Deuteronomy 11:20

Summary

This verse continues an instruction (introduced by a narrative vav) commanding the writing of certain words — referred to by the pronominal suffix "them" — on the doorposts of a house and on gates. The addressee is grammatically singular in the Hebrew, and the verb is in the sequential perfect, continuing a chain of previous instructions.

Key words

• khe.tav.Ta ("you will write", H3789) — qal sequential perfect, second person masculine singular; continues a preceding sequence of commands rather than standing as an isolated imperative.
• me.zu.Zot ("doorposts of", H4201) — feminine plural noun in construct state, meaning it is grammatically bound to the following noun ("doorposts of your house").
• bei.Te.kha ("your house", H1004B + H9021) — masculine singular noun in construct with a second-person masculine singular suffix, specifying whose doorposts are meant.
• sh.'a.Rei.kha ("your gates", H8179G + H9021) — masculine plural noun in construct with the same singular suffix, paralleling "doorposts" as the second location named.

What the text says

The clause opens with the narrative vav on khe.tav.Ta ("and you will write"), marking this instruction as a continuation of a prior sequence rather than a new independent command. The object is only the pronominal suffix m ("them", H9038) attached implicitly to the verb, referring back to words or instructions mentioned earlier in the passage; the noun itself is not repeated here. Two locations are specified through construct chains: me.zu.Zot bei.Te.kha ("doorposts of your house") and, joined by the conjunction u (H9002) and preposition vi (H9003), sh.'a.Rei.kha ("your gates"). Both phrases carry the second-person masculine singular suffix kha (H9021), meaning the Hebrew text addresses one singular "you" throughout, and both "house" and "gates" belong to this same addressee.

Differences between versions

The Septuagint (LXXSWETE) shifts the grammatical number: it renders the verb as γράψετε (second person plural, "you all will write") and uses ὑμῶν ("your," plural) with τῶν οἰκιῶν ("of the houses," plural) and τῶν πυλῶν ("of the gates," plural), where the Hebrew has a singular addressee and a singular "house" (bei.Te.kha). The Vulgate (VULCLEM) matches the Hebrew's singular address with "Scribes ea... domus tuæ" ("you will write them... of your house," singular). Modern translations like BSB render "houses" in the plural ("your houses"), aligning more with the LXX's plural rendering than with the singular construct bei.Te.kha found in the Hebrew text.