Deuteronomy 4:19

Deuteronomy 4:19 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
• New International Version (NIV)And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.

Context of Deuteronomy 4:19

17of any beast that is on the earth or bird that flies in the air, 18or of any creature that crawls on the ground or fish that is in the waters below. When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. 20Yet the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of His inheritance, as you are today. 21The LORD, however, was angry with me on account of you, and He swore that I would not cross the Jordan to enter the good land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

Deuteronomy 4:19 word by word

וּפֶן־תִּשָּׂ֨א עֵינֶ֜יךָ הַשָּׁמַ֗יְמָה וְֽ֠רָאִיתָ אֶת־הַשֶּׁ֨מֶשׁ וְאֶת־הַיָּרֵ֜חַ וְאֶת־הַכּֽוֹכָבִ֗ים כֹּ֚ל צְבָ֣א הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְנִדַּחְתָּ֛ וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִ֥יתָ לָהֶ֖ם וַעֲבַדְתָּ֑ם אֲשֶׁ֨ר חָלַ֜ק יְהוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ אֹתָ֔ם לְכֹל֙ הָֽעַמִּ֔ים תַּ֖חַת כָּל־הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃Read the interlinear

• When you lookנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: raiseH5375
• When you lookעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• to the heavensשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
• and seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• the sunשֶׁ֫מֶשׁshemesh · sunH8121
• moonיָרֵחַyârêach · moonH3394
• and starsכּוֹכָבkôkâb · starH3556
• allכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• the hostצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · armyH6635
• do not beפֶּן־pên · lestH6435
• enticedנָדַחnâdach · to banishH5080
• to bow downשָׁחָהshâchâh · to bowH7812
• and worshipעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: ministerH5647
• whatאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• the LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• your Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• has apportionedחָלַקchâlaq · to divideH2505
• the nationsעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• underתַּחַתtachath · underneath: underH8478

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 4:19

• Deuteronomy 17:3and going to worship other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven—which I have forbidden—
• 2 Kings 23:4Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests second in rank, and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the LORD all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and all the host of heaven. And he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.
• Job 31:26if I have beheld the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,
• Jeremiah 8:2They will be exposed to the sun and moon, and to all the host of heaven which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up or buried, but will become like dung lying on the ground.
• Ezekiel 8:16So He brought me to the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east; and they were bowing to the east in worship of the sun.
• Amos 5:25Did you bring Me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
• Genesis 2:1Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
• 2 Kings 17:16They abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves two cast idols of calves and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the host of heaven and served Baal.
• 2 Kings 21:3For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed, and he raised up altars for Baal. He made an Asherah pole, as King Ahab of Israel had done, and he worshiped and served all the host of heaven.
• Jeremiah 19:13The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like that place, Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to all the host of heaven and poured out drink offerings to other gods.”
• Zephaniah 1:5those who bow on the rooftops to worship the host of heaven, those who bow down and swear by the LORD but also swear by Milcom,
• Acts 7:42But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘Did you bring Me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
• Romans 1:25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.
• Genesis 1:16God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. And He made the stars as well.
• Joshua 10:12On the day that the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
• Nehemiah 9:6You alone are the LORD. You created the heavens, the highest heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all things, and the host of heaven worships You.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 4:19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19When thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars - The worship of the heavenly bodies was the oldest species of idolatry. Those who had not the knowledge of the true God were led to consider the sun, moon, planets, and stars, as not only self-existing, but the authors of all the blessings possessed by mankind. The knowledge of a rational system of astronomy served to destroy this superstition; and very little of it remains now in the world, except…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19Divided - i. e., “whose light God has distributed to the nations for their use and benefit, and which therefore being creatures ministering to man‘s convenience must not be worshipped as man‘s lords.”Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19host of heaven: This phrase refers to stars and other celestial bodies. People once thought they represented gods. Instead, they serve God, who named them to mark times and seasons (Genesis 1:14–19; Isaiah 40:26). The LORD your God has apportioned: Instead of worshiping these celestial bodies, God required the people of Israel to understand that God created them to serve humankind (Genesis 1:28).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 16-1916-19. Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image--The things are here specified of which God prohibited any image or representation to be made for the purposes of worship; and, from the variety of details entered into, an idea may be formed of the extensive prevalence of idolatry in that age. In whatever way idolatry originated, whether from an intention to worship the true God through those things which seemed to afford the strongest…Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 4:19

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Idolatry
• Moon
• Obedience
• Stars
• Sun

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Host of heaven
• Add
• Astrologer
• Consider
• Consuming
• Diminish
• Furnace
• Hearken

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings