Deuteronomy 30:11 (DRB)

Passage

This commandment, that I command thee this day is not above thee, nor far off from thee:

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 30:9 And the Lord thy God will make thee abound in all the works of thy hands, in the fruit of thy womb, and in the fruit of thy cattle, in the fruitfulness of thy land, and in the plenty of all things. For the Lord will return to rejoice over thee in all good things, as he rejoiced in thy fathers:

Deuteronomy 30:10 Yet so if thou hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and keep his precepts and ceremonies, which are written in this law: and return to the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.

Deuteronomy 30:11 This commandment, that I command thee this day is not above thee, nor far off from thee:

Deuteronomy 30:12 Nor is it in heaven, that thou shouldst say: Which of us can go up to heaven to bring it unto us, and we may hear and fulfil it in work?

Deuteronomy 30:13 Nor is it beyond the sea: that thou mayst excuse thyself, and say: Which of us can cross the sea, and bring it unto us: that we may hear, and do that which is commanded?

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "Yet so if thou hear the voice..." into verse 12's "Nor is it in heaven that thou...", so "commandment" and "thee" 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 "commandment" and "thee" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.