Deuteronomy 11:1

Summary

Deuteronomy 11:1 issues a command to love Yehovah and to keep four categories of his instructions — his charge, statutes, judgments, and commandments — for all time. The verse uses sequential verb forms that link it directly to what precedes as a continuing chain of obligation.

Key words

• 'A.hav.ta ("you will love", H0157G) — qal sequential perfect, second person masculine singular; the sequential perfect form ties this command into an ongoing narrative/legal chain rather than standing as an isolated imperative.
• sha.mar.Ta ("you will keep", H8104G) — qal sequential perfect, parallel in form to 'A.hav.ta, presenting "keeping" as the natural continuation of "loving."
• mish.mar.T-o ("his command", H4931 + H9023) — feminine singular noun in construct with a third-person masculine singular suffix, meaning "his charge/watch," the first of four terms describing what is to be kept.
• chu.ko.Ta-v ("his statutes", H2708 + H9023) — feminine plural construct noun with suffix, second in the fourfold list.
• mish.pa.Ta-v ("his judgments", H4941G + H9023) — masculine plural construct noun with suffix, third term in the list, referring to judicial rulings or ordinances.

What the text says

The verse opens with the conjunction ve ("and", H9001) attached to 'A.hav.ta, a qal sequential perfect verb. This form typically continues a preceding sequence of instructions rather than beginning a new independent command, meaning the grammar itself signals continuity with what came before rather than a fresh start. The direct object marker 'et (H0853) introduces Yehovah (H3068G) as the object of the loving, followed by 'e.lo.Hei-kha ("your God", H0430G + H9021), a construct-plus-suffix phrase identifying the deity as belonging to the addressee.

The second half of the verse repeats the same sequential perfect pattern with sha.mar.Ta ("you will keep"), governing four grammatically parallel construct nouns, each bearing a third-person masculine singular suffix referring back to Yehovah: mish.mar.T-o ("his charge"), chu.ko.Ta-v ("his statutes"), mish.pa.Ta-v ("his judgments"), and mitz.vo.Ta-v ("his commandments", H4687 + H9023). Each noun is joined by the conjunction u/ve (H9002), producing a fourfold list rather than a single generic term for law. The phrase kol- ha.ya.Mim ("all the days", H3605 + H9009 + H3117K) closes the verse, using kol in construct with the definite plural noun "the days" to express duration.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew lists four distinct nouns — charge, statutes, judgments, commandments — each with a possessive suffix. The LXX renders three terms (phylagmata, "guardings"; dikaiōmata, "righteous acts/statutes"; kriseis, "judgments"), omitting a separate rendering corresponding to mitz.vo.Ta-v ("his commandments") as a fourth distinct category. The Vulgate lists four terms (præcepta, cæremonias, judicia, mandata), matching the fourfold Hebrew structure but using different Latin categories (e.g., "ceremonies" for chu.ko.Ta-v, "statutes"). The BSB and RV1909 English/Spanish renderings preserve four terms corresponding to the Hebrew list, while SBLIBRE glosses mish.mar.T-o as "instructions" rather than "charge."