Deuteronomy 1:11 kjv
(The LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!)
Deuteronomy 1:11 nkjv
May the LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, and bless you as He has promised you!
Deuteronomy 1:11 niv
May the LORD, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised!
Deuteronomy 1:11 esv
May the LORD, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as he has promised you!
Deuteronomy 1:11 nlt
And may the LORD, the God of your ancestors, multiply you a thousand times more and bless you as he promised!
Deuteronomy 1 11 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 12:2 | "I will make of you a great nation... and you shall be a blessing." | Promise to Abraham to multiply his descendants. |
| Gen 13:16 | "I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count..." | God's promise of innumerable offspring to Abraham. |
| Gen 15:5 | "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." | Promise of offspring as numerous as stars. |
| Gen 16:10 | "I will multiply your offspring exceedingly..." | God's promise of multiplication. |
| Gen 22:17 | "I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring..." | God's solemn promise by oath to Abraham. |
| Gen 26:4 | "I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven..." | God reconfirms the promise to Isaac. |
| Gen 28:14 | "Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad..." | God reconfirms the promise to Jacob. |
| Exod 1:7 | "But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied..." | Fulfillment of earlier multiplication promise in Egypt. |
| Lev 26:9 | "I will have regard for you and make you fruitful and multiply you..." | Blessing of obedience: God makes fruitful. |
| Num 23:19 | "God is not a man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind." | God's unchangeable faithfulness to His promises. |
| Deut 7:9 | "Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant..." | God's character as a covenant-keeping, faithful God. |
| Josh 23:14 | "Not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised..." | Testimony to God's past faithfulness in fulfilling promises. |
| 1 Kgs 8:56 | "Blessed be the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised..." | God's promises fulfilled, no word has failed. |
| Psa 89:34 | "I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went out from my lips." | God's commitment to His spoken word. |
| Psa 115:14 | "May the LORD give you increase, you and your children!" | A general prayer for increase and blessing. |
| Prov 10:22 | "The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it." | Source of true prosperity and blessing. |
| Isa 55:11 | "so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty..." | God's word accomplishes its purpose. |
| Jer 33:22 | "As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured..." | Analogy for immense numbers, relating to God's promise. |
| Hos 1:10 | "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea..." | Prophetic promise of future multiplication after exile. |
| Rom 4:21 | "fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised." | Abraham's faith in God's ability to fulfill His promise. |
| Eph 3:20 | "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think..." | God's boundless ability to bless and act. |
| 1 Cor 3:6-7 | "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth." | God is the ultimate source of all growth and increase. |
| Col 2:19 | "...the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together... grows with a growth that is from God." | Spiritual growth originates from God. |
| Mal 3:10 | "Bring the full tithe into the storehouse... see if I will not open the windows of heaven..." | God promises material blessings upon obedience. |
Deuteronomy 1 verses
Deuteronomy 1 11 Meaning
Deuteronomy 1:11 is a prophetic blessing and prayer from Moses to the Israelites. As they stand on the threshold of the Promised Land, Moses expresses his heartfelt desire that the LORD, the covenant God of their ancestors, would multiply them a thousandfold beyond their current numbers. This blessing also includes a general appeal for God's favor and prosperity, explicitly anchoring it to the faithful fulfillment of His promises previously given to the patriarchs and to the nation. It reflects Moses' intercessory heart for the people and God's unswerving commitment to His word despite Israel's past failures.
Deuteronomy 1 11 Context
Deuteronomy chapter 1 opens Moses' final address to the Israelites on the plains of Moab, east of the Jordan River. They are on the verge of entering the Promised Land after forty years of wilderness wandering. Moses recounts key historical events, starting from their departure from Mount Horeb (Sinai). This serves as a vital historical retrospective, designed to remind the new generation (those who had not experienced Horeb directly or were too young to remember) of God's faithfulness and their ancestors' disobedience.
Deuteronomy 1:11 appears within Moses' recounting of the events leading up to the appointment of judges, after God had instructed Israel to take possession of the land. At that time, their numbers were already vast (Deut 1:10), overwhelming Moses' sole leadership capacity. Despite the past trials and the future challenges, Moses, full of paternal affection and prophetic insight, voices this blessing. It underscores his continued hope and faith in God's ongoing commitment to multiply His people and fulfill His covenant promises, serving as both a prayer and a statement of confidence in God's unfailing word. It sets a hopeful tone amidst the reminders of past failures.
