Deuteronomy 31:10-13 · Bible study
Deuteronomy 31:10-13 Commentary: The Seven-Year Public Reading
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore why Moses commanded the public reading of the Law every seven years at the Feast of Booths, including women, children, and foreigners.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Moses commands a public reading of the Law every seventh year at the Feast of Booths, including all people, so they may hear, learn, fear God, and obey.
- Key words: Assemble (הקהֵל, Hiphil imperative of קהל, to summon an assembly), hear (שמע, jussive, to listen with intent), learn (למד, jussive, to internalize and be taught), fear (ירא, jussive, to revere and obey).
- Main debate: The scope of “this law”: some (Gill, Jewish tradition) see it as Deuteronomy alone, others (Clarke) as the whole Pentateuch. Also, how consistently the command was observed historically.
- Theological theme: Covenant renewal and intergenerational transmission of faith. God’s Word is to be heard by all and leads to reverent obedience.
- Best use: Illustrates the importance of regular, inclusive public Scripture reading for forming a community that fears and follows God.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
10Then Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of remission of debt, during the Feast of Tabernacles,
11when all Israel comes before the LORD your God at the place He will choose, you are to read this law in the hearing of all Israel.
12Assemble the people—men, women, children, and the foreigners within your gates—so that they may listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and to follow carefully all the words of this law.
13Then their children who do not know the law will listen and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
WEB World English Bible 2000
10Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, in the set time of the year of release, in the feast of booths,
11when all Israel has come to appear before Yahweh your God in the place which he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
12Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and the foreigners who are within your gates, that they may hear, learn, fear Yahweh your God, and observe to do all the words of this law,
13and that their children, who have not known, may hear and learn to fear Yahweh your God, as long as you live in the land where you go over the Jordan to possess it.”
KJV King James Version 1769
10And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,
11When all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
12Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:
13And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
10And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the set time of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,
11when all Israel is come to appear before Jehovah thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
12Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and thy sojourner that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear Jehovah your God, and observe to do all the words of this law;
13and that their children, who have not known, may hear, and learn to fear Jehovah your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over the Jordan to possess it.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
10and Moses commandeth them, saying, `At the end of seven years, in the appointed time, the year of release, in the feast of booths,
11in the coming in of all Israel to see the face of Jehovah in the place which He chooseth, thou dost proclaim this law before all Israel, in their ears.
12`Assemble the people, the men, and the women, and the infants, and thy sojourner who is within thy gates, so that they hear, and so that they learn, and have feared Jehovah your God, and observed to do all the words of this law;
13and their sons, who have not known, do hear, and have learned to fear Jehovah your God all the days which ye are living on the ground whither ye are passing over the Jordan to possess it.'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
10And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, at the set time of the year of release, at the feast of tabernacles,
11when all Israel cometh to appear before Jehovah thy God in the place which he will choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their ears.
12Gather the people together, the men, and the women, and the children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear Jehovah your God, and take heed to do all the words of this law;
13and that their children who do not know it may hear it and learn, that they may fear Jehovah your God, as long as ye live in the land, whereunto ye pass over the Jordan to possess it.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
10And he commanded them, saying: After seven years, in the year of remission, in the feast of tabernacles,
11When all Israel come together, to appear in the sight of the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall choose, thou shalt read the words of this law before all Israel, in their hearing.
12And the people being all assembled together, both men and women, children and strangers, that are within thy gates: that hearing they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and keep, and fulfil all the words of this law:
13That their children also, who now are ignorant, may hear, and fear the Lord their God, all the days that they live in the land whither you are going over the Jordan to possess it.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Deuteronomy 31:10
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree this command establishes a periodic public reading of the Law at the Feast of Booths during the sabbatical year. Barnes calls it a “symbolic transaction” to impress covenant conditions on the people. Gill notes the reading likely included the book of Deuteronomy or the whole Pentateuch, while Clarke observes that historically the command was rarely observed, citing long gaps between readings. Calvin emphasizes the purpose: to keep the knowledge of God from fading, especially for generations who had not experienced the original revelation at Sinai. All highlight the inclusive assembly: men, women, children, and foreigners are gathered to hear, learn, fear the Lord, and obey. Wesley points out that the year of release freed people from debts and worldly cares, making them fitter to attend to God. The overall aim is to transmit covenant faithfulness to future generations.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Solely Deuteronomy: Jewish tradition and Gill argue that 'this law' refers specifically to the book of Deuteronomy, which contains a summary of the covenant.
- Whole Pentateuch: Clarke and others reason that 'this law' includes the entire Torah (the five books of Moses), as they are often called 'the Law'.
- Symbolic covenant renewal: Barnes emphasizes the symbolic nature of the event, not primarily for instruction but to impress upon the people the conditions of their covenant relationship.
