The Meaning of Deuteronomy 8:6 Explained

Deuteronomy 8:6

KJV: Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.

YLT: and thou hast kept the commands of Jehovah thy God, to walk in His ways, and to fear Him.

Darby: and thou shalt keep the commandments of Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.

ASV: And thou shalt keep the commandments of Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore thou shalt keep  the commandments  of the LORD  thy God,  to walk  in his ways,  and to fear  him. 

What does Deuteronomy 8:6 Mean?

Study Notes

fear
.
fear of the Lord
The "fear of the Lord," a phrase of the O.T. piety, meaning reverential trust, with hatred of evil.

Context Summary

Deuteronomy 8:1-20 - Beware Of Forgetting God
"Thou shalt remember," Deuteronomy 8:2; "thou shalt consider," Deuteronomy 8:5; "thou shalt bless," Deuteronomy 8:10.
The lessons of hunger, Deuteronomy 8:1-9 : "Suffered to hunger." "Blessed are they that hunger." "Man doth not live by bread only;" he hungers for knowledge, opportunity, society, love. How many wan faces around us bear witness to the gnawing within. But the Father suffered His Son to fast; and so he deals with us, to prove us. It is only through the discipline of the soul, in learning to go without, that it can be trusted with spiritual opulence and power. See Deuteronomy 8:7-9.
The perils of prosperity, Deuteronomy 8:10-20 : It is harder to walk with God in the sunshine of success than in the nipping frosts of failure. When Paul said, "I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound," he put the hardest last. The one secret is to give all the glory to God, and to look always to the Cross, where we were crucified to the pride of the flesh, Philippians 2:7-11; Philippians 4:12. "I lay in dust life's glory dead!" [source]

Chapter Summary: Deuteronomy 8

1  An exhortation to obedience in regard to God's mercy and goodness to Israel

What do the individual words in Deuteronomy 8:6 mean?

Therefore you shall keep - the commandments of Yahweh your God to walk in His ways and to fear Him
וְשָׁ֣מַרְתָּ֔ אֶת־ מִצְוֺ֖ת יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ לָלֶ֥כֶת בִּדְרָכָ֖יו וּלְיִרְאָ֥ה אֹתֽוֹ

וְשָׁ֣מַרְתָּ֔  Therefore  you  shall  keep 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: שָׁמַר  
Sense: to keep, guard, observe, give heed.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
מִצְוֺ֖ת  the  commandments  of 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: מִצְוָה  
Sense: commandment.
יְהוָ֣ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: Jehovah—used primarily in the combination ‘Lord Jehovah’.
אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ  your  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
לָלֶ֥כֶת  to  walk 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
בִּדְרָכָ֖יו  in  His  ways 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, common plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: דֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: way, road, distance, journey, manner.
וּלְיִרְאָ֥ה  and  to  fear 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person feminine singular
Root: יָרֵא 
Sense: to fear, revere, be afraid.