Deuteronomy 4:2

You must not add to or subtract from what I command you, so that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses the whole congregation of Israel on the plains of Moab, in the final days before their entry into Canaan (Deuteronomy 4:1).

The words — תֹסִ֗פוּ (tōsîpû, "you must add") is an imperative from the root נ-ס-פ, carrying the sense of increasing or appending beyond a given measure; the prohibition לֹא before it makes the command absolute rather than advisory.

The thread — Deuteronomy 12:32 repeats the same prohibition verbatim in a later legal context; Proverbs 30:6 and Revelation 22:18 extend the principle to the words of God generally, attaching a penalty to the transgression.

Why it lands — It demands that the reader treat what God has given as complete and sufficient, and that any impulse to supplement, correct, or expand it be recognized as a violation rather than a refinement.

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

Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 12:32 See that you do everything I command you; do not add to it or subtract from it.
Proverbs 30:6 Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you and prove you a liar.
Revelation 22:18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.
Joshua 1:7 Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go.
Matthew 5:18 For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Galatians 3:15 Brothers, let me put this in human terms. Even a human covenant, once it is ratified, cannot be canceled or amended.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.
Mark 7:1 Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus,
Matthew 15:2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”
Matthew 5:43 You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’