The Fallible · Synthetic · Study Bible

Deuteronomy6:20–25

Teach Your Children

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
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Deuteronomy 6:20–25 — Teach Your Children. 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.

20“In the future, when your son asks, “What is the meaning of the d…”+

20In the future, when your son asks, “What is the meaning of the decrees and statutes and ordinances that the LORD our God has commanded you?”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

mā·ḥār kî- ḇin·ḵā yiš·’ā·lə·ḵā lê·mōr māh hā·‘ê·ḏōṯ wə·ha·ḥuq·qîm wə·ham·miš·pā·ṭîm ’ă·šer Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·hê·nū ’eṯ·ḵem ṣiw·wāh

Literal — word-for-word from the original

Tomorrow, when your son asks you, saying, “What are the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments that the LORD our God has commanded you?”

Where the English smooths the original

  • מָחָז The verse opens on a single word, mā·ḥār (H4279), literally “tomorrow.” BSB's “In the future” is correct in sense — Gill notes the Vulgate's cras (“tomorrow”) and Jarchi's reading of “later times” — but the bare Hebrew puts the question in the very next breath, a household scene, not a distant epoch.
  • הָעֵדֹח The first of the three law-words is hā·ʻê·ḏōṯ (H5713, ʻêdâh), not vaguely “decrees” but testimonies — a rare word (only 25 verses). As Ellicott observes, these three terms “appear for the first time together” at Deuteronomy 4:45; the word names the law as God's witness, His standing attestation, which BSB's “meaning of the decrees” softens into a request for explanation.
  • אֶתְכֶֽחֳ The object pronoun on “commanded” is ’eṯ·ḵem (H853 + 2mp), “commanded you (plural)” — yet the son addresses his father in the singular and says “our God.” Cambridge presses the grammar: the plural “you” is “the older generations,” so the child of a later day asks why an earlier Israel was bound. The English “commanded you” cannot show that the pronoun has reached back a generation.
Word by word14 · parsed+
מָחָ֖רmā·ḥārIn the futureH4279
√ mâchâr — properly, deferred, iAdverb
māḥār (H4279) — “tomorrow,” here “in time to come.” The same forward-looking word frames the catechism formulas of Exodus 13:14 and Joshua 4:6, 21: Israel writes its teaching for the day a child first asks.
כִּֽי־kî-whenH3588
√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction
בִנְךָ֛ḇin·ḵāyour sonH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine singular constructsecond person masculine singular
ḇin·ḵā (H1121, bên) — “your son.” The Geneva margin draws the duty out: God “requires that… our posterity sets forth his glory.” The whole unit is the answer a father is to have ready.
יִשְׁאָלְךָ֥yiš·’ā·lə·ḵāasksH7592
√ shâʼal — to inquireVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singularsecond person masculine singular
yišʾāləḵā (H7592, shâʼal) — “asks,” the verb of inquiry, even of inquiring of an oracle. The catechesis is triggered not by a lecture but by a child's genuine question.
לֵאמֹ֑רlê·mōr. . .H559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
מָ֣הmāhWhatH4100
√ mâh — properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?)Interrogative
māh (H4100) — the interrogative “what?” that opens the formula; the same “what mean these…?” governs Exodus 12:26 and Joshua 4:6.
הָעֵדֹ֗תhā·‘ê·ḏōṯis the meaning of the decreesH5713
√ ʻêdâh — testimonyArticleNounfeminine plural
hāʻêdōṯ (H5713) — the testimonies: a low-frequency term (25 vv). Ellicott sees the Decalogue itself as “primarily the Torah” under this head, with “statutes” and “judgments” describing the law-code that follows.
וְהַֽחֻקִּים֙wə·ha·ḥuq·qîmand statutesH2706
√ chôq — an enactmentConjunctive waw, ArticleNounmasculine plural
wəhaḥuqqîm (H2706, chôq) — “statutes,” properly things engraved, enactments. Cambridge notes that some witnesses omit the “and,” making “the statutes and the judgements… the contents of the testimonies.”
וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֔יםwə·ham·miš·pā·ṭîmand 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 waw, ArticleNounmasculine plural
wəhammišpāṭîm (H4941, mishpâṭ) — “judgments,” the judicial verdicts; with ʻêdôt and chuqqîm this is the fixed three-fold name for the whole law first set together at Deuteronomy 4:45.
אֲשֶׁ֥ר’ă·šerthatH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative
יְהוָ֥הYah·wehthe LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
Yahweh (H3068) paired with ’ĕ·lō·hê·nū — the son says “the LORD our God,” already owning the covenant whose origin he is asking about.
אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ’ĕ·lō·hê·nūour GodH430
√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural constructfirst person common plural
אֶתְכֶֽם׃’eṯ·ḵemH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markersecond person masculine plural
צִוָּ֛הṣiw·wāhhas commanded youH6680
√ tsâvâh — (intensively) to constitute, enjoinVerbPielPerfectthird person masculine singular
ṣiwwāh (H6680, Piel) — “has commanded.” Cambridge: the perfect tense is “natural to the time of the questioners' generation, when the laws would already have been published.”
The Voices✦ public domain+
These three words appear for the first time together in the introduction to this discourse ( Deuteronomy 4:45 ). The Law, or Torah, includes charges, and institutions, and requirements.
God not only requires that we serve him all our lives, but also that we see that our posterity sets forth his glory.
These verses return to a favourite theme of Deut.: the close relation between Jehovah’s Laws and His Deeds. When a future generation shall ask the meaning of the Laws it shall be referred to the Lord’s deliverance of the nation from bondage in Egypt and His conduct of them to the land He promised.
Cambridge also notes the textual point that with Sam. and LXX the verse opens “And it shall be when,” as at Exodus 13:14.
what is the reason of the various rites, customs, and usages, the observance of which is directed to, such as the feasts of passover, pentecost, tabernacles, sacrifices, and other duties of religion?
21“then you are to tell him, “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, b…”+

