These two verses are the Shema, a basic statement of the Israelite faith. This command is called by Jesus the greatest in the Law (Matt 22.37; Mark 12.30; see also Luke 10.27). In verse 4 of the Hebrew text the last letter of the first word Hear and the last letter of the last word one are in bold type and raised above the line, thus emphasizing the importance of the confession.
Hear, O Israel: see verse 3.
The LORD our God is one LORD: Revised Standard Version provides three alternative translations of this four-word statement in Hebrew; Good News Translation has two alternatives. The Hebrew text says: “YHWH our-God YHWH one” (or “alone”). This has been understood in three different ways:
(1) Yahweh alone is Israel’s God; Israel serves and worships only Yahweh. See Good News Translation, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Bible en français courant, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, the Portuguese common language version [BÍBLIA para todos Edição Comum], Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje.
(2) Yahweh is the one and only God; there are no other gods. See Contemporary English Version; Psa 96.5; 115.4-7; 135.15-18.
(3) Yahweh, the God of Israel, is one, in contrast with the many local manifestations of pagan gods such as Baal (see Joel 2.11-13). See New International Version, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible (“The LORD our God is the one LORD”), New Jerusalem Bible (“Yahweh our God is the one, the only Yahweh”).
The Handbook recommends that the first meaning be given in the text, with alternatives in a footnote.
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart … soul … might: this is a way of commanding the people to love God completely, wholeheartedly, without any reservations; it is a love that includes emotion, intellect, will. So love here contains not only the elements of liking and affection but also devotion and commitment to God. Translators should attempt to find a term that contains both of these ideas. Cultures differ in their ideas about the psychological makeup of people. For the Hebrews the heart generally refers to the activities of the mind rather than to emotions. The soul refers to the emotions (see also 4.29). In some languages, however, the functions of heart and soul will be thought of as identical. Might refers to physical strength. In some languages it will be necessary to dispense with the figurative language completely and say, for example, “You must love the LORD your God in all that you think and with all your strength,” or “… with all your strength and thinking,” or even “… completely.” The quote in Mark 12.30 adds “with all your mind,” which is not in the Hebrew or the Septuagint. However, the meaning is the same as “heart,” and in many modern languages “heart and mind” will be identical. In summary, this command means that the people should love God completely—with their whole being.
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .