Deuteronomy 6:14 (DRB)

Passage

You shall not go after the strange gods of all the nations, that are round about you:

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 6:12 And thou shalt have eaten and be full:

Deuteronomy 6:13 Take heed diligently lest thou forget the Lord, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and shalt serve him only, and thou shalt swear by his name.

Deuteronomy 6:14 You shall not go after the strange gods of all the nations, that are round about you:

Deuteronomy 6:15 Because the Lord thy God is a jealous God in the midst of thee: lest at any time the wrath of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and take thee away from the face of the earth.

Deuteronomy 6:16 Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, as thou temptedst him in the place of temptation.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "after", "strange", "gods", "nations", and "round". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "after", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "Take heed diligently lest thou forget the..." into verse 15's "Because the Lord thy God is a...", so "shall" and "after" 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 "shall" and "after" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.