Deuteronomy 7:9 (DRB)

Passage

And thou shalt know that the Lord thy God, he is a strong and faithful God, keeping his covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments, unto a thousand generations:

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 7:7 Not because you surpass all nations in number, is the Lord joined unto you, and hath chosen you, for you are the fewest of any people:

Deuteronomy 7:8 But because the Lord hath loved you, and hath kept his oath, which he swore to your fathers: and hath brought you out with a strong hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, out of the hand of Pharao the king of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 7:9 And thou shalt know that the Lord thy God, he is a strong and faithful God, keeping his covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments, unto a thousand generations:

Deuteronomy 7:10 And repaying forthwith them that hate him, so as to destroy them, without further delay immediately rendering to them what they deserve.

Deuteronomy 7:11 Keep therefore the precepts and ceremonies and judgments, which I command thee this day to do.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "mercy", "thou", "shalt", "lord", "strong", "faithful", and "keeping". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "mercy", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "But because the Lord hath loved you..." into verse 10's "And repaying forthwith them that hate him...", so "faith" and "mercy" 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 "faith" and "mercy" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.