What is clear: That Moses commanded a public reading of the Law every seventh year at the Feast of Booths, involving the entire community (including women, children, and foreigners), with the stated purposes of hearing, learning, fearing God, and obeying.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Scope of the reading | The command appoints a periodic reading of the Law (the Torah) at the Feast of Booths. | Some (Gill, Jewish exegetes) hold it refers to Deuteronomy alone; others (Clarke) think the entire Pentateuch is meant. |
| Historical observance | The command was a prospective arrangement for when Israel would dwell in the land. | Commentators like Clarke note that recorded observances were rare (e.g., Josiah’s reform, Nehemiah’s assembly), while others argue it may have been practiced but not always recorded. |
| Presence of women and children at festivals | This command explicitly requires women and children to attend when other festivals only required males. | Some (Wesley) say women were permitted but not required at other feasts; others (Gill) emphasize the unique obligation here. |
| Purpose: symbolic vs. instructional | The reading was meant to impress the Law on the people and their descendants. | Barnes emphasizes a symbolic transaction to remind Israel of covenant conditions; Calvin focuses on instruction to prevent forgetfulness. |
Historical & Cultural Context
This passage falls within Moses’ final instructions before his death and the people’s entry into Canaan (Deuteronomy 31). Immediately prior, Moses wrote the Law and gave it to the priests and elders (v. 9). The command to read it publicly every seven years at the Feast of Booths (Sukkot) is tied to the sabbatical year, when debts were remitted (Deuteronomy 15:1-2). The Feast of Booths itself recalled Israel’s wilderness wandering in temporary shelters (Leviticus 23:43) and was one of three annual pilgrim feasts where all males appeared before the Lord (Exodus 23:16-17; 34:24).
By timing the reading during the festival, the nation’s joy and remembrance of deliverance were linked to hearing the Law. The “place which he will choose” (Deuteronomy 12:5) later became Jerusalem and the temple. The inclusion of “little ones” and “foreigners” (Hebrew ger) is striking: it signals that covenant instruction was not limited to adult Israelite males. The purpose clauses (“that they may hear, learn, fear Yahweh your God, and observe to do all the words”) use jussive verb forms (יִשְׁמְעוּ, יִלְמְדוּ) indicating intention. This periodic public reading served as a national covenant renewal, ensuring that every generation, including children “who have not known”, would be taught the fear of the Lord as long as they lived in the land.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for these verses. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts, and the commands are preserved consistently in the Masoretic Text. The only variation is in how the phrase “in the set time of the year of release” (v. 10) is translated (year of remission, solemnity, etc.), but the underlying Hebrew (שְׁנַת הַשְּׁמִטָּה) is clear.
Reception History
In Jewish tradition, this command was understood as requiring the king to read Deuteronomy at the Feast of Booths during the sabbatical year (the hakhel ceremony). The Mishnah (Sotah 7:8) describes this reading as a public event where the king read from a scroll of the Law. Christian interpreters have seen in this passage a foreshadowing of the regular public reading of Scripture in worship. The inclusive gathering of all people, men, women, children, and foreigners, has been used to support the importance of family education and the church’s mission to all ages. Some church fathers (though not named in supplied sources) applied this to the reading of the Law in Christian assemblies, seeing it as a pattern for systematic teaching. Modern preachers use this text to emphasize the need for repeated exposure to God’s Word across generations.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Rhythm of Remembrance: The command comes every seven years, at the Year of Release. God builds a rhythm of hearing His Word that breaks the cycle of debt and distraction. Just as debts are forgiven, the Law is read so the people can start again.
- An Inclusive Assembly: Men, women, children, and foreigners are gathered. No one is left out. The covenant community includes the vulnerable and the outsider. God’s Word is for everyone, not just the learned or powerful.
- The Purpose: Hearing Leads to Fearing and Obeying: The sequence is clear: hear, learn, fear, observe. Knowledge of the Law is not an end; it leads to reverence and action. This is covenant formation, not mere information.
Five-point outline
- Context: Moses commands the priests and elders before his death (v. 10).
- Timing: Every seventh year at the Feast of Booths, during the remission of debts (v. 10).
- Location: At the place God chooses, where all Israel appears before Him (v. 11).
- Participants: All people, including women, children, and foreigners (v. 12).
- Goal: That they hear, learn, fear the Lord, and do His words; that the next generation also learns (v. 12-13).
Illustration hooks
- The family that reads an important legal document together every seven years, like a will or a covenant, to ensure everyone understands their inheritance and responsibilities.
- The public reading of a national constitution at a major holiday: it grounds citizens in their identity and obligations.
- The community that gathers children and newcomers for a yearly festival to tell the story of their founding. In Israel’s case, the story comes with commands to follow.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why doesn’t the church today have a public reading of the whole Bible every seven years? (The New Testament’s emphasis on regular weekly teaching in synagogues and churches, and the fact that the Law was read Sabbath by Sabbath, answers this.)
