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Deuteronomy 30:6

And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
Deuteronomy 30:6 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your offspring, to love Yahweh your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live.
  • KJV And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
  • BSB The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.
  • NASB “Moreover, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, so that you may live.
  • NLT “The Lord your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live!

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 himself will circumcise their hearts so they truly love and obey him. Inward transformation by God is the key to lasting faithfulness.

Overview

This pivotal verse promises a divine work of heart-circumcision, an inner renewal enabling whole-hearted love for God 'that you may live.' It acknowledges that outward law cannot save without God changing the heart. This anticipates the new-covenant promise of a new heart (Jeremiah 31; Ezekiel 36) and its fulfillment in the Spirit's regenerating work through Christ, the heart of the gospel.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 21

  • Deut 10:16Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff-necked.
  • Ezek 36:26–27I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
  • Jer 32:39and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their good, and of their children after them:
  • Ezek 11:19–20I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh;
  • Col 2:11in whom you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ;
  • Rom 2:28–29For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh;
  • Jer 4:4Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh, and take away the foreskins of your heart, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go out like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
  • 1 Jn 5:3–4For this is loving God, that we keep his commandments. His commandments are not grievous.
  • Deut 6:5You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.
  • 1 Jn 4:7Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves has been born of God, and knows God.
  • 2 Cor 5:17Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.
  • Matt 22:37Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
  • 1 Cor 8:3But if anyone loves God, the same is known by him.
  • Rom 11:26and so all Israel will be saved. Even as it is written, “There will come out of Zion the Deliverer, and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
  • 1 Jn 4:16–19We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.
  • Jas 1:12Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love him.
  • Rom 8:28We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.
  • Exod 20:6and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
  • Jer 9:26Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners of their hair cut off, who dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.”
  • John 3:3–7Jesus answered him, “Most certainly, I tell you, unless one is born anew, he can’t see God’s Kingdom.”
  • Jas 2:5Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he promised to those who love him?

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

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 30:6YouTube · 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 30:6 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.