21then you are to tell him, “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·’ā·mar·tā lə·ḇin·ḵā hā·yî·nū ‘ă·ḇā·ḏîm lə·p̄ar·‘ōh bə·miṣ·rā·yim Yah·weh way·yō·w·ṣî·’ê·nū mim·miṣ·ra·yim ḥă·zā·qāh bə·yāḏ

Literal — word-for-word from the original

Then you shall say to your son, “Slaves we were to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • עֲבָדִים Hebrew order is emphatic: hā·yî·nū ʻă·ḇā·ḏîm — “slaves we were.” The predicate stands first, so the confession begins at the shame: ʻăḇāḏîm (H5650) is the plural of ʻeḇeḏ, bondservant. BSB's smooth “We were slaves” keeps the words but loses the forward weight the original gives to slaves.
  • וַיּוֹצִיאֵנוּ way·yō·w·ṣî·’ê·nū (H3318, Hiphil) is causative — “He caused us to go out,” brought us out. The redemption is wholly God's act upon a passive people; BSB's “brought us out” is right but the Hiphil insists that the going-out was done to them, not by them.
  • חֲזָקָֽה “Mighty” renders ḥă·zā·qāh (H2389), “strong, firm” — and the phrase is literally “with a hand strong” (bəyāḏ ḥăzāqāh, i.10 + i.9). The word order again places the deed before the instrument; this is the fixed Exodus idiom of the strong hand that BSB reorders into ordinary English.
Word by word11 · parsed+
וְאָמַרְתָּ֣wə·’ā·mar·tāthen you are to tellH559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular
wə’āmartā (H559) — “then you shall say.” The catechism is answered not with theory but with story: the father recites the Exodus.
לְבִנְךָ֔lə·ḇin·ḵāhimH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcPreposition-lNounmasculine singular constructsecond person masculine singular
הָיִ֥ינוּhā·yî·nūWe wereH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalPerfectfirst person common plural
hāyînū (H1961, 1cp) — “we were.” The father places himself inside the rescued nation; Gill: “we were brought into bondage and slavery… and at length were reduced to the utmost servitude.”
עֲבָדִ֛ים‘ă·ḇā·ḏîmslavesH5650
√ ʻebed — a servantNounmasculine plural
ʻăḇāḏîm (H5650) — the slaves; Cambridge cross-refers to Deuteronomy 5:6, the Decalogue's preface, “out of the house of bondage.”
לְפַרְעֹ֖הlə·p̄ar·‘ōhof PharaohH6547
√ Parʻôh — Paroh, a general title of Egyptian kingsPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular
בְּמִצְרָ֑יִםbə·miṣ·rā·yimin EgyptH4714
√ Mitsrayim — Mitsrajim, iPreposition-bNounproperfeminine singular
יְהוָ֛הYah·wehbut the LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
Yahweh (H3068) — the LORD set against “Pharaoh” (i.4): the contest is between the named God of Israel and the title-king of Egypt.
וַיּוֹצִיאֵ֧נוּway·yō·w·ṣî·’ê·nūbrought us outH3318
√ yâtsâʼ — to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proximConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singularfirst person common plural
מִמִּצְרַ֖יִםmim·miṣ·ra·yimof EgyptH4714
√ Mitsrayim — Mitsrajim, iPreposition-mNounproperfeminine singular
חֲזָקָֽה׃ḥă·zā·qāhwith a mightyH2389
√ châzâq — strong (usuAdjectivefeminine singular
ḥăzāqāh (H2389) — “mighty/strong”; Cambridge ties “mighty hand” to Deuteronomy 4:34, the chapter's parallel deliverance-recital.
בְּיָ֥דbə·yāḏhandH3027
√ yâd — a hand (the open one (indicating power, means, direction, etcPreposition-bNounfeminine singular
bəyāḏ (H3027, yâd) — “with a hand.” The anthropomorphism of the divine hand is the standard Exodus shorthand for unmediated, overwhelming power.
The Voices✦ public domain+
The keeping of the Law of Jehovah by Israel as a nation in the land that He gave them was the final cause of their national existence. This fundamental fact must never be forgotten.
Ellicott grounds the answer in Exodus 19:3–6 — “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians… and brought you unto myself.”
and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; by the exertion of his mighty power, which the Egyptians and their king could not withstand, as a token of his care and kindness to us; by the ties of which we are bound in gratitude to observe his commands.
Gill records the Targum of Jonathan's “the Word of the Lord brought us” — a periphrasis we do not press into a Christ-claim here.
bondmen ] See on Deuteronomy 5:6 . mighty hand ] See on Deuteronomy 4:34 .
22“Before our eyes the LORD inflicted great and devastating signs a…”+

22Before our eyes the LORD inflicted great and devastating signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his household.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

lə·‘ê·nê·nū Yah·weh way·yit·tên gə·ḏō·lîm wə·rā·‘îm ’ō·w·ṯōṯ ū·mō·p̄ə·ṯîm bə·miṣ·ra·yim bə·p̄ar·‘ōh ū·ḇə·ḵāl bê·ṯōw

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And the LORD set signs and wonders, great and grievous, on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his household, before our eyes.

