Deuteronomy 16:12

Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and carefully follow these statutes.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Moses addresses Israel on the plains of Moab, concluding his covenant renewal speeches before they enter the Promised Land. He issues this command immediately after instructing the community to rejoice before the Lord at the chosen dwelling place with family, servants, and the marginalized.

The words — The Hebrew verbs זָכַרְתָּ (za.khar.tā) and שָמַרְתָּ/עָשִׂיתָ (sha.mar.tā/ʿā.sî.tā) command active remembrance and careful observance. They bind the past reality of Egyptian slavery directly to the present duty of keeping the statutes.

The thread — This motif of remembering Egyptian bondage as a basis for obedience appears in Deuteronomy 15:15 and recurs in festival instructions throughout the book. It also surfaces in Lamentations 3:19, where remembrance focuses on affliction rather than covenant obedience.

Why it lands — The text requires readers to ground their compliance with divine statutes in the historical reality of their deliverance. It demands that memory of past oppression translate directly into present obedience without emotional elaboration.

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

וְזָ֣כַרְתָּ֔ve./Za.khar.taand/ you will remember כִּי־ki-that עֶ֥בֶד'E.veda slave הָיִ֖יתָha.Yi.tayou were בְּמִצְרָ֑יִםbe./mitz.Ra.yimin/ Egypt וְשָׁמַרְתָּ֣ve./sha.mar.Taand/ you will take care וְעָשִׂ֔יתָve./'a.Si.taand/ you will observe אֶת־'et-<obj.>הַֽחֻקִּ֖יםha./chu.Kimthe/ statutes הָאֵֽלֶּה׃ פha./'E.leh<the>/ these

King James Version

And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 15:15 Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today.
Deuteronomy 16:15 For seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the LORD your God in the place He will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that your joy will be complete.
Lamentations 3:19 Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall.
Romans 6:17 But thanks be to God that, though you once were slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were committed.
Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
Ephesians 2:11 Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands)—