Deuteronomy 6:15

Summary

The verse gives the reason for the preceding command to worship exclusively: Yehovah is described as a jealous God present in the midst of the people, and a warning follows that his anger could burn against them and destroy them from the ground's surface.

Key words

• qanna ("jealous", H7067H) — masculine singular adjective describing 'el ("God", H0410G); it characterizes the divine nature as prone to jealousy.
• qirbekha ("your midst", H7130G) — construct noun with pronominal suffix kha ("your", H9021), indicating spatial presence "within you" (singular addressee).
• yechereh ("it should burn", H2734) — qal imperfect verb, expressing a possible future action ("burn/kindle") introduced by pen ("lest", H6435).
• 'af ("anger of", H0639G) — construct noun meaning literally "nose/anger", here the subject that "burns."
• hishmidekha ("he will destroy you", H8045) — hiphil (causative) form with sequential perfect aspect and object suffix kha ("you", H9031), continuing the sequence begun by yechereh.

What the text says

The verse opens with the particle ki ("for", H3588A), linking it as a causal explanation to what precedes. The core clause states that 'el qanna, "a jealous God" (H0410G + H7067H), is Yehovah 'eloheykha ("Yehovah your God", H3068G + H0430G), located be-qirbekha ("in your midst", H7130G). The construct form 'eloheykha is grammatically plural but functions as singular in meaning, a common pattern for this title.

The second half is introduced by pen ("lest", H6435), marking a negative purpose or warning clause. The verb yechereh ("it should burn", H2734) is in the qal imperfect, expressing potential or feared action, with its subject 'af Yehovah 'eloheykha ("the anger of Yehovah your God") — again using the construct chain of 'af ("anger of", H0639G) governing the divine name and title. The clause bakh ("against you") then continues into a second verb, hishmidekha ("he will destroy you", H8045), a hiphil sequential perfect that carries forward the consequence begun by the imperfect yechereh. The final phrase, me'al pnei ha'adamah ("from upon the surface of the ground"), uses the construct noun pnei ("surface of", H6440J) with the definite article on 'adamah ("the ground", H0127I), describing the totality of removal from the visible land.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the causal structure with ὅτι ("because") similarly to ki, but its syntax reorganizes the clauses, placing "Κύριος ὁ θεός σου" ("the Lord your God") as subject with "ἐν σοί" ("in you") separately, closer to the Hebrew's be-qirbekha. The Vulgate's "in medio tui" ("in the midst of you") closely mirrors the Hebrew be-qirbekha. Where the Hebrew uses two verbs (yechereh, "burn," and hishmidekha, "destroy") joined by the narrative vav (H9001), the LXX uses "ὀργισθεὶς... ἐξολεθρεύσει" ("having been angered... he will utterly destroy"), preserving the two-action sequence but with different verbal aspect marking.