“Hear, O Israel” (the Shema)

On the plains of Moab

Deuteronomy 6:4–9

⁴Listen, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ⁵Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. ⁶These words that I command you today shall be in your heart. ⁷Teach them carefully to your children. Talk about them when you're sitting at home, when you're walking down the road, when you lie down at night, and when you get up in the morning. ⁸Bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹Write them on the doorframes of your house and on your gates.

Read Deuteronomy 6

Up nextNot by Bread AloneDeuteronomy 8:1–20

About this passage

Major Teachings“Hear, O Israel” (the Shema)

What the passage says

Moses said, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” Israel was to love the LORD with all their heart, soul and strength. They were to keep these words in their hearts and teach them to their children at home, on the road, and when they lay down and got up. They were to tie them on their hands and foreheads and write them on their doorposts and gates.

Where this fits

One of 15 passages in Moses' Major Teachings, in the group “On the plains of Moab.”

Good to know

Jews call this passage the Shema, from its first Hebrew word, which means “hear.”

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