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LXX Deuteronomy

Septuagint

About this book
Chapter 6

1 And these are the commands, and the ordinances, and the judgments, as many as the Lord our God gave commandment to teach you to do so in the land on which you enter to inherit it. 2 That you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all his ordinances, and his commandments, which I command you today, you, and your sons, and your sons' sons, all the days of your life, that you may live many days. 3 Hear, therefore, Israel, and observe to do them, that it may be well with you, and that you may be greatly multiplied, as the Lord God of your fathers said that he would give you a land flowing with milk and honey.⁠ 4 And these are the ordinances, and the judgments, which the Lord commanded the children of Israel in the wilderness, when they had gone forth from the land of Egypt. Hear, Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord. 5 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And these words, all that I command you this day, shall be in your heart and in your soul. 7 And you shall teach them to your children, and you shall speak of them sitting in the house, and walking by the way, and lying down, and rising up. 8 And you shall fasten them for a sign upon your hand, and it shall be immovable before your eyes. 9 And you shall write them on the lintels of your houses and of your gates. 10 And it will happen when the Lord your God shall have brought you into the land which he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you great and beautiful cities which you did not build, 11 houses full of all good things which you did not fill, wells dug in the rock which you did not dig, vineyards and olive yards which you did not plant, then having eaten and been filled, 12 beware for fear that you might forget the Lord your God that brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 13 You shall fear the Lord your God, and you shall serve him; and you shall cling to him, and by his name you shall swear. 14 Do not go after other gods of the gods of the nations all around you; 15 for the Lord your God in the midst of you is a jealous God, for fear that the Lord your God might be very angry with you, and destroy you from the face of the earth. 16 You shall not test the Lord your God, as you tested him in the Temptation. 17 You shall by all means keep the commands of the Lord your God, the testimonies, and the ordinances, which he commanded you. 18 And you shall do that which is pleasing and good before the Lord your God, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and inherit the good land, which the Lord swore to your fathers, 19 to chase all your enemies from before your face, as the Lord said. 20 And it will happen when your son shall ask you at a future time, saying, What are the testimonies, and the ordinances, and the judgments, which the Lord our God has commanded us? 21 Then you will say to your son, We were slaves to Pharaoh in the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought us forth from there with a mighty hand, and with a high arm. 22 And the Lord performed signs and great and terrifying wonders in Egypt, on Pharaoh and on his house before us. 23 And he brought us out from there to bring us in, to give us this land, which he swore to give to our fathers. 24 And the Lord charged us to observe all these ordinances; to fear the Lord our God, that it may be well with us for ever, that we may live, as even today. 25 And there shall be mercy to us, if we take heed to keep all these commands before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.

Texts in conversation

Compare Deuteronomy 6:3 and LXX Deuteronomy 6:3

Hebrew Bible · Septuagint

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Summary

Deuteronomy 6:3 leads naturally into the declaration of Shema in 6:4, but the Septuagint translation, perhaps to emphasize its importance, inserts language from Deuteronomy 4:45 just before it, showing a willingness to alter the text.

Passages

Deuteronomy 6:3

Hebrew Bible
1 Now these are the commandments, statutes, and ordinances that the Lord your God instructed me to teach you so that you may carry them out in the land where you are headed 2 and that you may so revere the Lord your God that you will keep all his statutes and commandments that I am giving you—you, your children, and your grandchildren—all your lives, to prolong your days. 3 Pay attention, Israel, and be careful to do this so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in number—as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, said to you, you will have a land flowing with milk and honey. 4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 You must love the Lord your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

LXX Deuteronomy 6:3

Septuagint
1 And these are the commands, and the ordinances, and the judgments, as many as the Lord our God gave commandment to teach you to do so in the land on which you enter to inherit it. 2 That you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all his ordinances, and his commandments, which I command you today, you, and your sons, and your sons' sons, all the days of your life, that you may live many days. 3 Hear, therefore, Israel, and observe to do them, that it may be well with you, and that you may be greatly multiplied, as the Lord God of your fathers said that he would give you a land flowing with milk and honey. 4 And these are the ordinances, and the judgments, which the Lord commanded the children of Israel in the wilderness, when they had gone forth from the land of Egypt. Hear, Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord. 5 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and all your strength.
300–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Deuteronomy

References

"... The translator here is more aware of context, bringing different passages into line with each other. He is concerned with halakic matters (that is, with the correct observance of the law). Sometimes he appears to 'update' his translation. In 23:18, for instance, he apparently adds initiation into the Greek mysteries to the list of forbidden practices. He, too, translates rather literally and his Greek is less polished and innovative than that, say, of the Genesis or Exodus translators. Other interesting passages include 6.4, where the Shema is preceded by an echo of 4:45 (perhaps associating 6:4 with the Decalogue), and 32:43 (the end of the Song of Moses). This has expansions similar to 4Q31 ..."
Jennifer M. Dines, The Septuagint (London: T&T Clark, 2004), 15.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Deuteronomy 6:3 and LXX Deuteronomy 6:3

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