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

17or the form of any animal on the earth, any winged creature that flies in the sky, 18any creature that crawls on the ground, or any fish in the waters under the earth. When you look to the heavens and see the sun, moon, and stars — all the stars in the sky — do not be led astray to bow in worship to them and serve them. The Lord your God has provided them for all people everywhere under heaven. 20But the Lord selected you and brought you out of Egypt’s iron furnace to be a people for his inheritance, as you are today. 21“The Lord was angry with me on your account. He swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• And lest thou lift upנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: raiseH5375
• thine eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• unto heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
• and when thou seestרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• the sunשֶׁ֫מֶשׁshemesh · sunH8121
• and the moonיָרֵחַyârêach · moonH3394
• and the starsכּוֹכָבkôkâb · starH3556
• all the hostצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · armyH6635
• shouldest be drivenנָדַחnâdach · to banishH5080
• to worshipשָׁחָהshâchâh · to bowH7812
• them, and serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: ministerH5647
• them, which the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• hath dividedחָלַקchâlaq · to divideH2505
• unto all nationsעַם‛am · peopleH5971

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 4:19

• Deuteronomy 17:3and has gone to serve other gods by bowing in worship to the sun, moon, or all the stars in the sky — which I have forbidden —
• 2 Kings 23:4Then the king commanded the high priest Hilkiah and the priests of the second rank and the doorkeepers to bring out of the Lord’s sanctuary all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and all the stars in the sky. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.
• Job 31:26if I have gazed at the sun when it was shining or at the moon moving in splendor,
• Jeremiah 8:2They will be exposed to the sun, the moon, and all the stars in the sky, which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be collected and buried but will become like manure on the soil’s surface.
• Ezekiel 8:16So he brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house, and there were about twenty-five men at the entrance of the Lord’s temple, between the portico and the altar, with their backs to the Lord’s temple and their faces turned to the east. They were bowing to the east in worship of the sun.
• Amos 5:25“House of Israel, was it sacrifices and grain offerings that you presented to me during the forty years in the wilderness?
• Genesis 2:1So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed.
• 2 Kings 17:16They abandoned all the commands of the Lord their God. They made cast images for themselves, two calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky and served Baal.
• 2 Kings 21:3He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed and reestablished the altars for Baal. He made an Asherah, as King Ahab of Israel had done; he also bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky and served them.
• Jeremiah 19:13The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will become impure like that place Topheth — all the houses on whose rooftops they have burned incense to all the stars in the sky and poured out drink offerings to other gods.’”
• Zephaniah 1:5those who bow in worship on the rooftops to the stars in the sky; those who bow and pledge loyalty to the Lord but also pledge loyalty to Milcom;
• Acts 7:42God turned away and gave them up to worship the stars of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: House of Israel, did you bring me offerings and sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness?
• Romans 1:25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.
• Genesis 1:16God made the two great lights — the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night — as well as the stars.
• Joshua 10:12On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Lord in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
• Nehemiah 9:6You, Lord, are the only God. You created the heavens, the highest heavens with all their stars, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them, and all the stars of heaven worship 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