Deuteronomy 6:24

Summary

The verse states that Yehovah commanded the people to observe all "these statutes" and to fear Yehovah their God, with the stated purposes of their own lasting good and their preservation of life, "as this day."

Key words

• va-y.tza.Ve.nu ("and he commanded us", H6680) — piel narrative verb with 1st-plural suffix; the piel form intensifies the act of commanding (not merely suggesting), and the narrative vav links this act sequentially to what precedes.
• chu.Kim ("statutes", H2706) — masculine plural noun, definite via the article and the demonstrative 'E.leh ("these", H0428), pointing to specific previously mentioned regulations, not statutes in general.
• yir.'Ah ("fear", H3372) — qal infinitive construct with the preposition le ("to/for", H9005), expressing purpose: "in order to fear." Governs 'et-Yehovah 'e.lo.Hei.nu ("Yehovah our God") as its object.
• le.Tov ("for good", H2896) — infinitive form with le, forming a second purpose clause parallel to le-yir'ah, tied to lanu ("for us") and kol ha-yamim ("all the days").
• chai.yo.Te.nu ("to preserve us alive", H2421) — piel infinitive with 1st-plural suffix, denoting causative preservation of life ("to cause us to live"), introduced by a third le-clause.

What the text says

The verse is built on a chain of purpose infinitives, all governed by the main verb va-y.tza.Ve.nu ("and he commanded us"). The structure is: Yehovah commanded us (1) la-'a.sOt ("to do/observe") all these statutes, (2) le-yir'ah ("to fear") Yehovah our God, (3) le-Tov ("for good") for us all the days, and (4) le-chai.yoTenu ("to preserve us alive") as this day. Each le-infinitive introduces a distinct rationale or outcome tied to the command, rather than a single motive clause; Hebrew stacks these infinitives paratactically without subordinating conjunctions like "so that" or "because," which some translations must supply.

The phrase kol ha-chuqim ha-'Elleh ("all these statutes") uses a construct chain (kol, H3605) plus a doubly-marked definite noun (article ha + demonstrative 'Elleh), emphasizing totality and specificity — these are identified, delimited statutes, not statutes as a category. The double occurrence of Yehovah (H3068) — once as the subject who commands, once as the object of fear — creates a chiastic-like structure within the verse: Yehovah commands, and the content of that command culminates in fearing Yehovah. The final phrase ke-ha-yom ha-Zeh ("as this day", H3117 + H2088) uses the preposition ke ("as", H9004) to compare the intended ongoing state of preservation to a present reference point, without specifying duration beyond that comparison.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders chai.yoTenu ("to preserve us alive") with a purpose clause ἵνα ζῶμεν ("that we may live"), making explicit a subordination that the Hebrew leaves as a bare infinitive. The Vulgate compresses the four Hebrew purpose infinitives into two coordinated clauses (ut faciamus... et timeamus) followed by a result clause (ut bene sit), merging le-Tov and le-chai.yoTenu into a single "that it may be well with us" idea, and represents ke-ha-yom ha-Zeh with sicut est hodie ("as it is today"), a simple present-tense comparison rather than a repeated preservation formula.