“This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach.
Parallel translations
- WEB For this commandment which I command you today is not too hard for you or too distant.
- KJV For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
- BSB For this commandment I give you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.
- NKJV “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off.
- NASB “For this commandment which I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it far away.
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
God's commandment is not too difficult or out of reach. God's word is accessible, not hidden or impossible.
Overview
Moses insists that the covenant command is 'not too hard for you or too distant.' God has made his will clearly known and attainable for a people he has graced. Paul applies this passage to the gospel in Romans 10, showing that the nearness of God's word reaches its climax in the accessible word of faith in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Isa 45:19I have not spoken in secret, in a place of the land of darkness. I didn’t say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I, Yahweh, speak righteousness. I declare things that are right.
- Ps 147:19–20He shows his word to Jacob; his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
- Rom 16:25–26—
- Col 1:26–27the mystery which has been hidden for ages and generations. But now it has been revealed to his saints,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 30:11 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.