But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.
Parallel translations
- WEB But the word is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.
- KJV But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
- BSB But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may obey it.
- NASB On the contrary, the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may follow it.
- NLT No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.
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 word is very near, in their mouth and heart, so they can obey it. The nearness of God's word makes obedience possible.
Overview
Moses concludes that the word is 'very near,' even in the heart, enabling obedience. This stresses both the accessibility of God's revelation and the heart's role in keeping it. Paul quotes this verse in Romans 10:8 as 'the word of faith we proclaim,' showing that the nearness of God's saving word is fully realized in the gospel of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Rom 10:8–10But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart”; that is, the word of faith, which we preach:
- Jer 12:2You have planted them, yes, they have taken root; they grow, yes, they produce fruit. You are near in their mouth, and far from their heart.
- John 5:46For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote about me.
- Matt 7:21Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
- Ezek 33:33When this comes to pass, (behold, it comes), then shall they know that a prophet has been among them.
- Heb 2:1–3Therefore we ought to pay greater attention to the things that were heard, lest perhaps we drift away.
- Luke 10:11–12‘Even the dust from your city that clings to us, we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that God’s Kingdom has come near to you.’
- Ezek 2:5They, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house), yet shall know that there has been a prophet among them.
- Ezek 33:31They come to you as the people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but don’t do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their gain.
- Acts 13:26Brothers, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, the word of this salvation is sent out to you.
- Acts 28:23–28When they had appointed him a day, many people came to him at his lodging. He explained to them, testifying about God’s Kingdom, and persuading them concerning Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from the prophets, from morning until evening.
- Acts 13:38–41Be it known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man is proclaimed to you remission of sins,
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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 30:14 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.