Deuteronomy 28:6 · Bible study
Deuteronomy 28:6 Commentary: Blessing in Coming and Going
Hebrew · 7 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Discover the promise of blessing on every part of life in Deuteronomy 28:6. Understand its conditional covenant context and its abiding hope for believers.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God's comprehensive blessing on all daily movements, conditioned on obedience to His covenant.
- Key words: Come in (H0935, bo), go out (H3318, yatsa), bless (H1288, barakh). The two verbs cover the totality of activity.
- Main debate: How this Old Testament conditional blessing applies to Christians, whether it promises material prosperity for obedience or is transformed into spiritual blessing in Christ.
- Theological theme: Covenant faithfulness and God's desire to bless His people in every aspect of life.
- Best use: As a promise to pray over daily transitions and as a call to examine our walk with God.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
WEB World English Bible 2000
You shall be blessed when you come in, and you shall be blessed when you go out.
KJV King James Version 1769
Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
`Blessed art thou in thy coming in, and blessed art thou in thy going out.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Blessed shalt thou be in thy coming in, and blessed shalt thou be in thy going out.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Blessed shalt thou be coming in and going out.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Bendito serás en tu entrar, y bendito en tu salir.
Bendito serás em teu entrar, e bendito em teu sair.
Tu seras béni à ton arrivée, et tu seras béni à ton départ.
Gesegnet wirst du sein, wenn du eingehst, gesegnet, wenn du ausgehst.
Gezegend zult gij zijn in uw ingaan, gezegend zult gij zijn in uw uitgaan.
Sarai benedetto al tuo entrare e benedetto al tuo uscire.
Błogosławiony będziesz wchodząc, błogosławiony i wychodząc.
Благословен ты при входе твоем и благословен ты при выходе твоем.
你 出 也蒙福， 入 也蒙福。
A blessing will be on your coming in and on your going out.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Deuteronomy 28:6
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that this verse promises God's blessing on the whole of daily life. The phrase “come in” and “go out” is an idiom for all movement and activity. Adam Clarke explains that coming in means finding no harm at home during absence, and going out means prosperous labor. Gill expands it to all business, journeys, and even military campaigns. The Cambridge Bible places this as the sixth and final form of blessing in a series that covers every sphere: city and field, family and harvest, basket and store. Lange links the language to Numbers 27:17 and Psalm 121:8, noting it speaks of the individual and the whole people. All commentators tie this promise directly to the condition stated in verses 1, 2: blessing follows obedience to God's voice. The blessing is not automatic but flows from covenant faithfulness.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: God promises comprehensive blessing on all of life's movements, but this is conditioned on obedience to His covenant, as stated in the surrounding context.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Application to Christians | Christians agree that all blessing ultimately comes from God through Christ. | Some traditions see this verse as promising material prosperity for obedience under the old covenant but apply it spiritually to believers today. Others see a principle that God cares for the whole of life and may still bless material aspects, but not as a guaranteed promise. |
| Conditionality | The verse is clearly conditional on obedience in its original context (Deut 28:1-2). | Some view the condition as a legal requirement that Israel failed, pointing to Christ as the only one who perfectly obeyed. Others see it as a relational pattern that still applies: blessing follows faithful living, though not mechanically. |
| Scope of the idiom | 'Coming and going' is understood as an idiom covering daily life. | Some focus on literal travel and transitions; others include all activities, even inner motives and spiritual movements. The Hebrew supports both. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Deuteronomy 28 stands at the climax of the covenant renewal ceremony on the plains of Moab, just before Israel enters the Promised Land. Moses presents the blessings and curses that will accompany the people's obedience or disobedience. The covenant structure echoes ancient Near Eastern suzerainty treaties: the great King (Yahweh) lays out stipulations with promised rewards and penalties. Verse 6 uses a common Hebrew idiom for daily life. In Numbers 27:17, “go out before them and come in before them” describes a shepherd leading the flock. Deuteronomy 31:2 uses “go out and come in” to mean ordinary activity, Moses can no longer do it. II Samuel 3:25 and II Chronicles 1:10 use the same expression for activity and leadership. The promise of blessing on all comings and goings thus encompasses every aspect of existence: work, rest, travel, worship, and even warfare (as Gill notes in connection with battle). The condition is explicit: “if you listen to Yahweh your God’s voice” (v.2). This is the heart of the covenant: not a mechanical reward system but a relationship where obedience invites God's active presence. The “coming in” and “going out” also recalls the natural rhythms of pastoral and agricultural life, entering the house or tent, leaving for fields or pasture. Every transition is under God's protection and favor. The promise is not merely about absence of harm but active blessing, prosperity in the sense of shalom, comprehensive well-being. Lange observes that the blessings are personified because God Himself is present in them. The verse thus assures Israel that God goes with them in every movement. The cultural context of doorways as thresholds of protection further enriches the image, ancient Near Eastern peoples often placed protective symbols at entrances, but here the blessing comes directly from Yahweh.
Textual Notes
The supplied commentaries and critical apparatus note no significant textual variants affecting Deuteronomy 28:6. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts.
