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Deuteronomy Chapter 11

Old Testament Law (Torah) 32 Verses

What is Deuteronomy 11 about?

Moses' final sermons to Israel before entering Canaan — a renewed covenant and a call to wholehearted devotion. The complete chapter text below provides the immediate literary context for study.

Text — American Standard Version (1901)

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. For original Hebrew/Greek interlinear text, open in BibleWord.ai.
1Therefore thou shalt love Jehovah thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his ordinances, and his commandments, alway.
2And know ye this day: for [I speak] not with your children that have not known, and that have not seen the chastisement of Jehovah your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his outstretched arm,
3and his signs, and his works, which he did in the midst of Egypt unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his land;
4and what he did unto the army of Egypt, unto their horses, and to their chariots; how he made the water of the Red Sea to overflow them as they pursued after you, and how Jehovah hath destroyed them unto this day;
5and what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came unto this place;
6and what he did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben; how the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and every living thing that followed them, in the midst of all Israel:
7but your eyes have seen all the great work of Jehovah which he did.
8Therefore shall ye keep all the commandment which I command thee this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go over to possess it;
9and that ye may prolong your days in the land, which Jehovah sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land flowing with milk and honey.
10For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs;
11but the land, whither ye go over to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, [and] drinketh water of the rain of heaven,
12a land which Jehovah thy God careth for: the eyes of Jehovah thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.
13And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love Jehovah your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
14that I will give the rain of your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy grain, and thy new wine, and thine oil.
15And I will give grass in thy fields for thy cattle, and thou shalt eat and be full.
16Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
17and the anger of Jehovah be kindled against you, and he shut up the heavens, so that there shall be no rain, and the land shall not yield its fruit; and ye perish quickly from off the good land which Jehovah giveth you.
18Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul; and ye shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.
19And ye shall teach them your children, talking of them, when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
20And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates;
21that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which Jehovah sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of the heavens above the earth.
22For if ye shall diligently keep all this commandment which I command you, to do it, to love Jehovah your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;
23then will Jehovah drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves.
24Every place whereon the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the hinder sea shall be your border.
25There shall no man be able to stand before you: Jehovah your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath spoken unto you.
26Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse:
27the blessing, if ye shall hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah your God, which I command you this day;
28and the curse, if ye shall not hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.
29And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt set the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal.
30Are they not beyond the Jordan, behind the way of the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites that dwell in the Arabah, over against Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh?
31For ye are to pass over the Jordan to go in to possess the land which Jehovah your God giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein.
32And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and the ordinances which I set before you this day.
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What do historical commentaries say about this chapter?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · on verse 1
“Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God, etc.] Because he is so great and glorious in himself, and because he had done such great and good things for them, the Israelites, particularly in the multiplication of them, the last thing mentioned: and keep his charge; whatsoever the Lord had charged them to observe, even what follow: and his statutes and his judgments, and his commandments, alway; all his laws, ceremonial, judicial, and moral; and that constantly and continually, all the days of their lives.”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
“AN EXHORTATION TO OBEDIENCE. (Deu. 11:1-32) Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and keep his charge--The reason for the frequent repetition of the same or similar counsels is to be traced to the infantine character and state of the church, which required line upon line and precept upon precept. Besides, the Israelites were a headstrong and perverse people, impatient of control, prone to rebellion, and, from their long stay in Egypt, so violently addicted to idolatry, that they ran imminent risk of being seduced by the religion of the country to which they were going, which, in its characteristic features,…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · on verse 2
“And know ... - Render it: And own ye this day (for I have not to do with your children which have not known and which have not seen) the chastisement of the Lord, his greatness, etc. The “chastisement” consisted in the many mighty acts, both of punishment and mercy, through which God had guided them from Egypt to the borders of the promised land. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · on verse 2
“Know - That is, acknowledge and consider it with diligence and thankfulness. Deuteronomy 11:4”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · on verse 4
“11:4 The common translation Red Sea (literally sea of reeds) comes from the Greek Old Testament. It was called the “Sea of Reeds” because of the marshy plants that grew along its shores.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · on verse 1
“thou shalt: This verse is the practical improvement of the conclusion of the foregoing chapter; while the next verse begins another view of the subject. Deu 6:5, Deu 10:12, Deu 30:16-20; Psa 116:1 keep: Lev 8:35; Zac 3:7 his statutes: Deu 4:1, Deu 4:5, Deu 4:40, Deu 6:1; Psa 105:45; Luk 1:74, Luk 1:75 Deuteronomy 11:2”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · on verse 1
“In Deu 11:1-12 the other feature in the divine requirements ( Deu 10:12), viz., love to the Lord their God, is still more fully developed. Love was to show itself in the distinct perception of what had to be observed towards Jehovah (to "keep His charge," see at Lev 8:35), i.e., in the perpetual observance of His commandments and rights. The words, "and His statutes," etc., serve to explain the general notion, "His charge." "All days," as in Deu 4:10. Deuteronomy 11:2”
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