Deuteronomy 15:5 · Bible study
Deuteronomy 15:5 Commentary: The Condition for Covenant Blessing
Hebrew · 7 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore the nature of the condition in Deut 15:5: is it a prerequisite for a land without poverty or a general principle for experiencing God's blessing?
Research Summary
- Meaning: Obedience to the whole commandment is the channel through which God’s covenantal blessing flows, enabling generous release of debts.
- Key words: רַק (rak) “only” limits the condition; שָׁמוֹעַ תִּשְׁמַע (shamo‘a tishma‘) “diligently listen” uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis; לִ/שְׁמֹר לַ/עֲשׂוֹת (lishmor la‘asot) “to keep to do” shows hearing must become action.
- Main debate: Is the condition a promise that obedience will eliminate poverty (v.4) or a general principle for blessing that enables care for the poor (v.11)?
- Theological theme: Covenant faithfulness and divine blessing, the relationship between hearing and doing, and the economic implications of Sabbath rest.
- Best use: A sermon or study on the connection between obedience, blessing, and generosity; a caution against using God’s promises as a formula for wealth.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
if only you obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commandments I am giving you today.
WEB World English Bible 2000
if only you diligently listen to Yahweh your God’s voice, to observe to do all this commandment which I command you today.
KJV King James Version 1769
Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
if only thou diligently hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to observe to do all this commandment which I command thee this day.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
`Only, if thou dost diligently hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God, to observe to do all this command which I am commanding thee to-day,
Darby Darby Bible 1890
if thou only diligently hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to take heed to do all this commandment which I command thee this day.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Yet so if thou hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and keep all things that he hath ordained, and which I command thee this day, he will bless thee, as he hath promised.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Si empero escuchares fielmente la voz de Jehová tu Dios, para guardar y cumplir todos estos mandamientos que yo te intimo hoy.
Se porém escutares fielmente a voz do SENHOR teu Deus, para guardar e cumprir todos estes mandamentos que eu te intimo hoje.
pourvu seulement que tu obéisses à la voix de l’ Éternel, ton Dieu, en mettant soigneusement en pratique tous ces commandements que je te prescris aujourd’ hui.
allein, daß du der Stimme des HERRN, deines Gottes, gehorchest und haltest alle diese Gebote, die ich dir heute gebiete, daß du darnach tust.
Indien gij slechts de stem des HEEREN, uws Gods, vlijtiglijk zult gehoorzamen, dat gij waarneemt te doen al deze geboden, die ik u heden gebiede.
purché però tu ubbidisca diligentemente alla voce dell’Eterno, ch’è il tuo Dio, avendo cura di mettere in pratica tutti questi comandamenti, che oggi ti do.
Tylko żebyś słuchając posłuszny był głosowi Pana, Boga twego, abyś strzegł, i czynił każde przykazanie to, które ja przykazuję tobie dzisiaj,
если только будешь слушать гласа Господа, Бога твоего, и стараться исполнять все заповеди сии, которые я сегодня заповедую тебе;
a
If only you give ear to the voice of the Lord your God, and take care to keep all these orders which I give you today.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Deuteronomy 15:5
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Deuteronomy 15:5 establishes a relationship between Israel's obedience and the experience of God's blessing, particularly in the sabbatical-year release of debts. Barnes notes that verse 4 ("there will be no poor") is not a contradiction of verse 11 ("the poor shall never cease") but rather a conditional statement: the release is to be granted except when there happens to be no poor person, a contingency that obedience makes possible. Gill observes that careful hearkening to God's voice would lead to such blessing that releasing debts would not harm families. Keil and Delitzsch emphasize that the perfect tense of "blesses" (בּרכך) represents the blessing as already bestowed in God's counsel, awaiting human obedience as the channel. The consensus is that the condition is not primarily about eliminating poverty but about the disposition of the heart that receives and mediates God's provision.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Conditional promise of prosperity: Verse 4 seems to promise no poor if obedient; verse 5 states the condition; verse 6 describes prosperity; verse 11 then says poor never cease, creating tension that some resolve by reading v.4 as a general principle rather than a literal guarantee.
- General principle of obedience for blessing: Emphasizes that the condition in v.5 is for the blessing that enables generous release, not for the elimination of poverty; the blessing is the capacity to lend and rule, as in v.6; v.4 is a parenthesis about the ideal outcome.
What is clear: The verse clearly teaches that diligent obedience to God's commandments is the human side of the covenant relationship through which God's blessing is experienced, whether that blessing is interpreted as material prosperity or spiritual enablement.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The meaning of 'no poor' in verse 4 | Christians agree that God desires a community where poverty is alleviated through obedience and generosity. | Some interpret verse 4 as a conditional promise that if Israel obeys, there will literally be no poor (Barnes treats it as 'except when' and points to verse 11). Others see it as a hyperbolic description of the ideal result of obedience, not a guarantee of complete absence of poverty. |
| The condition of verse 5 and its relation to blessing | All see obedience to God's voice as necessary for experiencing the fullness of his covenant blessing. | Some understand verse 5 as the condition for the no-poor promise of verse 4; others see it as the condition for the broader blessing of verse 6 (lending to nations, ruling over them), with verse 4 being a separate statement about the land's potential state. |
| The nature of the Year of Release | It is a sabbatical-year institution rooted in God's ownership of the land and his concern for the vulnerable. | Whether the release was a complete cancellation of all debts or merely a suspension for the year is debated. Most commentators lean toward a year-long suspension for loans made due to poverty, not a permanent forgiveness of all lending. |
| The role of 'diligently listen' | The doubled verb (infinitive absolute + finite) stresses intense, sustained attention to God's word. | Some emphasize that this is a heart condition (trust and love), while others focus on precise observance of the legal commands as outlined. |
Historical & Cultural Context
This verse sits within the Year of Release legislation (Deuteronomy 15:1, 11), an expansion of the sabbatical-year commands in Exodus 23:10, 11 and Leviticus 25:2, 7. The Hebrew word shĕmittah (release) is used, linking to the verb shamat (to let drop, to leave). In the sabbatical year, the land itself rested; Deuteronomy extends that rest to debt relations among Israelites. The underlying theology is that the land belongs to Yahweh, and Israel lives as tenant beneficiaries. Therefore, debt between fellow Israelites is a temporary arrangement, not a permanent stratification. Lange points out that because all Israelites are brothers and debtors to Yahweh, human debt-relations must reflect that release. The release was probably for the year itself, not a permanent cancellation of all loans, but it protected the vulnerable from perpetual servitude. Verse 5 then becomes the hinge: only obedience to the whole commandment, not selective compliance, unlocks the blessing that makes such generosity sustainable. Historically, the rabbis later hedged this command with loopholes (the prozbul), which Barnes says "made of none effect by their traditions," showing how human systems resist the radical trust God requires.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Deuteronomy 15:5. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts, with no variation in key words such as rak (only) or the doubled verb shamo‘a tishma‘ (diligently listen).
Reception History
Throughout church history, Deuteronomy 15:5 has been read as a call to wholehearted obedience as the path to divine blessing. Early Christian writers, such as those in the patristic period, saw it fulfilled in Christ, who perfectly obeyed and opened the way for spiritual blessing. The medieval church often used it to encourage faithful tithing and almsgiving, connecting the year of release to the Jubilee tradition. Reformation commentators like Calvin and Luther emphasized that the condition exposed human inability and pointed to Christ as the one who fulfills the law. In modern times, the verse is often cited in discussions of prosperity and covenant, with some traditions cautioning against reading it as a mechanical formula for wealth. The phrase “if only you diligently listen” recurs in Deuteronomy (e.g., 28:1) and has been sung in hymns of dedication, reminding believers of the priority of hearing God’s voice.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Condition Precedes the Blessing. Verse 5 begins with "if only" (רַק אִם־), a conditional that is both exclusive and emphatic. Gill says the phrase marks careful hearkening as necessary for temporal happiness.
- Listening Moves to Doing. The text piles up verbs: diligently listen, observe to do. The infinitive construct la‘asot (to do) shows that hearing aims at action. Obedience is not passive agreement but active compliance.
- Blessing Enables Generosity. The context of debt-release shows that God’s blessing through obedience equips Israel to bless others. The poor are not eliminated but the community is enabled to sustain them without fear.
Five-point outline
- The singularity of the condition: "if only" (רַק) narrows the focus.
- The content of the condition: listening to Yahweh’s voice.
- The scope of the condition: all this commandment, not a part.
- The present tense of the command: "which I command you today" (הַיּוֹם) underscores urgency and freshness.
