Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.
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.
- BSB You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in 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 6:13Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
- Luke 4:8And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
- Deut 13:4Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
- Deut 11:22For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;
- Ps 63:11But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.
- Matt 4:10Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
- Isa 45:23I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
- Josh 23:8But cleave unto the LORD your God, as ye have done unto this day.
- Deut 4:4But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day.
- Acts 11:23Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
- Rom 12:9Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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.