Where the English smooths the original

  • וַיִּתֵּן BSB's “inflicted” renders way·yit·tên (H5414, nâthan), which is simply “gave / set / put.” The Hebrew is restrained where English is vivid: God placed signs upon Egypt. The plainness matters — the plagues are presented as deliberate placements, sovereign acts, not eruptions of wrath.
  • וְרָעִים׀ “Devastating” translates wə·rā·ʻîm (H7451, raʻ), the ordinary word for “evil / bad / grievous.” Gill keeps the older “sore,” glossing it “very distressing to the Egyptians.” BSB's “devastating” is apt but interpretive; the original simply calls the signs bad — calamitous from Egypt's side.
  • לְעֵינֵֽינוּ׃ BSB front-loads “Before our eyes,” but in Hebrew lə·ʻê·nê·nū (H5869, ʻayin) stands last — the recital ends on the eyewitness clause. The whole catalogue of signs lands on the claim “before our eyes,” which Gill stresses: some then living “saw with their own eyes… and could never forget.” The closing emphasis is lost when it is moved to the front.
Word by word11 · parsed+
לְעֵינֵֽינוּ׃lə·‘ê·nê·nūBefore our eyesH5869
√ ʻayin — an eye (literally or figuratively)Preposition-lNouncdcfirst person common plural
יְהוָ֡הYah·wehthe LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
וַיִּתֵּ֣ןway·yit·têninflictedH5414
√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way·yit·tên (H5414) — “gave/set.” The same root of “giving” that bestows the land (v.23) here lays the plagues on Egypt; the LORD's giving hand works both judgment and gift.
גְּדֹלִ֨יםgə·ḏō·lîmgreatH1419
√ gâdôwl — great (in any sense)Adjectivemasculine plural
gəḏōlîm (H1419) — “great.” With “grievous,” the pair forms the standard descriptor of the Exodus signs.
וְרָעִ֧ים׀wə·rā·‘îmand devastatingH7451
√ raʻ — bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral)Conjunctive wawAdjectivemasculine plural
אוֹתֹ֣ת’ō·w·ṯōṯsignsH226
√ ʼôwth — a signal (literally or figuratively), as aflag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence, etcNouncommon plural
’ō·w·ṭōṯ (H226, ’ôwth) — “signs,” a signal or token (77 vv). With môwphêt it forms the fixed Exodus word-pair.
וּ֠מֹפְתִיםū·mō·p̄ə·ṯîmand wondersH4159
√ môwphêth — a miracleConjunctive wawNounmasculine plural
ū·mō·pə·ṯîm (H4159, môwphêt) — “wonders,” a genuinely rare word (only 35 verses). Keil & Delitzsch identify the “great and sore miracles” as “the Egyptian plagues, like mōphtîm, in Deuteronomy 4:34.” It is this low-frequency term that anchors the verbal links across the deliverance-recitals.
בְּמִצְרַ֛יִםbə·miṣ·ra·yimon EgyptH4714
√ Mitsrayim — Mitsrajim, iPreposition-bNounproperfeminine singular
בְּפַרְעֹ֥הbə·p̄ar·‘ōhon PharaohH6547
√ Parʻôh — Paroh, a general title of Egyptian kingsPreposition-bNounpropermasculine singular
bəpȃarʻōh (H6547) — “on Pharaoh”; the signs strike the king himself, not merely his land.
וּבְכָל־ū·ḇə·ḵāland on allH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeConjunctive waw, Preposition-bNounmasculine singular construct
בֵּית֖וֹbê·ṯōwhis householdH1004
√ bayith — a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etcNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular
bêṯōw (H1004, bayith) — “his household”; the judgment reaches “all his house,” the climactic note being the firstborn of Pharaoh's own line.
The Voices✦ public domain+
Meaning the ten plagues, which were signs of the power of God, marvellous works, great, above the power of nature, and very sore or "evil" (y); very distressing to the Egyptians; for they came and lay heavy upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes; upon the king, his courtiers, and the whole land, and which were done publicly in the sight of the people of Israel, as well as the Egyptians; and there were some then living, though at that time when wrought under twenty years, who saw with their own eyes what were done to them, and could never forget them.
The "great and sore miracles" ( Deuteronomy 6:22 ) were the Egyptian plagues, like מפתּים, in Deuteronomy 4:34 .
signs and wonders … before our eyes ] See on Deuteronomy 4:34 .
Cambridge files the whole phrase under the parallel deliverance-recital of Deut 4:34, the cross-reference our threads below trace by shared lexeme.
23“But He brought us out from there to lead us in and give us the l…”+

23But He brought us out from there to lead us in and give us the land that He had sworn to our fathers.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

hō·w·ṣî wə·’ō·w·ṯā·nū miš·šām lə·ma·‘an hā·ḇî ’ō·ṯā·nū lā·ṯeṯ lā·nū ’eṯ- hā·’ā·reṣ ’ă·šer niš·ba‘ la·’ă·ḇō·ṯê·nū

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And us He brought out from there, in order that He might bring us in, to give us the land that He had sworn to our fathers.

Where the English smooths the original

  • וְאוֹתָנוּ BSB's “But He brought us out” hides an emphasis the Hebrew shouts. Cambridge objects directly: “This translation stifles the emphatic and even exultant note of the order in the original: But us He brought out from thence.” The fronted object wə’ōwṯānū (H853, “us”) sets the rescued people first — it was us, of all peoples, He took out.
  • לְמַעַן The pivot is lə·ma·ʻan (H4616), a strong purpose-conjunction — “in order that.” BSB's “to lead us in” reads as a bare infinitive of purpose, but the Hebrew states a deliberate telos: the going-out was for the sake of the going-in. Exodus is not an end; it aims at the land.
  • נִשְׁבַּע “He had sworn” renders niš·baʻ (H7650), a Niphal whose root means literally “to seven oneself” — to bind by a sevenfold oath. The land rests not on a promise merely spoken but on an oath sworn to the patriarchs; the English “sworn” carries the act but not the gravity of the self-binding root.
Word by word13 · parsed+
הוֹצִ֣יאhō·w·ṣîBut He broughtH3318
√ yâtsâʼ — to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proximVerbHifilPerfectthird person masculine singular
hō·w·ṣî (H3318, Hiphil perfect) — “He brought out.” The same verb as v.21, now with the object fronted for stress.
וְאוֹתָ֖נוּwə·’ō·w·ṯā·nūus outH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object markerfirst person common plural
wə’ōwṯānū (H853 + 1cp) — the fronted “us.” Cambridge compares Deuteronomy 4:20, the other “He took you” of election.
מִשָּׁ֑םmiš·šāmfrom thereH8033
√ shâm — there (transferring to time) thenPreposition-mAdverb
לְמַ֙עַן֙lə·ma·‘antoH4616
√ maʻan — properly, heed, iConjunction
הָבִ֣יאhā·ḇîlead us inH935
√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)VerbHifilInfinitive construct
hāḇî (H935, bôwʼ, Hiphil) — “to bring in”; the exodus-out and the conquest-in are a single divine motion, hinged on ləmaʻan.
אֹתָ֔נוּ’ō·ṯā·nūH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerfirst person common plural
לָ֤תֶתlā·ṯeṯand giveH5414
√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcPreposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
lāṯeṯ (H5414, nâthan) — “to give”; the land is gift, not wage — Geneva: “Nothing should move us more to true obedience than the great benefits which we have received from God.”
לָ֙נוּ֙lā·nūus
Prepositionfirst person common plural
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
הָאָ֔רֶץhā·’ā·reṣthe landH776
√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)ArticleNounfeminine singular
hā’āreṣ (H776) — “the land,” the object of the oath, the destination of the whole recital.
אֲשֶׁ֥ר’ă·šerthatH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative
נִשְׁבַּ֖עniš·ba‘He had swornH7650
√ shâbaʻ — to seven oneself, iVerbNifalPerfectthird person masculine singular
nišbaʻ (H7650) — “He swore”; Cambridge anchors the oath to Deuteronomy 1:8, the patriarchal promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
לַאֲבֹתֵֽינוּ׃la·’ă·ḇō·ṯê·nūto our fathersH1
√ ʼâb — father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote applicationPreposition-lNounmasculine plural constructfirst person common plural
la’ăḇōṯênū (H1, ’âb) — “to our fathers”; Gill: the oath “made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” is here fulfilled.
The Voices✦ public domain+
This translation stifles the emphatic and even exultant note of the order in the original: But us He brought out from thence , cp. Deuteronomy 4:20 .
in order that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers; to bring them into the land of Canaan, give it to them, and put them in the possession of it; and so fulfil his promise and his oath made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Nothing should move us more to true obedience than the great benefits which we have received from God.
24“And the LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes and to f…”+

