Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 10:14
Behold, to the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, and the earth and everything in it.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses addresses Israel in the plains of Moab, concluding his exhortation to obey God's commandments before they cross the Jordan. The declaration immediately follows a call to keep statutes for their own good and precedes a statement about God's elective love for their ancestors and descendants.
The words — The Hebrew הֵן (hen) functions as an emphatic "behold," while לַיהוָה (la-Yahweh) establishes possession, literally meaning "to the LORD belong." The phrase הַשָּׁמַיִם וּשְׁמֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם (ha-shamayim u-she-me ha-shamayim) distinguishes the visible sky from the highest heavens, both declared as God's property alongside the earth and all it contains.
The thread — This assertion of divine ownership parallels Exodus 19:5 and Psalm 24:1, which both affirm the earth and its fullness as Yahweh's possession. Psalm 115:16 also acknowledges the highest heavens belong to the LORD but clarifies that He has given the earth to mankind.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition of God's absolute sovereignty over all creation before outlining human responsibility to obey His commands. It grounds Israel's covenantal obligations in the reality that everything they possess ultimately belongs to their Creator.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord’s thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.
Cross-references
- Exodus 19:5 Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
- Psalms 24:1 A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein.
- Psalms 115:16 The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth He has given to mankind.
- Nehemiah 9:6 You alone are the LORD. You created the heavens, the highest heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all things, and the host of heaven worships You.
- 1 Kings 8:27 But will God indeed dwell upon the earth? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built.
- Psalms 148:4 Praise Him, O highest heavens, and you waters above the skies.
- Exodus 9:29 Moses said to him, “When I have left the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the LORD’s.
- 2 Chronicles 6:18 But will God indeed dwell with man upon the earth? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built.
- Psalms 50:12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof.
- Jeremiah 27:5 By My great power and outstretched arm, I made the earth and the men and beasts on the face of it, and I give it to whom I please.