- The expected outcome: blessing (v.6) that leads to lending to nations and ruling over them.
Illustration hooks
- A family budget that sets aside a portion for spontaneous generosity: obedience to the principle of release requires planning and trust.
- A church that decides to forgive a debt owed by a struggling member: mirroring God’s release of our greater debt.
- The tension between holding back and opening wide: v.9 warns of a “wicked thought” that calculates the year of release. Our hearts can scheme against generosity.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does God promise that obedience will make us wealthy? How does v.5 fit with v.11 (the poor never cease)?
- Is the condition in v.5 meant for me individually or for the whole community of Israel?
- How do I “hear God’s voice” today in a way that leads to costly obedience?
Leading a Discussion
Moses sets a conditional promise within a law about debt release. The logic of verses 4 and 5 together has puzzled readers: does obedience guarantee the end of poverty? Verse 11 says no. This tension invites us to examine what the condition actually secures. Discuss the nature of covenant blessing and the role of human obedience in receiving it.
Discussion questions
- Read Deuteronomy 15:1, 11. What does the Year of Release tell us about God’s character and his concern for the poor?
- Verse 5 uses the Hebrew infinitive absolute shamo‘a (diligently listen). What effect does this grammatical doubling have on the meaning?
- How does verse 4 (“there will be no poor with you”) relate to verse 11 (“the poor shall never cease”)? Barnes calls verse 4 a contingency. Do you agree?
- What is the “all this commandment” that Moses commands “today”? How does that phrase connect to the rest of Deuteronomy?
- In what ways do we, like the rabbis Barnes describes, “make of none effect” God’s commands by our traditions or cautious hearts?
- What would it look like for your small group to “diligently listen” and “observe to do” in a concrete act of financial release or generosity this year?
- The blessing in v.6 includes lending to many nations and ruling. How does that promise inform our understanding of God’s kingdom purposes?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Leviticus 26:3 | “‘If you walk in my statutes and keep my commandments, and do them, |
| Leviticus 26:14 | “‘But if you will not listen to me, and will not do all these commandments, |
| Deuteronomy 4:9 | Only be careful, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your children and your children’s children— |
| Deuteronomy 11:13 | It shall happen, if you shall listen diligently to my commandments which I command you today, to love Yahweh your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, |
| Deuteronomy 11:15 | I will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. |
| Deuteronomy 28:1 | It shall happen, if you shall listen diligently to Yahweh your God’s voice, to observe to do all his commandments which I command you today, that Yahweh your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. |
| Deuteronomy 28:15 | But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen to Yahweh your God’s voice, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come on you and overtake you. |
| Joshua 1:7 | Only be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you. Don’t turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
7 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes clarifies that the release of debts in the sabbatical year was only a temporary suspension for that year, not a permanent cancellation, and applied exclusively to loans made because of poverty. He resolves the apparent contradiction between verses about no poor and always poor by explaining that the release is only required when a poor person is involved.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
This commentary focuses entirely on cross-references. It directs the reader to earlier verses in Deuteronomy for fuller explanation of the phrases "to observe to do" and "all this commandment," implying the meaning is clarified by those parallel passages.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note highlights the conditional nature of God's promise: blessing depends on hearing and obeying all the commands given that day. The phrase "so that" ties obedience directly to receiving what follows, making it a clear condition rather than an automatic guarantee.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses the conditional promise: if Israel obeys God completely, their prosperity from God would be so great that forgiving debts would not harm their own households. The result would be no more poverty among them, or at least the ability to release debts without personal loss.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch emphasize that the Hebrew verb for "blesses" appears in the perfect tense, so the blessing is presented as already bestowed according to God's purpose, not merely a future possibility. They also note the wordplay in "lend on pledge" versus "borrow on pledge," each using a different Hebrew verb form.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads these laws as a progressive unfolding of the Sabbath-idea: release for debts, freedom for slaves, and consecration of the firstborn all move toward the same rest God intended. The feasts then complete this pattern, turning Sabbath rest into joyful celebration of redemption. For him the whole section is about time itself being sanctified to the Lord.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry stresses that the release of debts every seventh year is called "the Lord's release," meaning God claims it as His own institution. He sees the law as a test of faith: a generous heart must not hold back from lending even when the release year is near, trusting God's blessing over human calculation. For Henry, the command checks both stinginess and unbelief.