Deuteronomy 30:14

Summary

Deuteronomy 30:14 states that "the word" is very near to the addressee, located specifically "in your mouth" and "in your heart," with the stated purpose of doing it. The verse forms a contrastive conclusion to the preceding verses (30:11-13), which deny that the word is far away in heaven or across the sea.

Key words

• ki ("for/but", H3588A) — subordinating particle; here functions to introduce the statement as a contrast to what precedes rather than a strict causal clause, matching the adversative sense reflected in the Vulgate's sed.
• karov ("near", H7138) — masculine singular adjective serving as the predicate of the nominal clause; it asserts proximity rather than describing an action.
• davar ("word", H1697G) — masculine singular noun with definite article (ha-davar), the subject of the sentence, referring back to "this commandment" discussed in the preceding verses.
• pi ("mouth", H6310G) — construct form ("mouth of"), bound to the 2nd-person suffix -kha, producing "your mouth"; construct state links noun to pronoun without an intervening preposition beyond be-.
• la'asoto ("to do it", H6213A) — qal infinitive with prefixed preposition la- ("to/for") and 3rd-person masculine singular suffix -o ("it"), expressing purpose: the nearness of the word exists "in order to do it."

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built as a nominal (verbless) clause: karov ("near") is the predicate, ha-davar ("the word") is the subject, and me'od ("very", H3966) intensifies the adjective. The locative phrases be-fikha ("in your mouth") and u-vi-levavkha ("and in your heart") specify where this nearness is located, each using the preposition be- ("in", H9003) attached to a construct noun plus 2nd-person suffix. The final clause, la'asoto ("to do it"), uses an infinitive with purpose-marking la- and an object suffix referring back to ha-davar, indicating the goal toward which the nearness is directed — the doing of "it" (the word).

The construction places the subject (ha-davar) in the middle of the sentence, after the predicate karov and the prepositional phrase elekha ("to you", H0413 + suffix), a common word order in Biblical Hebrew for verbless clauses emphasizing the predicate first.

Differences between versions

The Septuagint (LXXSWETE) adds a third locative element absent from the Hebrew: καὶ ἐν ταῖς χερσίν σου ("and in your hands"), alongside "mouth" and "heart." The Hebrew text provided lists only two locations — pikha ("your mouth") and levavkha ("your heart") — with no equivalent for "hands." The Vulgate (VULCLEM) renders ki with sed ("but"), reflecting the adversative/contrastive reading of the particle, whereas the Hebrew's ki (H3588A) can also carry a causal sense ("for") depending on context.