Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One.
Parallel translations
- WEB Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one.
- KJV Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
- NKJV “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
- NASB “Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!
- NLT “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
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
The Shema declares that Yahweh is Israel's God and that Yahweh is one. This is the foundational confession of biblical faith in the one true God.
Overview
Known as the Shema, this verse is the heart of Israel's creed, affirming the uniqueness and unity of God. Faithful Christians read it as the bedrock of monotheism, with the New Testament including Father, Son, and Spirit within the oneness of God. Jesus cites it as the greatest commandment's foundation (Mark 12:29), and Paul confesses Christ as Lord within this very oneness (1 Corinthians 8:6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Mark 12:29–32Jesus replied, “This is the most important: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.
- Isa 44:6Thus says the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me.
- 1 Tim 2:5For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
- Isa 45:5–6I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me,
- John 17:3Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
- John 10:30I and the Father are one.”
- Isa 44:8Do not tremble or fear. Have I not told you and declared it long ago? You are My witnesses! Is there any God but Me? There is no other Rock; I know not one.”
- Isa 42:8I am the LORD; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or My praise to idols.
- Deut 4:35–36You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him.
- Jer 10:10–11But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and eternal King. The earth quakes at His wrath, and the nations cannot endure His indignation.
- 1 Cor 8:4–6So about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one.
- 1 Kgs 18:21Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did not answer a word.
- Deut 5:6“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- 1 Chr 29:10Then David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly and said: “May You be blessed, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.
- 2 Kgs 19:5So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah,
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 6:4 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.