- What does “fear the Lord” mean in this context? Is it terror or reverence? (The Hebrew yare can mean awe, respect, and obedience, not cowering fear.)
- How can we apply this command if we don’t observe the Feast of Booths? (We can still build rhythms of Bible reading that include all ages and generations, especially in special services or teaching events.)
Leading a Discussion
This passage shows how God wanted His people to embed His Word in their national life at regular intervals, in a way that included everyone. As you discuss, focus on the connection between hearing, learning, and obedience, and how the community made space for those who had not yet heard.
Discussion questions
- Observation: What does the text say about who was to be gathered? List the groups mentioned in verse 12.
- Observation: When was this reading to take place? What is significant about the timing (every seven years, during the Feast of Booths, in the Year of Release)?
- Interpretation: Why do you think the command specifically includes “the little ones” and “the foreigners”? What does this say about God’s heart for the next generation and for outsiders?
- Interpretation: The purpose is: hear, learn, fear, observe. Why is fear (reverence) an important step between learning and obeying? How does “fearing the Lord” connect to obeying His commands?
- Application: How can our church community create regular opportunities for all ages to hear God’s Word publicly?
- Application: This passage emphasizes that children “who have not known” need to hear. What are practical ways to ensure children and new believers are intentionally taught the whole counsel of God?
- Application: The command was to be repeated every seven years. How does repeating Scripture over time help form us as a covenant people? What traditions or rhythms help you stay rooted in God’s Word?
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 23:34 | “Speak to the children of Israel, and say, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of booths for seven days to Yahweh. |
| Leviticus 23:43 | that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in temporary shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.’” |
| Deuteronomy 15:1 | At the end of every seven years, you shall cancel debts. |
| Deuteronomy 15:2 | This is the way it shall be done: every creditor shall release that which he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not require payment from his neighbor and his brother, because Yahweh’s release has been proclaimed. |
| Exodus 23:16 | And the feast of harvest, the first fruits of your labors, which you sow in the field; and the feast of ingathering, at the end of the year, when you gather in your labors out of the field. |
| Exodus 23:17 | Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord Yahweh. |
| Exodus 34:24 | For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither shall any man desire your land when you go up to appear before Yahweh, your God, three times in the year. |
| Deuteronomy 12:5 | But to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, you shall seek his habitation, and you shall come there. |
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
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke observes that the command to read the law every seventh year was rarely obeyed. He notes long gaps between recorded instances: over five centuries from Joshua to Jehoshaphat, then nearly three centuries more until Josiah, and only one later example at Nehemiah's time, with no further record to Jerusalem's fall.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes argues that the reading of the Law once every seven years was not mainly for teaching, since it happened too rarely for that. Instead it was a symbolic ceremony, designed like many other rituals to impress on Israel that their blessings depended on their obedience.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin stresses that the Law was written down precisely because oral tradition and human memory are too fragile; without a permanent record, true doctrine would quickly vanish. He also notes that the Levites were appointed as special guardians of the Law, not to hoard it, but to ensure God’s truth endured when others neglected it. The inclusion of women and children in the public reading shows that God welcomes all into His school, contrary to those who would restrict religious learning.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentary notes a textual oddity: the singular "thou shalt read" suggests the command to read the law every seventh year was originally addressed to Joshua, not the priests and elders as the current text states. This explains why the passage sits oddly within the surrounding commission to Joshua.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes highlight that the law was to be read publicly every seventh year at the Feast of Tabernacles, gathering everyone without exception—men, women, children, and foreigners. This ensured that all, even those who had not known it before, would hear, learn to fear God, and obey.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill argues that the law was to be read at the beginning of the seventh year, not after it ended. He points to the Feast of Tabernacles in Tishri, which was originally the new year, as the proper time. This timing fit the year of release when debts were forgiven, the land lay fallow, and the harvest was gathered, allowing everyone to attend.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB stresses that Moses gave this command for a future time, when Israel would be settled in Canaan. The public reading every seventh year served both to deepen devotion in the sacred setting and to guarantee the law's accurate preservation and transmission through a formal deposit of two copies.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads this chapter as a third solemn pause in Deuteronomy, where Moses surrenders his office and work. Earlier pauses featured cities of refuge and monumental stones; now Moses hands over his entire task for the land, marking the close of his personal leadership before
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Moses was faithful not only to deliver the law to his own generation but also to transmit it to all who would come after. Henry notes that Moses wrote the law so those who heard it could review it themselves and so it could be safely handed down to posterity. He also suggests this law may refer to Deuteronomy as the grand abridgment of the whole.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley explains that the year of release freed people from debts and worldly cares, making them fitter to attend to God. The law was read not by Moses alone, but by priests and Levites in multiple congregations, including women and children old enough to understand.