Deuteronomy 6:25

Deu 6:25. It shall be our righteousness — Hebrew, Righteousness shall be to us. We shall be owned, and pronounced by God to be righteous and holy persons, if we sincerely obey him; otherwise we shall be declared to be unrighteous and ungodly. Or, mercy shall be to us, or with us. For as the Hebrew word rendered righteousness is very often put for mercy, (as Psa 24:5; Psa 36:10; Psa 51:14; Pro 10:2; Pro 11:4; Dan 9:16,) so this sense seems best to agree both with the Scripture use of this phrase, (in which righteousness seldom or never, but grace or mercy frequently, is said to be to us, or with us,) and with the foregoing verse and argument. God, saith he, (Deu 6:24,) commanded these things for our good, that he might preserve us alive, as it is this day. And, adds he in this verse, this is not all; for as he hath done us good, so he will go on to do us more and more good, and God’s mercy shall be to us, or with us, in the remainder of our lives, and for ever, if we observe these commandments. “Our sincere obedience,” says Henry, (including in the term, repentance, faith, and love, with all other graces,) “shall be accepted through a Mediator, to denominate us, as Noah was, righteous before God, Gen 7:1; Luk 1:6; and 1Jn 3:7. The Chaldee reads it, There shall be a reward to us if we observe to do these commandments.”

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6:25 righteous when we obey: Obedience shows that one is already in a state of righteousness, a standing before God obtained by faith (see 24:13; Hab 2:4; Rom 1:17; 4:1-5; Gal 3:6-7; see also Gen 15:6; Eph 2:8-9). When other nations observed Israel’s commitment to the covenant, they could rightly conclude that Israel was righteous.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

But because none could fully obey the law, we must have our recourse to Christ to be justified by faith.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 25. It shall be our righteousness] The evidence that we are under the influence of the fear and love of God. Moses does not say that this righteousness could be wrought without the influence of God's mercy, nor does he say that they should purchase heaven by it: but, God required them to be conformed to his will in all things, that they might be holy in heart, and righteous in every part of their moral conduct.

1. ON a very important subject in this chapter, it may be necessary to make some farther observations.

A most injurious and destructive maxim has lately been advanced by a few individuals, which it is to be hoped is disowned by the class of Christians to which they belong, though the authors affect to be thought Christians, and rational ones, too; the sum of the maxim is this: "Children ought not to be taught religion for fear of having their minds biased to some particular creed, but they should be left to themselves till they are capable of making a choice, and choose to make one." This maxim is in flat opposition to the command of God, and those who teach it show how little they are affected by the religion they profess. If they felt it to be good for any thing, they would certainly wish their children to possess it; but they do not teach religion to their children, because they feel it to be of no use to themselves. Now the Christian religion properly applied saves the soul, and fills the heart with love to God and man; for the love of God is shed abroad in the heart of a genuine believer, by the Holy Ghost given to him. These persons have no such love, because they have not the religion that inspires it; and the spurious religion which admits of the maxim above mentioned, is not the religion of God, and consequently better untaught than taught. But what can be said to those parents who, possessing a better faith, equally neglect the instruction of their children in the things of God! They are highly criminal; and if their children perish through neglect, which is very probable, what a dreadful account must they give in the great day! PARENTS! hear what the Lord saith unto you: Ye shall diligently teach your children that there is one Lord, Jehovah, Elohim; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost: and that they must love him with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their might. And as children are heedless, apt to forget, liable to be carried away by sensible things, repeat and re-repeat the instruction, and add line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, carefully studying time, place, and circumstances, that your labour be not in vain: show it in its amiableness, excite attention by exciting interest; show how good, how useful, how blessed, how ennobling, how glorious it is. Whet these things on their hearts till the keenest edge is raised on the strongest desire, till they can say, "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth I desire besides thee!"

See Clarke on De 4:9, and "Ge 18:32", and See Clarke on Ge 19:38 at the end.

2. Without offence to any, I hope, a few words more may be said on the nature of an oath, in addition to the note, See Clarke on De 6:13. The matter is important, and perhaps not well understood by many.

