Exodus 20:6 (DRB)

Passage

And shewing mercy unto thousands to them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Nearby Context

Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth.

Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me:

Exodus 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands to them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord his God in vain.

Exodus 20:8 Remember that thou keep holy the sabbath day.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mercy", "shewing", "thousands", "love", "keep", and "commandments". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mercy" and "shewing", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "Thou shalt not adore them nor serve..." into verse 7's "Thou shalt not take the name of...", so "mercy" and "shewing" belong inside that flow. In Exodus context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

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