And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “Set your heart to all the words which I testify to you today, which you shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.
- BSB he said to them, “Take to heart all these words I testify among you today, so that you may command your children to carefully follow all the words of this law.
- NKJV and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law.
- NASB he said to them, “Take to your heart all the words with which I am warning you today, which you will command your sons to follow carefully, all the words of this Law.
- NLT he added: “Take to heart all the words of warning I have given you today. Pass them on as a command to your children so they will obey every word of these instructions.
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
Moses urges Israel to take God's words to heart and to teach them diligently to their children. The covenant is to be passed down through faithful instruction.
Overview
Moses calls Israel not merely to hear the law but to "set your heart" to it, the whole-person commitment the Shema demands (Deut. 6:6-7). The command to teach the next generation shows that covenant faith is meant to endure across generations, not die with one. This anticipates the new covenant promise of God's law written on the heart (Jer. 31:33; Heb. 8:10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Chr 22:19Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD.
- Ezek 40:4And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel.
- Deut 11:18Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.
- Prov 3:1–4My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
- Luke 9:44Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.
- Deut 4:9Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;
- Deut 6:6–7And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
- Heb 2:1Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
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 32:46 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.