English Standard Version
Deuteronomy 4:23
23Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you.
Deuteronomy 4:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee.
- New International Version (NIV)Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you.
- New Living Translation (NLT)So be careful not to break the covenant the Lord your God has made with you. Do not make idols of any shape or form, for the Lord your God has forbidden this.
Context of Deuteronomy 4:23
21Furthermore, the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he swore that I should not cross the Jordan, and that I should not enter the good land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance. 22For I must die in this land; I must not go over the Jordan. But you shall go over and take possession of that good land. Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. 24For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. 25"When you father children and children's children, and have grown old in the land, if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and by doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, so as to provoke him to anger,
Read all of Deuteronomy 4Deuteronomy 4:23 word by word
הִשָּׁמְר֣וּ לָכֶ֗ם פֶּֽן־תִּשְׁכְּחוּ֙ אֶת־בְּרִ֤ית יְהוָה֙ אֱלֹ֣הֵיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר כָּרַ֖ת עִמָּכֶ֑ם וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֨ם לָכֶ֥ם פֶּ֙סֶל֙ תְּמ֣וּנַת כֹּ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוְּךָ֖ יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Take heedשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: carefulH8104
- unto yourselves, lest ye forgetשָׁכַחshâkach shâkêach · to forgetH7911
- the covenantבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- your Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- which he madeכָּרַתkârath · to cut: make(covenant)H3772
- with you, and makeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- you a graven imageפֶּ֫סֶלpesel · idolH6459
- the likenessתְּמוּנָהtemûnâh temûnâh · likenessH8544
- of anyכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
- hath forbiddenצָוָהtsâvâh · to commandH6680
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 4:23
- Deuteronomy 4:9"Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children—
- Deuteronomy 27:9Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, "Keep silence and hear, O Israel: this day you have become the people of the Lord your God.
- Joshua 23:11Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God.
- Matthew 24:4And Jesus answered them, "See that no one leads you astray.
- Luke 12:15And he said to them, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
- Luke 21:8And he said, "See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he!' and, 'The time is at hand!' Do not go after them.
- Hebrews 3:12Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.
- Deuteronomy 6:12then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- Deuteronomy 29:25Then people will say, 'It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt,
- Deuteronomy 31:20For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise me and break my covenant.
- Joshua 23:16if you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you."
- 1 Chronicles 16:15Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
- Isaiah 24:5The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.
- Jeremiah 31:22How long will you waver, O faithless daughter? For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth: a woman encircles a man."
- Ezekiel 16:59"For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant,
- Deuteronomy 4:16beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 4:23
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-40Moses gave a long speech to the Israelites because of their recent failures and what he thought would happen in Canaan.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 14-4015. Take ... good heed ... for ye saw no manner of similitude--The extreme proneness of the Israelites to idolatry, from their position in the midst of surrounding nations already abandoned to its seductions, accounts for their attention being repeatedly drawn to the fact that God did not appear on Sinai in any visible form; and an earnest caution, founded on that remarkable circumstance, is given to beware, not only of making representations of false…Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 4:23
In the dictionaries
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
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