24And the LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes and to fear the LORD our God, that we may always be prosperous and preserved, as we are to this day.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

Yah·weh way·ṣaw·wê·nū la·‘ă·śō·wṯ ’eṯ- kāl- hā·’êl·leh ha·ḥuq·qîm lə·yir·’āh ’eṯ- Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·hê·nū lə·ṭō·wḇ lā·nū kāl- hay·yā·mîm lə·ḥay·yō·ṯê·nū kə·hay·yō·wm haz·zeh

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good all the days, to keep us alive, as at this day.

Where the English smooths the original

  • לְטוֹב BSB's “that we may always be prosperous” renders lə·ṭō·wḇ (H2896, ṭôwb), simply “for good to us.” Matthew Poole distills it: “The benefit of obedience is ours, not God's.” The Hebrew is broader than “prosperous” — it is the whole field of good, the law given for the keeper's sake.
  • לְחַיֹּתֵנוּ “Preserved” translates lə·ḥay·yō·ṯê·nū (H2421, châyâh, Piel) — not merely kept safe but made to live, kept alive. Cambridge reads it nationally: “Sustain the national existence which He had begun by the redemption from Egypt… The Law is given to preserve the life born in that deed of grace.” The law is life-support, not burden.
  • לְיִרְאָה “To fear” is lə·yir·’āh (H3372, yârêʼ) — reverent awe, the governing disposition of the whole law. Keil & Delitzsch gloss the purpose chain: “that we might fear the Lord.” BSB keeps “fear,” but the term names not dread of punishment but the covenant-fear that is the soul of obedience.
Word by word18 · parsed+
יְהוָ֗הYah·wehAnd the LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
וַיְצַוֵּ֣נוּway·ṣaw·wê·nūcommanded usH6680
√ tsâvâh — (intensively) to constitute, enjoinConjunctive wawVerbPielConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singularfirst person common plural
wayəṣawwênū (H6680, Piel) — “commanded us.” Cambridge notes “Jehovah” (not “thy God”) is used because Moses is quoting what Israel say to their children, from the standpoint of a later generation.
לַעֲשׂוֹת֙la·‘ă·śō·wṯto observeH6213
√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationPreposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
laʻăśōwṯ (H6213, ʻâsâh) — “to do/observe”; the law is for doing, not merely knowing.
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
כָּל־kāl-allH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct
הָאֵ֔לֶּהhā·’êl·lehtheseH428
√ ʼêl-leh — these or thoseArticlePronouncommon plural
הַחֻקִּ֣יםha·ḥuq·qîmstatutesH2706
√ chôq — an enactmentArticleNounmasculine plural
haḥuqqîm (H2706) — “the statutes,” the same engraved enactments named in v.20.
לְיִרְאָ֖הlə·yir·’āhand to fearH3372
√ yârêʼ — to fearPreposition-lVerbQalInfinitive constructthird person feminine singular
ləyir’āh (H3372) — “to fear”; the inward aim of outward obedience, the disposition the whole unit is teaching the son.
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
אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ’ĕ·lō·hê·nūour GodH430
√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural constructfirst person common plural
לְט֥וֹבlə·ṭō·wḇthat we may always be prosperousH2896
√ ṭôwb — good (as an adjective) in the widest sensePreposition-lAdjectivemasculine singular
ləṭōwḇ (H2896) — “for good”; Gill: “it is always for the good of men, temporal, spiritual, and eternal, to fear the Lord… see Psalm 34:9.”
לָ֙נוּ֙lā·nū. . .
Prepositionfirst person common plural
כָּל־kāl-. . .H3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct
הַיָּמִ֔יםhay·yā·mîm. . .H3117
√ 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 plural
לְחַיֹּתֵ֖נוּlə·ḥay·yō·ṯê·nūand preservedH2421
√ châyâh — to live, whether literally or figurativelyPreposition-lVerbPielInfinitive constructfirst person common plural
ləḥayyōṯênū (H2421, Piel) — “to keep us alive”; Cambridge: “The Law is given to preserve the life born in that deed of grace.”
כְּהַיּ֥וֹםkə·hay·yō·wmas [we are] to this dayH3117
√ 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)Preposition-k, ArticleNounmasculine singular
kəhayyōwm hazzeh (H3117 + H2088) — “as at this day”; the recital ends in the present, the speaking generation living proof of the promise.
הַזֶּֽה׃haz·zeh. . .H2088
√ zeh — the masculine demonstrative pronoun, this or thatArticlePronounmasculine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
The benefit of obedience is ours, not God’s Job 35:7 and therefore our obedience is highly reasonable, and absolutely necessary.
might preserve us alive ] Sustain the national existence which He had begun by the redemption from Egypt ( Deuteronomy 6:21 ). The Law is given to preserve the life born in that deed of grace.
Cambridge here rebuts Steuernagel's case that vv.20–25 are a secondary insertion, arguing the “standpoint of the speakers whom Moses quotes.”
to fear the Lord our God, for our good always: as it is always for the good of men, temporal, spiritual, and eternal, to fear the Lord; for there is no want to them that fear him, nor will the Lord withhold good things from them; see Psalm 34:9 , that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day; in bodily health and strength, and in the enjoyment of the good land, and all the blessings and benefits of it.
25“And if we are careful to observe every one of these commandments…”+

