Deuteronomy 6:6 (ASV)

Passage

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart;

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah:

Deuteronomy 6:5 and thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Deuteronomy 6:6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart;

Deuteronomy 6:7 and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Deuteronomy 6:8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "words", "command", "thee", "shall", "upon", and "heart". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "words" and "command", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "and thou shalt love Jehovah thy God..." into verse 7's "and thou shalt teach them diligently unto...", so "words" and "command" belong inside that flow. In Deuteronomy context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "words" and "command" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.