Deuteronomy 4:6

Deuteronomy 4:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
• New International Version (NIV)Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.'
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’

Context of Deuteronomy 4:6

4But each of you who continued to trust the Lord your God is still alive today. 5Look! I have taught you rules and laws, as the Lord my God told me to do. Now you must obey them when you go into the land where you will live. Obey them carefully. That will show people of other nations that you are wise. They will hear about all your laws. Then they will say, ‘The people of this great nation are very wise and clever!’ 7No other nation has a god who is near to them like the Lord our God. Even great nations have no god like that. But when we pray to the Lord our God, he listens! 8And no other great nation has rules and laws that are as fair as ours. That is God's Law that I am giving to you today.

Deuteronomy 4:6 word by word

וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם֮ וַעֲשִׂיתֶם֒ כִּ֣י הִ֤וא חָכְמַתְכֶם֙ וּבִ֣ינַתְכֶ֔ם לְעֵינֵ֖י הָעַמִּ֑ים אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִשְׁמְע֗וּן אֵ֚ת כָּל־הַחֻקִּ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה וְאָמְר֗וּ רַ֚ק עַם־חָכָ֣ם וְנָב֔וֹן הַגּ֥וֹי הַגָּד֖וֹל הַזֶּֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Keepשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: obeyH8104
• therefore and doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• your wisdomחׇכְמָהchokmâh · wisdomH2451
• and your understandingבִּינָהbîynâh · understandingH998
• in the sightעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: seeingH5869
• of the nationsעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• which shall hearשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• all these statutesחֹקchôq · statute: decreeH2706
• and sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Surely this greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• nationגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• a wiseחָכָםchâkâm · wiseH2450
• and understandingבִּיןbîyn · to understandH995

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 4:6

• Job 28:28God said this to us humans: “If you want to be wise, learn to respect the Lord with fear. If you want to understand things properly, turn away from evil acts.” ’
• Psalms 19:7The law of the Lord is perfect. It makes us strong again. We can trust what the Lord teaches us. He helps ordinary people to be wise.
• Psalms 111:10If you want to live in a wise way, respect and obey the Lord. Everyone who lives in the way that he teaches will understand what is right. People should praise the Lord for ever!
• Psalms 119:98Your commands make me wiser than my enemies. They are always in my thoughts.
• Proverbs 1:7If you want to know how to live in a good way, you must first learn to respect the Lord with fear. Fools refuse to listen to wise teaching.
• Proverbs 14:8A careful person understands what is right and he does it. But a foolish person's silly thoughts deceive him.
• Jeremiah 8:9Those wise teachers will be ashamed and upset. Enemies will catch them as their prisoners. They have refused to accept the Lord's message. So they are not really wise.
• 2 Timothy 3:15Even when you were a child, you already knew the message of the Bible. The Bible has taught you how you can be truly wise. You understand that God saves you because you believe in Christ Jesus.
• James 3:13Do some of you think that you are wise? Do you think that you are clever? If so, show that you are wise by the way that you live. Be kind to other people. Do things that are good. That is what it means to be wise.
• 1 Kings 4:34People came from all countries to listen to Solomon's wise teaching. Kings of all the nations in the world who heard about Solomon's wisdom sent people to learn from him.
• 1 Kings 10:6She said to the king, ‘In my own country I heard news about your wisdom and about all the things that you had done. Everything that I heard was true!
• Psalms 119:99I understand more than all my teachers, because I think about your rules.
• Daniel 1:20Whenever the king needed help to understand something important, these men showed how wise they were. They knew ten times more than any of the king's other wise men. Those men used magic or they studied the stars to know what would happen in the future. They came from all the different countries that Nebuchadnezzar ruled.
• Daniel 4:9I said to him, ‘Belteshazzar you are the leader of my wise men. I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you. I know that no secret is too difficult for you to explain. Here is the dream that I saw. Tell me what it means.
• Daniel 5:11There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. When your father was alive, this man showed that he was very wise, like the gods. He could understand secret things. Your father, Nebuchadnezzar, made him the leader of all the magicians, wise men, enchanters and diviners.
• Zechariah 8:20‘People that live in many countries will come to Jerusalem,’ says the Lord Almighty.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 4:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Keep - and do them; for this is your wisdom - There was no mode of worship at this time on the face or the earth that was not wicked, obscene, puerile, foolish, or ridiculous, except that established by God himself among the Israelites. And every part of this, taken in its connection and reference, may be truly called a wise and reasonable service. The nations - and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people - Almost all the nations…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6Observe … wisdom and intelligence: Wisdom is linked to obedience. Obeying the Lord is the essence of wisdom (see 10:12–13; Proverbs 1:7; 9:10; 15:33). If God’s people were wise and careful enough to keep the Lord’s perfect covenant, the nations would see this and be amazed. Their obedience would display God’s wisdom to the world.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5-65-6. this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes--Moses predicted that the faithful observance of the laws given them would raise their national character for intelligence and wisdom. In point of fact it did do so; for although the heathen world generally ridiculed the Hebrews for what they considered a foolish and absurd exclusiveness, some of the most eminent philosophers expressed the…Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 4:6

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Obedience
• Wisdom
• Word of God

In the dictionaries

• Add
• Consider
• Consuming
• Diminish
• Furnace
• Hearken
• Baruch, Book of
• Deuteronomy
• Law in the Old Testament
• Pentateuch

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings