Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 6:15
For the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites on the plains of Moab, reinforcing the immediate command not to follow the gods of surrounding nations. The statement functions as a conditional warning tied directly to the preceding prohibition against idolatry.
The words — קַנָּא (ka.Na') translates literally to "jealous," describing God’s exclusive demand for covenant loyalty. יֶ֠חֱרֶה (Ye.che.reh) means "it should burn," depicting the kindling of divine anger.
The thread — This declaration echoes the covenant language found in Exodus 20:5 and Deuteronomy 4:24, where God’s jealousy is paired with the punishment of idolatry. The threat of being wiped out reappears in Deuteronomy 7:4 as the consequence of turning sons to other gods.
Why it lands — The text demands exclusive allegiance by framing idolatry as a breach that triggers covenant curses. It requires the reader to recognize that proximity to God does not guarantee immunity but demands faithful obedience.
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 thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 4:24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
- Exodus 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
- Deuteronomy 7:4 because they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you.
- Deuteronomy 11:17 or the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you. He will shut the heavens so that there will be no rain, nor will the land yield its produce, and you will soon perish from the good land that the LORD is giving you.
- Genesis 7:4 For seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living thing I have made.”
- Exodus 32:12 Why should the Egyptians declare, ‘He brought them out with evil intent, to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce anger and relent from doing harm to Your people.
- Numbers 32:10 So the anger of the LORD was kindled that day, and He swore an oath, saying,
- Deuteronomy 5:9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
- 1 Kings 13:34 And this was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its extermination and destruction from the face of the earth.
- 2 Chronicles 36:16 But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against His people was stirred up beyond remedy.