25And if we are careful to observe every one of these commandments before the LORD our God, as He has commanded us, then that will be our righteousness.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

niš·mōr la·‘ă·śō·wṯ ’eṯ- kāl- haz·zōṯ ham·miṣ·wāh lip̄·nê Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·hê·nū ka·’ă·šer ṣiw·wā·nū kî- tih·yeh- lā·nū ū·ṣə·ḏā·qāh

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And righteousness shall be to us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as He has commanded us.

Where the English smooths the original

  • וּצְדָקָה BSB's “that will be our righteousness” reorders the Hebrew, which is literally “and righteousness shall be to us” (ū·ṣə·ḏā·qāh, H6666). Poole and the Pulpit Commentary both insist on the order: “literally, And righteousness shall be to us.” The word ṣəḏāqāh ranges from “justice” to “vindication” to (in later Jewish usage) “alms/mercy” — a breadth the single English “righteousness” cannot hold.
  • נִשְׁמֹר “If we are careful” renders niš·mōr (H8104, shâmar), whose root is “to hedge about, to guard.” Israel is to keep watch over the commandment as one guards a treasure or a charge; BSB's “careful” is faithful but the image of vigilant guarding is the force of the verb.
  • לִפְנֵי “Before the LORD” is liḇ·nê (H6440, pânîm), literally “to the face of.” Cambridge (citing Bertholet) sharpens it: “to fulfil the commandment before Jehovah means so to fulfil it that He sees it.” Righteousness is reckoned not by human appraisal but in the sight of God's own face.
Word by word15 · parsed+
נִשְׁמֹ֨רniš·mōrAnd if we are carefulH8104
√ shâmar — properly, to hedge about (as with thorns), iVerbQalImperfectfirst person common plural
nišmōr (H8104) — “if we keep/guard”; the conditional that makes the righteousness depend on a guarded, whole-hearted obedience.
לַעֲשׂ֜וֹתla·‘ă·śō·wṯto observeH6213
√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationPreposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
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
כָּל־kāl-everyH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct
הַזֹּ֗אתhaz·zōṯone of theseH2063
√ zôʼth — this (often used adverb)ArticlePronounfeminine singular
הַמִּצְוָ֣הham·miṣ·wāhcommandmentsH4687
√ mitsvâh — a command, whether human or divine (collectively, the Law)ArticleNounfeminine singular
hammiṣwāh (H4687, mitsvâh) — “the commandment” (singular, collective): the whole Law treated as one charge. Gill: to be justified by it “a man must keep all the commandments of God, not one excepted; and that perfectly… which is not possible for a sinful man to do.”
לִפְנֵ֛יlip̄·nêbeforeH6440
√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Preposition-lNouncommon plural construct
liḇnê (H6440) — “before / to the face of”; the law kept coram Deo, in God's sight.
יְהוָ֥הYah·wehthe LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ’ĕ·lō·hê·nūour GodH430
√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural constructfirst person common plural
כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רka·’ă·šerasH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPreposition-kPronounrelative
צִוָּֽנוּ׃סṣiw·wā·nūHe has commanded usH6680
√ tsâvâh — (intensively) to constitute, enjoinVerbPielPerfectthird person masculine singularfirst person common plural
ṣiwwānū (H6680) — “as He commanded us”; the obedience is measured by God's own command, not Israel's reduction of it.
כִּֽי־kî-then thatH3588
√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction
תִּֽהְיֶה־tih·yeh-will beH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalImperfectthird person feminine singular
לָּ֑נוּlā·nūour
Prepositionfirst person common plural
וּצְדָקָ֖הū·ṣə·ḏā·qāhrighteousnessH6666
√ tsᵉdâqâh — rightness (abstractly), subjectively (rectitude), objectively (justice), morally (virtue) or figuratively (prosperity)Conjunctive wawNounfeminine singular
ūṣəḏāqāh (H6666, ṣədâqâh) — “righteousness,” the keystone word, a feminine noun spanning rightness, justice, vindication, and (in later usage) mercy/alms. The forensic edge is unmistakable to the old expositors: Barnes reads it as imputation — “God will esteem us as righteous and deal with us accordingly” — and finds the law's whole righteousness made “to depend entirely on… faith.” Keil & Delitzsch hold the tension: “we shall be regarded and treated by God as righteous,” yet this is “not really the gospel righteousness of faith,” though “there is no opposition between the two.” Cambridge sharpens the sense to “justification, vindication, the right to live,” comparing the post-exilic Isaiah 61:11; 62:1–2 where ṣədâqâh runs parallel to salvation and glory. Ellicott, Poole, and Benson all note the word's reach into “mercy/alms”: the LXX here renders it “alms,” and to this day Jews call alms ts’dâkah, “righteousness.”
The Voices✦ public domain+
This righteousness before Jehovah, it is true, is not really the gospel "righteousness of faith;" but there is no opposition between the two, as the righteousness mentioned here is not founded upon the outward (pharisaic) righteousness of works, but upon an earnest striving after the fulfilment of the law, to love God with all the heart; and this love is altogether impossible without living faith.
In the LXX., “It shall be alms to us.” This conjunction of ideas will help to explain why in Matthew 6:1 “alms” and “righteousness” occur as alternative readings.
in order to have such a justifying righteousness, a man must keep all the commandments of God, not one excepted; and that perfectly, without the least breach of them in thought, word, or deed; and that before the Lord, in his sight, not as it may appear to a man himself, or to others, but as it appears to God, who sees the heart, and weighs all actions; and a man must keep them in the manner the Lord has commanded, even with all his heart, soul, and strength, as in Deuteronomy 6:5 and this is not possible for a sinful man to do; and therefore righteousness cannot be by the law. Only Christ could thus keep all the commandments of God, and his obedience is our righteousness
Heb. righteousness shall be to us. and pronounced by God to be truly righteous and holy persons, if we sincerely obey him, otherwise we shall be declared to be unrighteous and ungodly persons, and all our profession of religion will appear to be in hypocrisy.
Poole adds that ṣədâqâh is “very oft put for mercy,” citing Psalm 24:5; 51:14; Daniel 9:16.
We shall be owned, and pronounced by God to be righteous and holy persons, if we sincerely obey him; otherwise we shall be declared to be unrighteous and ungodly.
Benson, like Poole, reaches for the alternative “mercy shall be to us,” noting that “the Hebrew word rendered righteousness is very often put for mercy”; he then quotes Matthew Henry that such obedience “shall be accepted through a Mediator.”
God will esteem us as righteous and deal with us accordingly.
Barnes adds that Moses made “the whole righteousness of the Law to depend entirely on a right state of the heart, in one word, upon faith” — an early-Protestant reading that the imputed sense is present already in the Hebrew.

