Deuteronomy 13:4

You are to follow the LORD your God and fear Him. Keep His commandments and listen to His voice; serve Him and hold fast to Him.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses Israel in the context of a divine test: a prophet or dreamer has performed a sign but urged them to follow other gods (v.3). This verse is the affirmative command that follows the prohibition.

The words — אחרי (acharei, "after") carries the sense of being behind or following; the phrase "you will walk after Yahweh" (תלכו אחרי) frames allegiance as a direction of movement, not a static state.

The thread — Deuteronomy 10:20 repeats the cluster "fear, serve, hold fast" in the covenant-renewal context. Colossians 1:10 redeploys "walk" as the mark of a life that pleases the Lord.

Why it lands — The verse stacks five imperatives (follow, fear, keep, listen, serve/hold fast) as the positive answer to the test in v.3: loyalty is not a single act but a sustained posture of orientation toward Yahweh alone.

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

אַחֲרֵ֨י'a.cha.Reiafter יְהוָ֧הYah.wehYahweh אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֛ם'e.lo.hei./KhemGod/ your תֵּלֵ֖כוּte.Le.khuyou will walk וְאֹת֣וֹve./'o.T/oand/ <obj.>/ him תִירָ֑אוּti.Ra.'uyou will fear וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>מִצְוֹתָ֤יוmitz.vo.Ta/vcommandments/ his תִּשְׁמֹ֙רוּ֙tish.Mo.ruyou will keep וּבְקֹל֣וֹu./ve./ko.L/oand/ to/ voice/ his תִשְׁמָ֔עוּtish.Ma.'uyou will listen וְאֹת֥וֹve./'o.T/oand/ <obj.>/ him תַעֲבֹ֖דוּta.'a.Vo.duyou will serveוּב֥וֹu./V/oand/ to/ himתִדְבָּקֽוּן׃tid.ba.Ku/nyou will cleave/ !

King James Version

Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

Cross-references

Colossians 1:10 so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
Deuteronomy 10:20 You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.
1 Corinthians 6:17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit.
Jeremiah 7:23 but this is what I commanded them: Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must walk in all the ways I have commanded you, so that it may go well with you.
2 Kings 23:3 So the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments, decrees, and statutes with all his heart and all his soul, and to carry out the words of the covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant.
2 Chronicles 34:31 So the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments, decrees, and statutes with all his heart and all his soul, and to carry out the words of the covenant that were written in this book.
Deuteronomy 30:20 and that you may love the LORD your God, obey Him, and hold fast to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
Deuteronomy 6:13 Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths in His name.
1 Thessalonians 4:1 Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live in a way that is pleasing to God, just as you have received from us. This is how you already live, so you should do so all the more.