Deuteronomy 29:9

Summary

The verse instructs the audience to keep and carry out the words of "this covenant," with the stated purpose that they may cause to prosper everything they do. It is structured as two sequential commands followed by a subordinate clause of purpose.

Key words

• shemartem ("you will keep", H8104G) — qal sequential perfect, continuing a command sequence begun earlier in the text; addressed to the group (plural "you").
• berit ("covenant", H1285) — feminine singular noun, the object being defined by the demonstrative that follows.
• zot ("this", H2063) — demonstrative particle specifying "this covenant," anchoring the command to a particular, referenced agreement.
• lema'an ("so that", H4616) — subordinating particle introducing the purpose clause that follows.
• taskilu ("you may cause to prosper", H7919A) — hiphil (causative stem) jussive form, expressing an intended or hoped-for result rather than a simple future fact.
• ta'asun ("you will do", H6213A) — qal imperfect with paragogic nun (H9013), an added emphatic ending on the final verb of the verse.

What the text says

The verse opens with a narrative vav (H9001) attached to shemartem ("you will keep", H8104G), continuing a chain of sequential perfects that function as commands within the discourse. The direct object is marked by 'et (H0853, untranslated) before divrei ("words of", H1697G), a construct-form noun meaning "words of," which is further specified by ha-berit ha-zot ("this covenant", H1285 + H2063) — the definite article doubled with the demonstrative pinpoints a specific covenant already known to the audience from context. A second sequential perfect, va'asitem ("and you will do", H6213A), continues the command, with its object marked by 'otam ("them", H0853 + H9038), a pronominal suffix referring back to "the words."

The clause introduced by lema'an ("so that", H4616) shifts from command to purpose. Taskilu ("you may cause to prosper", H7919A) is a hiphil jussive — a causative stem expressing an outcome that is intended or urged rather than a flat statement of future fact. The object of this clause is kol 'asher ta'asun ("all that you will do", H3605 + H0834A + H6213A), where the final verb ta'asun carries a paragogic nun (H9013), an added grammatical ending that lends emphasis to this concluding action-word, without changing its basic imperfect (ongoing/future) sense.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders taskilu with συνῆτε ("that you may understand"), diverging from the Hebrew's causative sense of "prosper," while the Vulgate's intelligatis ("that you may understand") follows the same interpretive direction as the LXX. Both the RV1909 and BSB, by contrast, render this verb as "prosper," aligning more closely with the hiphil form's causative-result nuance rather than a meaning of comprehension.