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. The son's question and the threefold name of the Law (v.20) — 20

The whole passage is built around a child's question. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown read it as no new theme but a continuation: “The directions given for the instruction of their children form only an extension of the preceding counsels” — the catechesis commanded in v.7 now spelled out. The son asks the meaning of “the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments,” and Ellicott notes that these three words “appear for the first time together in the introduction to this discourse (Deuteronomy 4:45)” — the formal, full name of the covenant law. The leading word, ʻêdōt (H5713), is a rare one (25 verses): the law as God's standing testimony. Cambridge hears in the verse “a favourite theme of Deut.: the close relation between Jehovah's Laws and His Deeds” — and the grammar already leans toward that link, the perfect tense “hath commanded” being, as Cambridge says, “natural to the time of the questioners' generation.” The Geneva margin draws the pastoral point: God “requires that… our posterity sets forth his glory.” The question is not idle curiosity; it is the appointed hinge on which one generation hands the faith to the next.

ii. The answer is not a definition but a deliverance (vv.21–23) — 21–23

Strikingly, the father does not answer “what the laws mean” with a theory of law. He answers with a story: “Slaves we were to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the LORD brought us out.Ellicott grounds this in Sinai's own preface, Exodus 19: “The simple explanation of the obligations of the Law… is based upon the message of Jehovah to Israel from Sinai… 'Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians.'” The law is read backward from grace already given. Gill presses the motive: the deliverance lays Israel “under obligation… by the ties of which we are bound in gratitude to observe his commands.” Verse 22 then catalogues the “signs and wonders, great and grievous” — Keil & Delitzsch identify them flatly as “the Egyptian plagues, like mōphtîm, in Deuteronomy 4:34” — and Gill insists they were seen “before our eyes… some then living… saw with their own eyes… and could never forget.” And v.23 turns the rescue toward its goal: Cambridge recovers the exultant Hebrew order, “But us He brought out from thence,” the going-out aimed at a going-in, the land “which he sware unto our fathers.” The law's meaning is the history of God's mercy.

iii. Law for life, and the question of righteousness (vv.24–25) — 24–25

Only now, the redemption recited, does the answer state the law's purpose — and it states it as gift. The commandments were given “for our good always, that he might preserve us alive.” Matthew Poole reduces it to an axiom: “The benefit of obedience is ours, not God's… and therefore our obedience is highly reasonable.” Cambridge reads “preserve us alive” nationally — “The Law is given to preserve the life born in that deed of grace.” The unit then closes on its hardest word: “And righteousness shall be to us, if we are careful to do all this commandment.” Here the voices divide and must be heard honestly. Keil & Delitzsch hold both poles: “our righteousness will consist in the observance of the law… not really the gospel righteousness of faith; but there is no opposition between the two,” for the obedience meant “is altogether impossible without living faith.” Gill and the Geneva margin push to the Reformation reading: since “a man must keep all the commandments… perfectly… which is not possible for a sinful man,” therefore “we must turn to Christ to be justified by faith.” Barnes presses the same forensic note from the other side — “God will esteem us as righteous and deal with us accordingly” — finding the law's whole righteousness made to rest “upon faith.” Poole and Benson recover a third option from the Hebrew itself: since ṣədâqâh is “very often put for mercy,” the line may read “mercy shall be to us,” a continuance of the good already begun in v.24. Ellicott adds the lexical curiosity that the LXX renders ṣədâqâh here as “alms,” and that “to this day the Jews call alms ts'dâkah, 'righteousness'” — the same breadth that makes Matthew 6:1 read “alms” or “righteousness” in different manuscripts.

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

Offered as the tool's own fallible reading under Sola Scriptura, to be tested: this little catechism quietly reverses the order in which we expect law and grace to come. A child asks what the commandments mean, and the prescribed answer never defines a single statute. It tells what God did. The structure is exact — indicative before imperative, rescue before requirement: “slaves we were… the LORD brought us out” (v.21) stands first; “the LORD commanded us… for our good… to keep us alive” (v.24) comes last; and the doing of the law is everywhere framed as the response of an already-redeemed people, never the price of redemption. The Hebrew underlines this with its giving-verb: the same nâthan that sets plagues on Egypt (v.22) gives the land to Israel (v.23). Even the closing word, ṣədâqâh (“righteousness shall be to us”), sits inside this grace-shaped frame — and the old commentators feel the strain. Keil & Delitzsch refuse to let it be mere works-righteousness; Gill and Geneva read it as driving us past the law to Christ; Ellicott notes the word can mean mercy. My fallible reading: this verse is not the foundation of legalism but its undoing. A righteousness defined as the whole commandment kept perfectly before the face of God is a righteousness no slave-people could earn — which is precisely why the chapter buried it under an Exodus that Israel only received. The law's first word about itself is testimony to grace; obedience is gratitude wearing the shape of a commandment.

