Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 20:4
For the LORD your God goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The speaker addresses the Israelite army immediately before they advance against hostile forces. The preceding command urges troops to remain unafraid, while the following verses outline exemptions for soldiers with unfinished personal obligations.
The words — הֹלֵךְ (ho.Lekh) translates literally as "the one who goes," joined with עִמָּכֶם ('imma.Khem) for "with you." This phrasing frames Yahweh as an active combatant moving alongside the troops rather than remaining distant.
The thread — The pattern of divine warfare appears in Exodus 14:14, Deuteronomy 1:30, and Deuteronomy 3:22. Each citation links Yahweh's direct intervention to Israel's military deliverance against opposing armies.
Why it lands — The verse states that Yahweh will personally engage in battle to secure victory for Israel. It requires the reader to acknowledge that success in conflict rests on divine action rather than human tactics or courage.
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
For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
Cross-references
- Exodus 14:14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
- Deuteronomy 1:30 The LORD your God, who goes before you, will fight for you, just as you saw Him do for you in Egypt
- Deuteronomy 3:22 Do not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God Himself will fight for you.”
- Joshua 23:10 One of you can put a thousand to flight, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as He promised.
- Deuteronomy 11:25 No man will be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will put the fear and dread of you upon all the land, wherever you set foot, as He has promised you.
- Romans 8:37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
- Psalms 144:1 Of David. Blessed be the LORD, my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.
- Deuteronomy 32:30 How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
- 2 Chronicles 32:7 “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater One with us than with him.
- 2 Chronicles 13:12 Now behold, God Himself is with us as our head, and His priests with their trumpets sound the battle call against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed.”