Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
Parallel translations
- WEB Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one.
- BSB Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One.
- 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 12:29–32And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
- Isa 44:6Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
- 1 Tim 2:5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
- Isa 45:5–6I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
- John 17:3And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
- John 10:30I and my Father are one.
- Isa 44:8Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
- Isa 42:8I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
- Deut 4:35–36Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.
- Jer 10:10–11But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
- 1 Cor 8:4–6As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
- 1 Kgs 18:21And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
- Deut 5:6I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
- 1 Chr 29:10Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.
- 2 Kgs 19:5So the servants of king Hezekiah came 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.