The child asks what the law means, and the answer is a rescue — grace is the meaning of the commandment. (This is the tool's reading, offered for testing, 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.

“When your son asks… you shall say” — the Exodus catechism formula structural / thematic — confirmed

Verse 20's opening is not a free composition but a fixed catechetical pattern that recurs at the great covenant-memorials. It is held together by three words shared with its parallels: māḥār (“tomorrow / in time to come,” 52 verses), shâʼal (“ask,” 157 vv), and the interrogative mâh (“what?”). The same frame opens Exodus 13:14 (“when your son asks you tomorrow, saying, What is this?” — the Passover/firstborn answer) and Joshua 4:6 (“when your children ask tomorrow, saying, What mean these stones?” — the Jordan memorial). Cambridge confirms the textual kinship, noting that Sam. and LXX open our verse “And it shall be when,” “as in… Exodus 13:14.” We tier this honestly as structural / thematic, matching the Verifier: māḥār (52 vv) is only moderately uncommon, and the connective words (shâʼal, mâh, kîy) are common — there is no quotation-claim here, only a shared liturgical script for teaching the next generation. The rare-lexeme bar for “verbal” is not met; this is a recurring catechetical form, not one passage quoting another. The Verifier basis is below.

Deuteronomy 6:20 · Exodus 13:14 · Joshua 4:6

basis: Verifier (Deut 6:20 paired with each, returns tier 'structural / thematic — confirmed'): with Exodus 13:14 — shared lexeme(s) H4279 mâchâr (in 52 vv), H7592 shâʼal (in 157 vv), H4100 mâh (in 657 vv), H3588 kîy (in 3910 vv); with Joshua 4:6 — H4279 mâchâr (52 vv), H7592 shâʼal (157 vv), H4100 mâh (657 vv), H226 ʼôwth (77 vv). None of these is rare enough to mark a quotation; the tie is a fixed catechetical FORM (the future-child question), so the Verifier and we tier it structural, not verbal.

The threefold name of the Law: testimonies, statutes, judgments structural / thematic — confirmed

The son names the law by its full formal triad, ʻêdōt / chuqqîm / mishpāṭîm (“testimonies, statutes, judgments”), and as Ellicott notes these “appear for the first time together” at Deuteronomy 4:45, the heading of this whole discourse. The triad's anchor word is the uncommon ʻêdâh (“testimony,” 25 verses); its presence with chôq ties our verse to 4:45, to the summary charge of Deuteronomy 6:17 a few lines earlier (“you shall surely keep the commandments… and His testimonies and His statutes”), and out to the worship of Psalm 99:7 (“they kept His testimonies and the statute He gave them”). This is a shared nomenclature for the covenant law — a recurring fixed label, not one verse quoting another — so we file it, with the Verifier, as structural / thematic rather than “verbal.” The uncommon ʻêdâh makes the link a genuine recurring formula and not mere coincidence of common words, but no quotation is claimed. (The 6:17 tie is a near-context cross-reference; the Verifier returns the basis on the 6:20 / 6:17 pair below.)

Deuteronomy 6:20 · Deuteronomy 4:45 · Deuteronomy 6:17 · Psalm 99:7

basis: Verifier (Deut 6:20 paired with each, returns 'structural / thematic — confirmed'): with Deut 4:45 — H5713 ʻêdâh (in 25 vv), H2706 chôq (in 125 vv), H4941 mishpâṭ (in 395 vv); with Deut 6:17 — H5713 ʻêdâh (25 vv), H2706 chôq (125 vv), H6680 tsâvâh (474 vv); with Psalm 99:7 — H5713 ʻêdâh (25 vv), H2706 chôq (125 vv). The uncommon ʻêdâh (25 vv) marks a fixed legal NOMENCLATURE shared across these texts; because no passage quotes another, the tier is structural, not verbal.

The signs-and-wonders recital of the Exodus structural / thematic — confirmed

Verse 22's “signs and wonders, great and grievous, on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his household” is one occurrence of a fixed Exodus-recital that runs across the whole Old Testament with remarkable stability. Keil & Delitzsch identify it directly with the formula of Deuteronomy 4:34; it recurs in Deuteronomy 7:19 and 26:8 (the harvest creed), is rooted in the plague-narrative's own program at Exodus 7:3, and is sung back in worship at Psalm 135:9 and Nehemiah 9:10 (“signs and wonders against Pharaoh”) and recalled in prayer at Jeremiah 32:21. The fixed pair is the rare môwphêt (“wonder,” only 35 verses) with ʼôwth (“sign,” 77 vv), filled out by high-frequency words (gâdôwl “great,” Parʻōh, Mitsrayim) that complete the formula without carrying it. Because the connective words are common and only môwphêt is moderately rare, this is best filed as a structural / thematic recital — a liturgical set-piece — rather than a single quotation; the rare-lexeme bar for “verbal” is not cleanly met. The Verifier bases are below.

Deuteronomy 6:22 · Deuteronomy 4:34 · Deuteronomy 7:19 · Deuteronomy 26:8 · Exodus 7:3 · Psalm 135:9 · Nehemiah 9:10 · Jeremiah 32:21

basis: Verifier (Deut 6:22 paired with each): with Deut 4:34 — H4159 môwphêt (35 vv), H226 ʼôwth (77 vv), H1419 gâdôwl, H4714 Mitsrayim; with Deut 26:8 — H4159, H226, H1419, H4714; with Deut 7:19 — H4159, H226, H1419, H5869 ʻayin; with Exodus 7:3 / Psalm 135:9 — H4159, H226, H6547 Parʻōh, H4714; with Nehemiah 9:10 — H4159, H226, H6547, H5414 nâthan; with Jeremiah 32:21 — H4159, H226, H1419, H4714. The single moderately-rare anchor (môwphêt, 35 vv) amid common formula-words warrants a structural tier, not “verbal.”