The making an appeal to the Supreme Being, and calling him to witness and record, constitutes the spirit and essence of an oath. It is no matter in what form this appeal is made, whether by putting the hand under the thigh, as among the patriarchs; by the water of the Ganges, as among the Hindoos; on a surat or chapter of the Koran, as among the Mohammedans; on a Hebrew Pentateuch, as among the Jews; on the form of the cross, as among the Roman Catholics; kissing the New Testament, as among Protestants in general; or holding up the hand, and making affirmation, as among the people called Quakers; still the oath is the same, for the appeal is made to God. On this ground (and this is the true ground), the holding up of the hand in a court of justice, is as perfect, as substantial, and as formal an oath, as kissing the New Testament. Why then so many objections against taking an oath in a court of justice by any one particular form, when the same thing is done in spirit, essence, and substance, when God is called to witness and record, though the form be different? When God says, Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and shalt swear by his name, he says, in effect, Thou shalt have no god besides me; thou shalt consider me the fountain of truth, the rewarder of righteousness, and the punisher of perfidy and wickedness. Swear by my name - bind thyself to me; take me for witness to all thy actions; and act in all things as having me continually before thine eyes, and knowing that for every act and word thou shalt give account to me in the day of judgment. Our Lord's command, Swear not at all, can never relate to an oath in a civil cause, taken according to the definition above given: profane and common swearing, with all light, irreverent oaths and imprecations, and all such oaths as are not required by the civil magistrate, in cases where the Lord is supposed to be witness, are certainly intended in our blessed Lord's prohibition. See Clarke on De 4:26.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(25) And it shall be our righteousness.—In one Targum, “It shall be merit to us,” or more fully, in the other, “It shall be merit laid up for us against the world to come.” In the LXX., “It shall be alms to us.” This conjunction of ideas will help to explain why in Mat_6:1 “alms” and “righteousness” occur as alternative readings. We have “alms” in the Authorised Version, “righteousness” in the Revised Version. To this day the Jews call alms ts’dâkah, “righteousness.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

25. it shall be righteousness unto us] The thought of the previous verse shows that righteousness here does not mean goodness, uprightness, but rather justification, vindication, the right to live, and by consequence their life itself. Cf. the post-exilic Isa_61:11, Isa_62:1-2, in which righteousness is parallel to renown, to salvation and to glory. (See the present writer’s Isaiah xl.–lxvi. 217 ff.) Contrast Deu_25:13.

before Jehovah our God] Cp. Deu_24:13, where this phrase (thy God) follows immediately on righteousness unto thee. That may, as some suggest, have been the order here, too, but the transposition is not necessary. ‘To fulfil the commandment before Jehovah means so to fulfil it that He sees it, and that is a speaking feature of legal piety (Neh_5:19; Neh_13:14; Neh_13:22; Neh_13:31)’ (Bertholet).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And it shall be our righteousness,.... Or a mercy, benefit, and blessing to us; or this shall be reckoned our righteousness, and that by which we shall be justified:

if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us; in order to have such a justifying righteousness, a man must keep all the commandments of God, not one excepted; and that perfectly, without the least breach of them in thought, word, or deed; and that before the Lord, in his sight, not as it may appear to a man himself, or to others, but as it appears to God, who sees the heart, and weighs all actions; and a man must keep them in the manner the Lord has commanded, even with all his heart, soul, and strength, as in Deu 6:5 and this is not possible for a sinful man to do; and therefore righteousness cannot be by the law. Only Christ could thus keep all the commandments of God, and his obedience is our righteousness; and he only is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes, and to him we must seek for it.

Next: Deuteronomy Chapter 7

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Merciful. Hebrew, "he will justify us." Chaldean, "reward us." Justice often denotes the mercy which God shews to his people, and the punishment which he inflicts upon their enemies. (Calmet) (Matthew vi. 1.) --- Past, present, and future benefits concur to make the Hebrews observe the commandments. God had rescued them from slavery; (ver. 21,) he had already given them great possessions, and would grant them still more if they would be faithful; as on the other hand, all will be lost if they prove rebellious, ver. 15. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Heb. righteousness shall be to us. and pronounced by God to be truly righteous and holy persons, if we sincerely obey him, otherwise we shall be declared to be unrighteous and ungodly persons, and all our profession of religion will appear to be in hypocrisy. Or, mercy shall be to us, or with us. For as the Hebrew word rendered righteousness is very oft put for mercy, as Psa 24:5; 36:10; 51:14; Pro 10:2; 11:4; Dan 9:16, &c.; so this sense seems best to agree both with the Scripture use of this phrase, in which righteousness, seldom or never, to my remembrance, but grace or mercy frequently, is said to be to us or with us, as 2Sa 15:20; Psa 89:24; Pro 14:22; Gal 6:16; 2Jo 1:3; and with the foregoing verse and argument, God, saith he, Deu 6:24, commanded these things for our good, that he might preserve us alive, as it is this day. And, saith he in this verse, this is not all; for as he hath done us good, so he will go on to do us more and more good, and God’s mercy shall be to us, or with us, in the remainder of our lives, and for ever,

if we observe, & c.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

25. It shall be our righteousness — “Righteousness will be to us” is the literal rendering. If we keep the commands of God we shall be deemed righteous, is undoubtedly the meaning of the expression. “This righteousness before Jehovah is not indeed the gospel righteousness of faith; but there is no opposition between the two, as that which is here spoken of is not founded on the outward righteousness of works, but upon an earnest striving after the fulfilment of the law to love God with all the heart; and this love is impossible without living faith.” — Keil.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And it shall be our righteousness; literally, And righteousness shall be to us, i.e. we shall be held righteous by God if we observe to do all that he has enjoined. (comp. Rom_10:5 Rom_6:16; Php_3:6) Before the Lord, i.e. not only in his sight, but according to his judgment, so as to be approved of him. (cf. Psa_56:13 Psa_116:9)

Our righteousness.

