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Deuteronomy 10:20

WEBKJVBSBESVNKJVNASBNLT
You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.
Deuteronomy 10:20 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB You shall fear Yahweh your God; you shall serve him; and you shall cling to him, and you shall swear by his name.
  • KJV Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.
  • NKJV You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name.
  • NASB You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name.
  • NLT You must fear the Lord your God and worship him and cling to him. Your oaths must be in his name alone.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Israel is to fear, serve, cling to, and swear by the Lord alone. He is to be the sole object of their worship and loyalty.

Overview

Moses calls for exclusive devotion to God expressed in reverence, service, attachment, and oaths in His name. To cling to the Lord is to hold fast to Him in covenant love. Jesus echoes this exclusive allegiance, and believers cleave to God through union with Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Deut 6:13Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths in His name.
  • Luke 4:8But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
  • Deut 13:4You are to follow the LORD your God and fear Him. Keep His commandments and listen to His voice; serve Him and hold fast to Him.
  • Deut 11:22For if you carefully keep all these commandments I am giving you to follow—to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him—
  • Ps 63:11But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by Him will exult, for the mouths of liars will be shut.
  • Matt 4:10“Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
  • Isa 45:23By Myself I have sworn; truth has gone out from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow before Me, every tongue will swear allegiance.
  • Josh 23:8Instead, you shall hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day.
  • Deut 4:4But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive to this day, every one of you.
  • Acts 11:23When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to abide in the Lord with all their hearts.
  • Rom 12:9Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)
FEAROATHQUOTATIONS AND ALLUSIONS

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Deuteronomy videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Deuteronomy 10:20YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on DeuteronomyMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).

How Deuteronomy 10:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.

Thou shalt fearיָרֵאthe LORDיְהֹוָהthy Godאֱלֹהִיםhim shalt thou serveעָבַדand to him shalt thou cleaveדָּבַקand swearשָׁבַעby his nameשֵׁם
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