For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.
Parallel translations
- WEB For it is no vain thing for you; because it is your life, and through this thing you shall prolong your days in the land, where you go over the Jordan to possess it.”
- BSB For they are not idle words to you, because they are your life, and by them you will live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
- NKJV For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.”
- NASB For it is not a trivial matter for you; indeed it is your life. And by this word you will prolong your days in the land, which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.”
- NLT These instructions are not empty words—they are your life! By obeying them you will enjoy a long life in the land you will occupy when you cross the Jordan River.”
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 not an empty or trivial thing but Israel's very life and the means of prolonged days in the land. Obedience flows from valuing God's word as life-giving.
Overview
Moses insists the law is "no vain thing" but "your life," tying covenant obedience to flourishing in the promised land. Scripture elsewhere affirms that man lives by every word from God's mouth (Deut. 8:3), a truth Jesus quotes against temptation (Matt. 4:4). Ultimately the life God's word gives points to Christ, the living Word, in whom is life itself (John 1:4; John 6:68).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Lev 18:5Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.
- Prov 4:22For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
- 2 Pet 1:16For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
- Prov 3:22So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.
- 1 Pet 3:10–12For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
- Prov 3:18She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
- Prov 3:1–2My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
- Deut 30:19–20I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
- 2 Pet 1:3According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
- Rom 10:5–6For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
- Isa 45:19I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
- Matt 6:33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
- 1 Tim 4:8For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
- Rev 22:14Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
- 1 Tim 6:6–8But godliness with contentment is great gain.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 32:47 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.