As contrasted with Pauline sayings, the text is an illustration of the maxim, "On the outside of things look for differences, on the inside for likenesses" (Hare). The form is that of the Law, the spirit is that of Christ, whose gospel is the key to the Law"s utterances.

I A REQUIREMENT WHICH ONE ONLY, VIZ. CHRIST, HAS PERFECTLY FULFILLED. "This is the name whereby he shall be called, the Lord our Righteousness". (Jer_23:6) He "is the end of the Law for righteousness to every one that believeth". (Rom_10:4) How? In the strictly legal, as in the strict ideal sense, righteousness requires an absolutely perfect fulfillment of every one of God"s commandments. The Jewish covenant required no less. The Jews were to live in their righteousness, i.e. in perfect keeping of the whole Law. But in point of fact, no Jew ever rendered perfect obedience. In many things, like others, he offended, and the covenant footing was only maintained through daily pardon of daily offences. Christ is our Redeemer from the curse thus entailed by transgression. (Gal_3:13) As the Lord"s righteous Servant, and Fulfiller of the Law, he has implemented the condition of acceptance in such a way that his obedience carries with it results to others as well as to himself. (Rom_5:17-21) In him the believer is justified. He claims him as the Lord his Righteousness. Christ has for him at once fulfilled the Law"s precept, and abolished its penalty. Sinful in himself, in Christ his sins are covered, and justification is obtained. (Rom_3:22-27 Rom_8:1-4; 1Co_1:30; 2Co_5:21)

II A REQUIREMENT WHICH BELIEVERS IS CHRIST ARE ENABLED TO FULFILL, THOUGH IMPERFECTLY, YET ACCEPTABLY. The utmost that the Jew could render was that imperfect but sincere obedience which is still the mark of the true believer. The believer"s duty is to render a perfect obedience; his privilege is that, falling short of this, his sincere though faulty obedience will be graciously accepted for the sake of Christ. In harmony with his calling, it was to be the Jew"s aim to realize the righteousness which the Law set before him. But in his inability to do this the weakness of the Law revealed itself, and in contrast with this weakness (Rom_8:3) is the power of the gospel, enabling the believer to triumph, and to bring forth fruit unto holiness, the end of which is everlasting life. (Rom_6:22) This also is a "righteousness of faith," as springing from faith, and rendered possible through it. It is his righteousness, yet in a deeper sense not his, but Christ"s, for it is the work of Christ living in him. (Gal_2:20) It is not the ground of acceptance, but a result of it; not a title to heaven, but meetness for it. It is itself a gift of grace, part of Christ"s salvation. J.O. (Mat_5:6; Eph_5:9, Eph_5:10; Php_2:12, 13; 1Pe_2:24; 1Jn_3:7-10; with Ro 6 Ro 7 Ro 8)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It shall be our righteousness - Hebrew. Righteousness shall be to us. We shall be owned and pronounced by God to be righteous and holy persons, if we sincerely obey him, otherwise we shall be declared to be unrighteous and ungodly. Or, mercy shall be to us, or with us. For as the Hebrew word rendered righteousness is very often put for mercy, (as Psalm xxiv, 5; xxxvi, 10; li, 14 Prov. x, 2; xi, 4 Dan. ix, 16) so this sense seems best to agree both with the scripture use of this phrase, (in which righteousness, seldom or never, but grace or mercy frequently, is said to be to us or with us) and with the foregoing verse and argument God, saith he, chap. v, 24, commanded these things for our good, that he might preserve us alive, as it is this day. And, saith he in this verse, this is not all; for as he hath done us good, so he will go on to do us more and more good, and God's mercy shall be to us, or with us, in the remainder of our lives, and forever, if we observe these commandments.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

"And righteousness will be to us, if we observe to do:" i.e., our righteousness will consist in the observance of the law; we shall be regarded and treated by God as righteous, if we are diligent in the observance of the law. "Before Jehovah" refers primarily, no doubt, to the expression, "to do all these commandments;" but, as we may see from Deu 24:13, this does not prevent the further reference to the "righteousness" also. This righteousness before Jehovah, it is true, is not really the gospel "righteousness of faith;" but there is no opposition between the two, as the righteousness mentioned here is not founded upon the outward (pharisaic) righteousness of works, but upon an earnest striving after the fulfilment of the law, to love God with all the heart; and this love is altogether impossible without living faith.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)