Deuteronomy - 31:6



6 Be strong and courageous, don't be afraid, nor be scared of them: for Yahweh your God, he it is who does go with you; he will not fail you, nor forsake you."

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Deuteronomy 31:6.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be affrighted at them: for Jehovah thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Do manfully and be of good heart: fear not, nor be ye dismayed at their sight: for the Lord thy God he himself is thy leader, and will not leave thee nor forsake thee.
Be strong and courageous, fear them not, neither be afraid of them; for Jehovah thy God, he it is that goeth with thee; he will not leave thee, nor forsake thee.
be strong and courageous, fear not, nor be terrified because of them, for Jehovah thy God is He who is going with thee; He doth not fail thee nor forsake thee.'
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD your God, he it is that does go with you; he will not fail you, nor forsake you.
Be strong and take heart, and have no fear of them: for it is the Lord your God who is going with you; he will not take away his help from you.
Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, nor be scared of them: for the LORD your God is he who is going with you; he will not leave you nor forsake you.'
Act manfully and be strengthened. Do not be afraid, and do not dread at the sight of them. For the Lord your God himself is your commander, and he will neither dismiss nor abandon you."
Estote fortes, et roborate vos, ne timeatis, neque paveatis a facie eorum: Jehova enim Deus tuus est qui pergit tecum, non deseret te, neque te derelinquet.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

Be strong and of good courage. After he had shown that God would be with them, for their help, he exhorts the people to firmness and magnanimity. And surely this is one means of confirming our courage, to be assured that the assistance which God promises will suffice for us: so far is it from being the case, that our zeal and energy in acting aright is impaired, by our ascribing to the grace of God what foolish men attribute to their own free will. For those who are aroused to strenuous action in reliance on their own strength, do no more than cast themselves headlong in their senseless temerity and pride. Let us understand, then, that all exhortations are fleeting and ineffective, which are founded on anything else but simple confidence in the grace of God. Thus Moses assumes, as his ground of exhortation, that God will fight for the Israelites. It must, however, be observed that the people were animated to the perseverance of hope, when God declares that He will be their helper even to the end, by which lesson that impious hallucination is refuted, whereby the Popish theologians have fascinated the world. They deny that believers [1] can be certain of God's grace, except as to their present state. Thus do they hold faith in suspense, so that we may only believe for a day, and even from moment to moment, whilst we are in uncertainty as to what God will do with us on the morrow. Whereas, if faith corresponds with God's promises, and is, as it were, in harmony with them, it must needs extend itself to our whole life, nay, even beyond death itself; for God removes all doubt as to the future by these words, "I will not leave thee nor forsake thee."

Footnotes

1 - The dogmatical statement of this error is made in the decrees of the Council of Trent, Sessio vi. cap. Ix, "Contra inanem haereticorum fiduciam." It is controverted by C., Instit. Book iii. ch. ii. Section 40; in his "Antidote to the Council of Trent;" C. Soc. Edit., p. 125, and elsewhere.

Be strong - חזקו chizku, the same word that is used Exodus 4:21 (note), Exodus 9:15 (note), for hardening Pharaoh's heart. See the notes there. The Septuagint, in this and the following verse, have, Ανδριζου και ισχυε, Play the man, and be strong; and from this St. Paul seems to have borrowed his ideas, 1-Corinthians 16:13 : Στηκετε εν τῃ πιστει· ανδριζεσθε, κρατιουσθε: Stand firm in the faith; play the man - act like heroes; be vigorous.

Be strong and of a good courage,.... The Septuagint version is,"play the men, and be strong;''be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might, trusting and relying on him that goes before you; and so take heart, and be of good courage, and act the manly part; the apostle seems to refer to this passage, 1-Corinthians 16:13,
fear not, nor be afraid of them; their enemies, though so numerous, so mighty, and some of them of a gigantic stature, and their cities strong and well fenced:
for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee: in comparison of whom, numbers of men, their strength of body, and fortified places, signify nothing:
he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee; not fail to fulfil his promises to them, not leave them till he had given them complete victory over their enemies, put them into the possession of their land, and settled them in it. This promise, though made to literal Israel, belongs to the spiritual Israel of God, and is made good to every true believer in the Lord; see Hebrews 13:5.

Israel was therefore to be of good courage, and not to be afraid of them (vid., Deuteronomy 1:21; Deuteronomy 20:3).

*More commentary available at chapter level.


Discussion on Deuteronomy 31:6

User discussion of the verse.






*By clicking Submit, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use.