New American Standard Bible 2020
Deuteronomy 4:6
6So keep and do them, 1for that 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.’
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 you who clung to the Lord your God are alive today, every one of you. 5“See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you are to do these things in the land where you are entering to take possession of it. So keep and do them, for that 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.’ 7For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the Lord our God whenever we call on Him? 8Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole Law which I am setting before you today?
Read all of Deuteronomy 4Deuteronomy 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
- So keepשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: obeyH8104
- and doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- for that is your wisdomחׇכְמָהchokmâh · wisdomH2451
- and your understandingבִּינָהbîynâh · understandingH998
- in the sightעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: seeingH5869
- of the peoplesעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- whoאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
- will hearשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- allכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
- theseאֵ֫לֶּה'êlleh · theseH428
- statutesחֹקchôq · statute: decreeH2706
- and sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- thisזֶהzeh · thisH2088
- greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
- nationגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
- is a wiseחָכָםchâkâm · wiseH2450
- and understandingבִּיןbîyn · to understandH995
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 4:6
- Job 28:28And to mankind He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
- Psalms 19:7The Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
- Psalms 111:10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; All those who follow His commandments have a good understanding; His praise endures forever.
- Psalms 119:98Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine.
- Proverbs 1:7The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
- Proverbs 14:8The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way, But the foolishness of fools is deceit.
- Jeremiah 8:9The wise men are put to shame, They are dismayed and caught; Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord, So what kind of wisdom do they have?
- 2 Timothy 3:15and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
- James 3:13Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
- 1 Kings 4:34People came from all the nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.
- 1 Kings 10:6Then she said to the king, “It was a true story that I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom.
- Psalms 119:99I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation.
- Daniel 1:20As for every matter of expertise and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the soothsayer priests and conjurers who were in all his realm.
- Daniel 4:9‘Belteshazzar, chief of the soothsayer priests, since I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you and no secret baffles you, tell me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation.
- Daniel 5:11There is a man in your kingdom in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, illumination, insight, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father--your father the king--appointed him chief of the soothsayer priests, sorcerers, Chaldeans, and diviners.
- Zechariah 8:20“The Lord of armies says this: ‘It will yet turn out that peoples will come, that is, the inhabitants of many cities.
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
In the dictionaries
Notes
- 1. Deuteronomy 4:6 Deut 30:19, 20; 32:46, 47; Job 28:28; Ps 19:7; 111:10; Prov 1:7; 2 Tim 3:15 ↩
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
New American Standard Bible 2020 — © 1960–2020 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Commentaries