Reception History
Deuteronomy 28:6 has been used throughout church history as a prayer for daily protection and blessing. Its language echoes in Psalm 121:8, which became a common verse for evening prayers and travel mercies. In Jewish tradition, it is recited as part of the priestly blessing or as a prayer upon entering and leaving the home. Early Christian writers saw in this verse a typology of Christ's shepherding care, connecting it to John 10:9 where Jesus is the door. The verse has also been inscribed on doorposts and amulets, reflecting a desire to invoke God's protection on every threshold moment.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Blessing that covers every transition. Coming in and going out includes work, home, travel, worship, and rest. God promises His favor wherever you go.
- Blessing that rests on a condition. The surrounding context (vv. 1-2) makes clear: this promise is for those who “listen to Yahweh your God’s voice.” Obedience is the channel for blessing.
- Blessing that points to Christ. For Christians, Christ fulfills the covenant perfectly. In Him, we receive the ultimate blessing of being God's people, not because of our obedience but because of His. The language of “coming and going” finds its echo in John 10:9 where Jesus is the door.
Five-point outline
- The all-encompassing promise, coverage of every sphere of life: city, field, family, livestock, food, and daily movement (vv. 3-6).
- The clear condition, obedience is not optional; it is the covenantal response to God's grace in choosing Israel.
- The idiomatic language, “come in” and “go out” signifies more than literal steps; it covers all one's purposes and activities (Gill, Clarke).
- The communal dimension, the blessing rests on the whole people, not just individuals. “You” is singular but represents the nation.
- The ultimate fulfillment, in the New Covenant, blessings are spiritual in Christ (Ephesians 1:3), yet the pattern of God's care over daily life remains.
Illustration hooks
- The daily commute. Many believers spend hours going out to work and coming home tired. This verse promises God's blessing on that daily grind: not just spiritual activities.
- A parent's worry over a child leaving home for school or college. This verse offers a prayer to hold onto: God blesses when they go out and when they come in.
- The uncertainty of a new job, move, or trip. The idiom covers every “out” and “in,” giving confidence that God is present in all transitions.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does this promise mean that if I obey God perfectly I will never have trouble when I travel or work? How do we reconcile this with Jesus' words that in the world we will have tribulation?
- Is this blessing only for Old Testament Israel, or can I claim it today? How do we apply Old Testament promises under the new covenant?
- What does it look like to “hear and obey” God's voice in everyday life? Is it about keeping rules or about a relationship?
Leading a Discussion
Deuteronomy 28:6 sits within a list of blessings that cover every part of Israel's life. The promise of blessing on coming and going is both simple and sweeping. But the surrounding context makes clear that these promises are tied to obedience, listening to God's voice. As you study this verse together, consider how the Old Testament covenant blessings inform your understanding of God's care today. How does Christ shape our reading of this conditional promise?
Discussion questions
- Read Deuteronomy 28:1-6. What does this passage teach about God's character and His desire for His people?
- The phrase “coming in and going out” is an idiom. Can you think of other parts of Scripture that use this language (e.g., Psalm 121:8, Numbers 27:17)? What does it convey about daily life?
- How does the condition of obedience in verses 1-2 affect the way you understand the blessing in verse 6? Is blessing always conditional in Scripture?
- In what ways do you see God's blessing on your own “comings and goings”, your work, travel, home life?
- How does the New Testament re-frame blessing for believers in Christ (e.g., Ephesians 1:3)? Are material blessings still promised to Christians?
- Why might God tie blessing to obedience? What does that tell you about the kind of relationship He wants with His people?
- This verse is often used as a prayer for protection. How could you pray it for yourself or others this week?
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)
| Numbers 27:17 | who may go out before them, and who may come in before them, and who may lead them out, and who may bring them in, that the congregation of Yahweh may not be as sheep which have no shepherd.” |
| Deuteronomy 31:2 | He said to them, “I am one hundred twenty years old today. I can no more go out and come in. Yahweh has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’ |
| II Samuel 3:25 | You know Abner the son of Ner. He came to deceive you, and to know your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you do.” |
| II Chronicles 1:10 | Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of yours?” |
| Psalms 121:8 | Yahweh will keep your going out and your coming in, from this time forward, and forever more. |
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
6 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke emphasizes the two-fold promise of God's care: when coming home from work, nothing harmful has occurred during your absence; when going out to work, God prospers your efforts. It is a complete, daily cycle of safety and provision.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator observes that the six blessings in this passage are built on a repeating poetic pattern, each introduced by a form of the word "bless." The third blessing appears to be an expanded version, suggesting that "fruit of your cattle" was added later as a clarifying note.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note draws attention to the complete scope of God's blessing, covering every ordinary activity from start to finish. Coming in and going out represent the whole of daily life, so the promise leaves nothing untouched by divine favour.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill applies this blessing to every area of life: work at home and abroad, public and private duties, journeys, and notably military campaigns. For him, the promise guarantees that God's favor will attend all these activities with success.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange emphasizes that the blessings and curses in this chapter are not random fortune or misfortune but reflect God's direct rule over every detail of life. He sees earthly prosperity as a moral gift meant for peace of conscience, while temporal distress is designed to lead Israel toward repentance and conversion.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Comest in - That is, in all thy affairs and administrations.