Deuteronomy 30:12 (DRB)

Passage

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?

Nearby Context

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?

Deuteronomy 30:14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that thou mayst do it.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "heaven", "thou", "shouldst", "bring", "hear", and "fulfil". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "heaven" and "thou", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "This commandment that I command thee this..." into verse 13's "Nor is it beyond the sea that...", so "heaven" and "thou" 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 "heaven" and "thou" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.