Deuteronomy 1 11 Word analysis
- May the LORD (יהוה - YHWH): Refers to the personal, covenant God of Israel. It emphasizes His unchanging nature and His intimate relationship with His people, signifying His faithful commitment to the promises He makes. This is the revealed name of God, indicating His self-existence and sovereign control.
- the God (אלהי - Elohim): A more general term for God, denoting His supreme power, authority, and creative force. Combined with "YHWH," it portrays a God who is both infinitely powerful and personally involved with His people through covenant.
- of your fathers (אבתיכם - avoteikhem): Explicitly connects to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, establishing continuity of the covenant promises. It roots the blessing in the historical fidelity of God to previous generations.
- make you (יוסף - yosef): From the root "yasaph," meaning "to add" or "to increase." This word highlights God's active and direct role in bringing about the increase. It’s not a passive hope but an active divine intervention being prayed for.
- a thousand times (אלף פעמים - eleph pe'amim): This is a hyperbolic expression, common in Hebrew, to convey an immense, countless, and overwhelming increase. It signifies a multiplication far beyond human capacity to imagine or achieve, indicating a profound divine blessing. It goes beyond mere increase to emphasize God's abundant generosity.
- as many as you are (ככם - k'khem): "Like you." The starting point for the multiplication. It roots the blessing in their existing large numbers, implying an even greater, exponential increase.
- and bless you (ויברך - vay'varekh): Signifies God's favor, imparting prosperity, well-being, success, and divine enablement in various aspects of life (physical, numerical, material, spiritual).
- just as he promised you (כאשר דבר לכם - ka'asher diber lakhem): This is the critical anchor of the verse. It confirms that Moses' prayer is not a wish in isolation but a fervent request grounded entirely in God's own previous, authoritative, and reliable word. It testifies to God's fidelity and the trustworthiness of His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to multiply their descendants into a great nation.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "May the LORD, the God of your fathers": Emphasizes the dual nature of God as both the personal, covenant-keeping YHWH and the all-powerful Elohim, whose faithfulness is tied to His historical covenant with Israel's patriarchs. It establishes divine authority and continuity of blessing.
- "make you a thousand times as many as you are": A prayer for miraculous and exponential numerical growth, far exceeding normal increase. This directly echoes the promises given to Abraham to make his descendants like the stars of heaven or the dust of the earth (Gen 15:5; 13:16).
- "and bless you": A broad, all-encompassing prayer for divine favor and prosperity, encompassing every aspect of their lives as a nation, indicating God's overall goodness towards His people.
- "just as he promised you": This phrase is the theological foundation for the entire blessing. It shows that Moses' request is not based on wishful thinking but on absolute confidence in God's unchanging character and His sworn covenants. It reinforces the theme of God's unswerving faithfulness as central to the Deuteronomic message.
Deuteronomy 1 11 Bonus section
The inclusion of this verse early in Moses' farewell discourse serves multiple purposes. Firstly, it sets a tone of hope and divine promise, even as Moses will proceed to recount their past failures. This demonstrates that God's grace and fidelity supersede human shortcomings. Secondly, it prepares the generation for their mission: to be a multitude inhabiting the land, a testament to God's power and promise. Thirdly, Moses' personal prayer exemplifies righteous leadership – a leader interceding for the spiritual and physical well-being of his flock, aligning his requests with God's stated will and character. This blessing is not just numerical but qualitative; the increased numbers are to be accompanied by God's sustaining favor.
Deuteronomy 1 11 Commentary
Deuteronomy 1:11 stands as a powerful testament to Moses' unshakeable faith in God's covenant promises, despite Israel's checkered past and their current precarious position on the brink of a new challenge. It is not merely a statement but an active, intercessory prayer, demonstrating Moses' love and concern for the future of the nation. The request for a "thousand times" multiplication highlights God's capacity for superabundant blessing, reflecting His original intent for Israel's proliferation as a nation to bring glory to His name. By tying the prayer directly to God's past promises, Moses underscores the fundamental principle of God's unchanging faithfulness to His word. This verse reminds the people, and future generations, that their blessings are a result of God's initiative and faithfulness, not their merit. It's a message of hope, indicating that God's plan for Israel's growth and flourishing would continue, based entirely on His sovereign decree.