Deuteronomy 6:13 (LSB)

Passage

Yahweh your God you shall fear; and Him you shall serve; and by His name you shall swear.

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 6:11 and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you will eat and be satisfied,

Deuteronomy 6:12 then beware, lest you forget Yahweh who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Deuteronomy 6:13 Yahweh your God you shall fear; and Him you shall serve; and by His name you shall swear.

Deuteronomy 6:14 You shall not walk after other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you,

Deuteronomy 6:15 for Yahweh your God in the midst of you is a jealous God—lest the anger of Yahweh your God be kindled against you, and He destroy you from the face of the earth.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "yahweh", "shall", "fear", "serve", "name", and "swear". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "yahweh" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "then beware lest you forget Yahweh who..." into verse 14's "You shall not walk after other gods...", so "yahweh" and "shall" 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 "yahweh" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.