Deuteronomy 28:6 Meaning and Explanation
“Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Much of life is made of departures and returns: leaving home, beginning work, traveling, and gathering again. Moses places those repeated movements under the LORD's blessing, giving Israel a way to understand daily life as lived before God rather than as a series of unnoticed routines.
Deuteronomy 28:6 promises the LORD's blessing over Israel's ordinary movements, from entering to leaving. The verse expresses God's comprehensive care over the daily life of a covenant people who heed his voice.
The Context of Deuteronomy 28:6
Moses is declaring the covenant consequences that stand before Israel as it approaches the promised land. The opening blessing section begins with the condition of hearing the LORD's voice and observing his commandments in verses 1 and 2. Verses 3 through 6 move through the ordinary settings of life: city and field, household stores, children, crops, herds, and daily movement. Verse 6 completes this compact sequence with a paired expression, "when thou comest in" and "when thou goest out." Verse 19 later uses the same expression in the warning section, creating a deliberate contrast within the chapter.
What Does Deuteronomy 28:6 Mean?
"When thou comest in" and "when thou goest out" embrace the repeated motions of a person's day. Coming in may include returning home, entering a town, or taking one's place among the people. Going out may include work in the field, travel, public duties, and the many tasks beyond the doorway. Moses gives no narrow definition, because the paired words reach across the whole pattern of life. The promise is not limited to a sacred gathering or an exceptional moment. Israel's God attends to the ordinary boundaries of each day. His blessing rests on his people as they live, work, travel, and return within the calling he has given them.
This brief verse completes the first cluster of blessings. Verse 3 names city and field; verse 4 names family, crops, and animals; verse 5 names basket and store. Verse 6 gathers such spheres into a wider assurance of God's care. The following verses continue with victory, storehouses, land, and Israel's holy calling. The order matters: Moses is describing life in the promised land as a whole, under the LORD's covenant rule. Verse 19 later reverses this same language when disobedience brings judgment. The symmetry teaches Israel that every part of communal life belongs within its response to the LORD's word, including the unnoticed passages of a common day.
Psalm 121:8 echoes this language in a prayerful confession that the LORD watches over the going out and coming in of his people. That later use draws attention to the protecting presence of God rather than human control over every outcome. Jesus also lived among his disciples in the movements of roads, homes, meals, and journeys, and he sent them into the world in his name. Deuteronomy 28:6 gives no promise that every journey will be easy. It does teach that covenant life has no spiritually empty hours. Our comings and goings may be offered to God, trusting his care and seeking to walk in his ways.
Bible Verses Related to Deuteronomy 28:6
“The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.”
- Psalm 121:8
“Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd.”
- Numbers 27:17
“Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.”
- Deuteronomy 28:19
“Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”
- John 20:21
Where Deuteronomy 28:6 Echoes in Scripture
Psalm 121:8 is the clearest echo of Deuteronomy 28:6. Its language of going out and coming in takes the daily pair from Moses' covenant blessing and turns it into confidence in the LORD's watchful keeping. The psalm helps us hear this promise as encompassing the recurring movements of life, with God present beyond the threshold and at home.
How to Apply Deuteronomy 28:6 Today
Before leaving for work, school, travel, caregiving, or an ordinary errand, we can place the day before the LORD in prayer. Returning home can also become a moment to give thanks, seek forgiveness where needed, and bring the day's burdens to God. This verse encourages faithful attention to routine responsibilities, since those responsibilities belong within a life of obedience. It can also deepen our care for people whose daily movement feels unsafe or uncertain, including travelers, workers, children, and displaced neighbors. We may ask God to make our presence in each place a source of peace, truth, and practical help.
Reflection & Prayer
What regular coming or going in our life needs to be consciously entrusted to the LORD? Name one threshold we cross often, and consider how prayer could reshape that moment. Pray: "LORD, keep us in our going out and coming in, and guide our steps in thy ways."