Greatest Command: Love YHWH Your God
Deuteronomy 6Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances, which YHWH your* God commanded me to teach y’all, so that y’all would do them in the land that y’all go over to possess, that you, your children, and your children’s children would fear YHWH your God all the days of your life by keeping all ʜɪꜱ statutes and commandments, which I command you, so that your days may be prolonged. Listen, Israel, and be careful to do it, that it may go well with you, and that y’all may multiply greatly, just as YHWH, the God of your ancestors, has promised to you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.
Hear, Israel: YHWH is our God. YHWH is one. You are to love YHWH your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words, which I command you today, are to be on your heart; and you are to teach them diligently to your children, and talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. You are to bind them for a sign on your hand, and they will be for frontals between your eyes. You are to write them on the door posts of your house and on your gates.
When YHWH your God brings you into the land which ʜᴇ swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you didn’t build, and houses full of all good things that you didn’t fill, and cisterns that you didn’t dig, vineyards and olive trees that you didn’t plant, and you will eat and be full; then be careful not to forget YHWH, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You are to fear YHWH your God, serve ʜɪᴍ, and swear by ʜɪꜱ name. Y’all must not follow after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around y’all, for YHWH your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise, the anger of YHWH your God be kindled against you, and ʜᴇ destroy you from the face of the land. Y’all must not tempt YHWH y’all’s God, as y’all tempted him in Massah. Y’all must keep-keep the commandments of YHWH y’all’s God, and ʜɪꜱ testimonies and statutes, that ʜᴇ has commanded y’all. You must do what is right and good in YHWH’s sight, that it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which YHWH swore to your ancestors, to thrust out all your enemies from before you, as YHWH has spoken.
When your son asks you in the future, saying, “What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the ordinances, which YHWH our God has commanded y’all?” then you are to tell your son, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. YHWH brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and YHWH showed great and awesome signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his house, before our eyes, But ʜᴇ brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land which he swore to our ancestors. YHWH commanded us to obey all these statutes, to fear YHWH our God, for our good always, that ʜᴇ might preserve us alive, as we are today. Righteousness will be ours if we are careful to do all these commandments before YHWH our God, as ʜᴇ has commanded us.”