Deuteronomy 17:11
עַל־פִּי הַתּוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר יוֹרוּךָ וְעַל־הַמִּשְׁפָּט אֲשֶׁר־יֹאמְרוּ לְךָ תַּעֲשֶׂה לֹא תָסוּר מִן־הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר־יַגִּידֽוּ לְךָ יָמִין וּשְׂמֹֽאל׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
עַל־פִּ֨י הַתּוֹרָ֜ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר יוֹר֗וּךָ וְעַל־הַמִּשְׁפָּ֛ט אֲשֶׁר־יֹאמְר֥וּ לְךָ֖ תַּעֲשֶׂ֑ה לֹ֣א תָס֗וּר מִן־הַדָּבָ֛ר אֲשֶׁר־יַגִּ֥ידֽוּ לְךָ֖ יָמִ֥ין וּשְׂמֹֽאל׃
κατὰ κατὰ τὸν νόμον καὶ κατὰ τὴν κρίσιν ἢν ἂν εἴπωσίν σοι ποιήσεις, οὐκ ἐκκλινεῖς ἀπὸ τοῦ ῥήματος οὗ ἐὰν ἀναγγείλωσίν σοι δεξιὰ οὐδὲ ἀριστερά.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
juxta legem ejus, sequerisque sententiam eorum, nec declinabis ad dexteram neque ad sinistram.
Harás según las decisiones de la ley que te enseñen y según la sentencia que te digan. No te apartarás de la sentencia que te anuncien, ni a la derecha ni a la izquierda.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Según la ley que ellos te enseñaren, y según el juicio que te dijeren, harás: no te apartarás ni á diestra ni á siniestra de la sentencia que te mostraren.
according to the terms of law they give and the verdict they proclaim. Do not turn aside to the right or to the left from the decision they declare to you.
✦ What the text says
Summary
The verse instructs adherence to the ruling delivered by verbal instruction (torah) and legal decision (mishpat), specifying that the addressee must act according to what is spoken and must not deviate from the declared word in either direction.
Key words
- pi ("mouth of", H6310I) — construct noun forming the idiom "according to the mouth of," indicating oral pronouncement rather than a written text alone.
- torah ("instruction", H8451) — feminine singular noun; here paired with yoru from the same root (י-ר-ה), creating a wordplay between the noun "instruction" and the verb "they will instruct."
- yoru-kha ("they will instruct you", H3384B) — hiphil (causative) imperfect, denoting an ongoing or future act of causing someone to know/be instructed.
- tasur ("you will turn aside", H5493I) — qal imperfect negated by lo ("not", H3808), forming a prohibition against deviation.
- yamin u-smol ("right and left", H3225G/H8040G) — a merism (two opposites naming the totality) expressing "in any direction."
What the text says
The Hebrew sentence is built on two parallel prepositional phrases introduced by 'al ("on/according to", H5921A): 'al-pi ha-torah ("according to the mouth of the instruction") and ve-'al ha-mishpat ("and according to the verdict"), each followed by a relative clause with an imperfect verb describing what will be instructed (yoru-kha) or said (yomeru lekha). Both clauses converge on a single verb, ta'aseh ("you will do", H6213A), placed at the end of the first sentence, so that the two objects (instruction and verdict) govern one action.
The second sentence restates the same idea negatively: lo tasur min ha-davar ("you will not turn aside from the word") that "they will tell" (yagidu, H5046, hiphil imperfect) — using davar ("word/matter", H1697L) as a near-synonym for torah and mishpat. The clause ends with the merism yamin u-smol ("right and left"), which grammatically has no preposition before smol, tying the two nouns as a single expression of total non-deviation, not two separate directions.
Differences between versions
The LXX renders 'al-pi ha-torah ("according to the mouth of the instruction") simply as κατὰ τὸν νόμον ("according to the law"), omitting the "mouth" idiom present in the Hebrew construct pi. The Vulgate similarly gives juxta legem eius ("according to his law"), adding a possessive "his" not present in the Hebrew text and likewise dropping the "mouth" phrasing found in the Masoretic wording.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.