Deuteronomy 7:9-10
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The verse doesn't just state God keeps His promises; it highlights that He is the "faithful God." This emphasizes not just the act of keeping, but His very nature as someone trustworthy, whose loyalty is an inherent part of who He is, extending far beyond human understanding to a thousand generations.
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Moses is laying out God's commands for the Israelites as they prepare to enter and conquer Canaan. He's just told them to drive out the nations living there, not to make alliances or intermarry with them, because those nations worship other gods and would lead Israel astray. This verse serves as the foundation for those warnings, reminding them why they should obey – because their God is uniquely faithful.
The Bible doesn't just want us to know facts about God; it calls us to a deeper, experiential knowledge. What does it truly mean to 'know' the LORD?
The verse starts with "Know therefore that the LORD your God is God." This isn't just a call to believe a historical fact. The Hebrew word for 'know' here implies a deep, practical, and personal understanding. It's about experiencing God's reality through His actions and His faithfulness.
Think of it like this: You can read about gravity, but until you drop something and see it fall, you don't know gravity in the same way.
Moses is urging Israel to move beyond mere intellectual assent. He wants them to grasp, with their whole being, that the LORD is not just a god, but the God – the real, living, active one. This 'knowing' leads to a profound respect, awe, and a life-altering response.
God's relationship with His people is built on more than just fleeting emotions. It's a commitment rooted in covenant and a love that goes deeper than we can imagine.
The verse describes God as 'the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love.' This is the heart of God's character towards His people.
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This steadfast love is not a reward for Israel's perfection, but a reflection of God’s own unchanging nature. While the verse links this to those who love Him and keep His commandments, the source of the faithfulness and love is God Himself.
When God promises blessings, He doesn't think small. The scope of His faithfulness stretches across time in a way that's almost beyond comprehension.
The verse culminates with God's faithfulness extending 'to a thousand generations.' This is an astonishing concept! It's not a literal, calculated number, but a poetic way to express immense duration and scope.
This promise is a powerful reminder that God’s commitment to His people is not temporary. It's an everlasting commitment, a ripple effect of His love that continues to impact lives across vast stretches of time.
Understand the original words
bərît · Hebrew Noun
A formal, binding agreement between God and humanity. It involves mutual obligations, promises of blessing, and consequences for disobedience, established solely by God’s initiative.
ḥesed · Hebrew Noun
A profound term denoting God's loyal, unfailing, and covenant-keeping love. It encompasses mercy, faithfulness, and grace, describing God's steadfast commitment to His people despite their failures.
miṣwâ · Hebrew Noun
The revealed will of God, given for the life and instruction of His people. It is meant to be obeyed as a reflection of one's love and loyalty to the LORD.
This passage, the Ten Commandments, directly informs Deuteronomy 7:9 by stating God shows steadfast love 'to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments,' highlighting the foundational nature of God's covenant promises.
Nehemiah 9:32This prayer reflects the same understanding of God's faithfulness, acknowledging Him as 'great and mighty and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love,' echoing the core message of Deuteronomy 7:9 in a post-exilic context.
Psalm 103:17-18This psalm speaks of God's covenant and steadfast love enduring 'forever' and being 'to those who fear him,' aligning with Deuteronomy 7:9's emphasis on God's enduring faithfulness to those who obey Him.
1 Corinthians 1:9Paul reminds the Corinthians that God is faithful and will remain so, as He has called them into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ, reinforcing the New Testament understanding of God's covenant faithfulness established through Christ.
Hebrews 8:6This verse points to Jesus as the mediator of a new covenant, established on better promises, which inherently fulfills and expands upon the covenant faithfulness described in Deuteronomy 7:9, now extended to all who believe.
gillDeuteronomy 7:9: "Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;"
The only true and living God, and not the idols of the Gentiles, who are false and lifeless ones, and therefore not the proper objects of adoration: the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy; as appeared by fulfilling the promise made to their fathers, in bringing them out of Egypt, and now th…
calvinDeuteronomy 7:9-15: "Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;"
And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
Diliget quoq…
The verse doesn't just state God keeps His promises; it highlights that He is the "faithful God." This emphasizes not just the act of keeping, but His very nature as someone trustworthy, whose loyalty is an inherent part of who He is, extending far beyond human understanding to a thousand generations.
Moses is laying out God's commands for the Israelites as they prepare to enter and conquer Canaan. He's just told them to drive out the nations living there, not to make alliances or intermarry with them, because those nations worship other gods and would lead Israel astray. This verse serves as the foundation for those warnings, reminding them why they should obey – because their God is uniquely faithful.
Moses is laying out God's commands for the Israelites as they prepare to enter and conquer Canaan. He's just told them to drive out the nations living there, not to make alliances or intermarry with them, because those nations worship other gods and would lead Israel astray. This verse serves as the foundation for those warnings, reminding them why they should obey – because their God is uniquely faithful.
"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying t…" — The verse doesn't just state God keeps His promises; it highlights that He is the "faithful God." This emphasizes not just the act of keeping, but His very nature as someone trustworthy, whose lo…
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Last reviewed October 2026
