Deuteronomy 6:5 Meaning and Explanation
“And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →A command to love can sound strange, since affection seems like something that happens to us rather than something we choose. This verse assumes otherwise. Its placement right after the confession of verse 4 explains why: love here means a whole-life allegiance that can be commanded, cultivated, and taught, and Jesus later called it the great commandment.
Israel is commanded to love the LORD with heart, soul, and might. The three terms together reach across inner devotion, whole life, and full strength, leaving no part of a person outside the command.
The Context of Deuteronomy 6:5
Moses is speaking to the generation about to cross into the land, in a sermon that reviews the covenant and its commandments. Verse 4 has just declared that the LORD our God is one LORD. Verse 5 follows immediately with the command to love Him. Verse 6 then requires that these words be in the heart, and verses 7 through 9 spell out how they are to be repeated at home and on the road, at bedtime and in the morning, and written on hands, doorposts, and gates. The section ends with warnings against forgetting once prosperity arrives (verses 10-12).
What Does Deuteronomy 6:5 Mean?
'And' joins this command to the confession before it, so the love follows from who the LORD is. 'Thou shalt love' is addressed in the singular, reaching every individual in the assembly. Three terms then map the scope. 'Heart' in Hebrew usage covers thinking, willing, and deciding as much as feeling, so it names the inner seat of a life. 'Soul' translates a word for the living self, breath and appetite and person together. 'Might' points to strength and abundance, including what a person can muster and what a person owns. The repetition of 'all' before each term rules out reserving a portion.
Deuteronomy treats love as the covenant's central posture, and the verses that follow show what it looks like in practice. Words kept in the heart, conversation about them through an ordinary day, and signs on hand and doorpost turn devotion into habit. Love of this kind is trained. Later prophets return to the theme when they call Israel back from divided worship, and Jesus joins this command with love of neighbor as the pair on which the law and the prophets hang (Matthew 22:40). The sequence in Deuteronomy stays instructive: God gives Himself and His name first, and wholehearted love answers.
Jesus cites this verse as the first and great commandment (Matthew 22:37), and in Mark's account He recites verse 4 with it, holding confession and love together the way Deuteronomy does. John writes that we love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), which names the source of the love this command requires. The New Testament also shows what wholehearted love looks like in a life, since Jesus Himself lived it under pressure, in Gethsemane and at the cross. Those who follow Him are given help toward the same love, poured out by the Spirit (Romans 5:5). The command and the enabling arrive together.
Deuteronomy 6:5 in the Original Language
levav (לֵבָב), 'heart' -- the Hebrew term for the inner person, including mind, will, memory, and desire. Loving God with all the heart therefore engages thought and decision alongside affection, which is why the following verses speak of keeping these words there.
Bible Verses Related to Deuteronomy 6:5
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:”
- Deuteronomy 6:4
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”
- Matthew 22:37
“And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,”
- Deuteronomy 10:12
“We love him, because he first loved us.”
- 1 John 4:19
Where Deuteronomy 6:5 Echoes in Scripture
Matthew 22:37 records Jesus quoting this verse when a lawyer asked which is the great commandment in the law. He names it first, then joins Leviticus 19:18 about loving one's neighbor as oneself, and says the whole law and the prophets hang on the two. That answer gave the early church its summary of Christian ethics. A sentence spoken by Moses in Moab became the sentence Jesus reached for when asked to state the center of everything God asks.
How to Apply Deuteronomy 6:5 Today
Wholehearted love is built rather than summoned. The verses that follow suggest the method: keep God's words where we will meet them, talk about them in ordinary settings, and mark the day at both ends with them. In practice that can mean a fixed time with Scripture, honest prayer while driving, and a household conversation that includes God without awkwardness. The word 'might' invites us to look at money, energy, and calendar as places love shows. Where affection feels thin, we can begin with the actions, asking God to give the heart He commands.
Reflection & Prayer
Heart, soul, and might: which of these are we most quietly holding back? A prayer: LORD, You ask for all of me, and You ask because You gave Yourself first. Take the part I have kept in reserve. Train my thoughts, my appetites, and my spending until they follow You, and give me the love You command. Let my whole life answer Your call. Amen.