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Deuteronomy 4:39

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Deuteronomy 4:39 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Know therefore this day, and lay it to thy heart, that Jehovah he is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is none else.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Know therefore this day, and lay it to thy heart, that Jehovah he is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is none else.
Deuteronomy 4:39 — American Standard Version

Context — Deuteronomy 4

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
36Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he made thee to see his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire.
37And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out with his presence, with his great power, out of Egypt;
38to drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as at this day.
39Know therefore this day, and lay it to thy heart, that Jehovah he is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is none else.
40And thou shalt keep his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days in the land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, for ever.
41Then Moses set apart three cities beyond the Jordan toward the sunrising;
42that the manslayer might flee thither, that slayeth his neighbor unawares, and hated him not in time past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live:
← Deuteronomy 4:38Deuteronomy 4:40 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Unwilling, as it might seem, to close his discourse with words of terror, Moses makes a last appeal to them in these verses in a different strain. Deuteronomy 4:34 Temptations - Compare Deuteronomy 7:18-19; Deuteronomy 29:2-3; not, “i. e.” the tribulations and persecutions undergone by the Israelites, out the plagues miraculously inflicted on the Egyptians. Deuteronomy 4:37 He chose their seed after them - literally, “his seed after him.” Speaking of the love of God to their fathers in general, Moses has more especially in mind that one of them who was called “the Friend of God” James 2:23. Brought thee out in his sight - literally, “by His face:” “i. e.” by the might of His personal…”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“4:39 The Lord is unique, and there is no other besides him. This instruction reaffirms the first two commandments (5:6-8; Exod 20:2-4) and foreshadows the Shema (Deut 6:4-5). God’s uniqueness had to be underscored because Israel’s neighbors worshiped many gods.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“and consider: Deu 32:29; Ch1 28:9; Isa 1:3, Isa 5:12; Hos 7:2 the Lord: Deu 4:35; Jos 2:11; Ch1 29:11; Ch2 20:6; Psa 115:3, Psa 135:6; Dan 4:35 Deuteronomy 4:40”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“By this the Israelites were to know and lay it to heart, that Jehovah alone was God in heaven and on earth, and were to keep His commandments, in order that (אשׁר) it might be well with them and their descendants, and they might have long life in Canaan. כּל־היּמים, "all time," for all the future (cf. Exo 20:12). Deuteronomy 4:41”
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Related study paths

Read Deuteronomy 4 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification