we preach” (Rom 10:8). This is the widely-held apostolic reading, recorded by Ellicott, Barnes, JFB, Gill, K&D, and Henry alike: the near word foreshadows the Word who came near.

Romans 10:6 · Romans 10:7 · Romans 10:8 · John 1:14

“He is thy life” and the resurrection-and-the-life ancient/widely-held

⚙ The closing confession — הוּא חַיֶּיךָ, “He [is] thy life, and the length of thy days” (v. 20) — Ellicott reads as “the Old Testament form of a well-known saying in the New Testament… ‘I am the resurrection and the life.’” This is a figural, typological reading, and Ellicott offers it as his own (it has no shared lexeme with John 11:25, which the Verifier confirms by finding none). Barnes keeps the plainer covenant sense (“to love the Lord is thy life”), and we hold both: in the text's own horizon, life means length of days in the land; read forward, the LORD who is Israel's life is the One who in the flesh says “I am the life.” We mark the typology widely-held but flag that the verbal identification is Ellicott's interpretive move, not a citation.

John 11:25 · John 14:6

Apparatus & Provenance

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 for this unit. (1) Composition. The commentators are candid that this peroration is stitched: Cambridge (with Driver) judges “it is next to impossible that Deuteronomy 30:11–20 can have been originally the sequel of Deuteronomy 30:1–10,” treats vv. 11–14 as possibly “a fragment from an unknown source,” and reads vv. 15–20 as an editorial peroration whose “changes of the form of address are signs that the passage largely consists of quotations.” We do not adjudicate the source-critical question; we note that the Hebrew syntax of v. 16 is admittedly rough (Cambridge calls the construction “faulty,” restored from the LXX). (2) The Romans 10 citation. Paul's application of vv. 12–14 to the gospel is universally noted, but its provenance is genuinely debated — his “descend into the deep” matches neither the Hebrew (“beyond the sea”) nor the LXX (Ellicott: “The alteration here is remarkable. The LXX. will not account for it”), and Denney (via Cambridge) frames it frankly as “a free reproduction of these ancient inspired words.” Because the link is cross-Testament, no shared Strong's number exists, and the Verifier returns it flagged; we have kept it flagged rather than upgrading it to “verbal.” (3) “He is thy life.” The text permits two readings — “He is thy life” (Poole, K&D, JFB) and “this [to love the LORD] is thy life” (Barnes, Pulpit Commentary) — and the parse alone does not settle it; we have flagged the ambiguity rather than choosing for the reader. (4) “Choose life.” The imperative is real and the responsibility genuine (Benson), yet Geneva insists the choosing “is not in man's power, but only God's Spirit works it” — a tension we hold open in the sola-reading rather than resolving. (5) Witnesses. Gill weighs whether “heaven and earth” (v. 19) are the literal elements or, figuratively, “the inhabitants of both, angels and men”; both readings are honest, and we have not forced one.

✦ = 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)