“Righteousness shall be to us” — and Paul's law-righteousness (cross-Testament, flagged) flagged — verify source

The closing clause of v.25, “righteousness shall be to us, if we observe to do all this commandment,” is taken up by the New Testament's debate over justification. The Pulpit Commentary reads it through Romans 10:5 (“Moses describes the righteousness that is by the law: the man who does these things will live by them”) together with Romans 6:16 and Philippians 3:6; and Paul in Romans 10:5 does appear to summarize precisely this Deuteronomic principle — righteousness by doing the commandment. But this is a Greek↔Hebrew link, and the Verifier confirms it can share no Strong's lexeme by definition; the connection is conceptual, and Paul's exact source-verse for “the man who does them shall live” is more often traced to Leviticus 18:5 than to Deuteronomy 6:25. We therefore flag the tie: the idea is plainly the same, but the precise NT citation-target is debated, so it must be argued, not asserted as a quotation. (Ellicott's separate note that the LXX ṣədâqâh-as-“alms” lies behind the textual variant at Matthew 6:1 is likewise a thematic, not verbal, observation.)

Deuteronomy 6:25 · Romans 10:5 · Matthew 6:1

basis: Verifier (Deut 6:25 × Romans 10:5, and × Matthew 6:1): “no shared original-language lexeme found in the index” — expected for any Greek↔Hebrew pair, where shared Strong's numbers are impossible. The conceptual tie (righteousness by doing the commandment) is real, but Paul's nearer citation-target in Rom 10:5 is commonly assigned to Leviticus 18:5, so the precise NT source is contested. Flagged accordingly; never claimed as verbal.

Christ in the Unittypology · verify+

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The righteousness no slave could earn — fulfilled in the Mediator widely-held

The unit ends on a righteousness defined as the whole commandment kept perfectly before God's face (v.25). The Reformation expositors read this not as a ladder Israel could climb but as a measure that drives the sinner to Christ. Gill states it without hedging: to be justified by this standard “a man must keep all the commandments of God, not one excepted; and that perfectly… which is not possible for a sinful man to do; and therefore righteousness cannot be by the law. Only Christ could thus keep all the commandments of God, and his obedience is our righteousness.” The Geneva margin says the same in a line: “Because no one can fully obey the law, we must turn to Christ to be justified by faith.” Matthew Henry reads the whole pericope this way — “it is only through the Mediator we can be righteous before God” — and sees “the perfect obedience of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ” as the gospel's honoring of the law. This is a figural-Christological reading of the Old Testament's own demand: the perfect law-keeping required of Israel is rendered by the one righteous Israelite. As a cross-Testament reading it rests on the argument of the text, not on shared Strong's numbers, and is widely held in the church's interpretation.

Deuteronomy 6:25 · Romans 10:4 · Galatians 3:10

The first Exodus as type of redemption from a greater bondage ancient/widely-held

The father's answer to his son is a redemption-recital: “slaves we were… the LORD brought us out… to bring us in, to give us the land” (vv.21–23). The pattern — bondage, deliverance by a mighty hand, the slaying of the firstborn-house of the oppressor, an inheritance sworn by oath — is read across the church as the standing type of the redemption accomplished in Christ: rescue from slavery (now to sin), by a stronger hand, into a promised inheritance. Matthew Henry frames the gospel-shape already latent here — “a plan for bringing back apostate rebels and enemies, by repentance, faith, forgiveness, and renewing grace.” Gill even records the Targum of Jonathan's reading of v.21, “the Word of the Lord brought us,” and comments that “it was Christ the Son of God that was… concerned in that affair” — a witness we report as the Targum's and Gill's, not as a lexical proof. The typology of Exodus-as-redemption is ancient and pervasive; it is argued from the shared shape of the rescue, never from a Greek↔Hebrew word-link, and is offered here as figural reading, not as a claim that these verses are quoted in the New Testament.

Deuteronomy 6:21 · Deuteronomy 6:23 · Luke 1:68 · 1 Corinthians 5:7

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:

On tiering the Hebrew↔Hebrew threads (honesty sweep). The first two threads (the catechism formula and the threefold name of the Law) are tiered structural / thematic — confirmed, matching the Verifier's own computed tier on every pair. An earlier draft marked them “verbal / quotation — confirmed”; that overclaimed. The shared lexemes — māḥār (52 vv) for the catechism, ʻêdâh (25 vv) for the triad — are uncommon enough to mark a real recurring formula, but none is rare enough, and no passage quotes another; these are fixed forms and a shared legal nomenclature, which is structural, not verbal. We have downgraded both rather than assert a quotation the texts do not make.

On the cross-Testament links (flagged by method). The two Christ-layer readings and the fourth thread join Hebrew verses to Greek ones (Romans, Galatians, Luke, 1 Corinthians, Matthew). Running the Verifier on any such pair returns no shared original-language lexeme — expected and unavoidable for a Greek↔Hebrew pair, where shared Strong's numbers are impossible by definition. These ties are tiered structural / typological and argued from shared scene, formula, and logic; they are never claimed as “verbal.”

On v.25 and Paul. The conceptual identity between “righteousness by doing the commandment” (Deut 6:25) and Romans 10:5 is real and noted by the Pulpit Commentary, but Paul's nearer citation-target in Rom 10:5 (“the man who does them shall live”) is most often assigned to Leviticus 18:5, not to this verse. We have therefore flagged the link rather than assert a quotation. The note in the Mandatory directive (Joshua 1:5 → Hebrews 13:5) does not apply to this unit: this is Deuteronomy 6, not Joshua, and does not contain a 1:5.

On the divided reading of “righteousness.” We have preserved both poles of the historic Protestant debate verbatim: Keil & Delitzsch's “not really the gospel righteousness of faith; but there is no opposition between the two” alongside Gill's and Geneva's “we must turn to Christ.” The sola-reading above is the tool's own fallible synthesis and is labeled as such; it does not override either source.

On the parse and the lexica. The word-level parses, glosses, roots, and Strong's numbers are sourced from the Berean/Strong's apparatus and are not contradicted here. Where we render the Hebrew more literally than BSB (e.g. “But us He brought out,” v.23; “righteousness shall be to us,” v.25), we follow the cited commentators — Cambridge, Poole, the Pulpit Commentary — who note the same word-order, not a private retranslation.

= 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)