Deuteronomy 4:16

Deuteronomy 4:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
• New International Version (NIV)so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman,
• English Standard Version (ESV)beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
• New King James Version (NKJV)lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure: the likeness of male or female,

Context of Deuteronomy 4:16

14It was at that time that the Lord commanded me to teach you his decrees and regulations so you would obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy. 15“But be very careful! You did not see the Lord’s form on the day he spoke to you from the heart of the fire at Mount Sinai. So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form—whether of a man or a woman, 17an animal on the ground, a bird in the sky, 18a small animal that scurries along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea.

Deuteronomy 4:16 word by word

פֶּ֨ן־תַּשְׁחִת֔וּן וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֥ם לָכֶ֛ם פֶּ֖סֶל תְּמוּנַ֣ת כָּל־סָ֑מֶל תַּבְנִ֥ית זָכָ֖ר א֥וֹ נְקֵבָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Lest ye corruptשָׁחַתshâchath · to ruinH7843
• and makeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• you a graven imageפֶּ֫סֶלpesel · idolH6459
• the similitudeתְּמוּנָהtemûnâh temûnâh · likenessH8544
• of any figureסֶ֫מֶלsemel sêmel · idolH5566
• the likenessתַּבְנִיתtabnîyth · patternH8403
• of maleזָכָרzâkâr · maleH2145
• or femaleנְקֵבָהneqêbâh · femaleH5347

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 4:16

• Deuteronomy 4:8And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?
• Exodus 20:4“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.
• Exodus 32:7The Lord told Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.
• Psalms 106:19The people made a calf at Mount Sinai; they bowed before an image made of gold.
• Romans 1:22Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.
• Deuteronomy 4:23So 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.
• Isaiah 40:18To whom can you compare God? What image can you find to resemble him?
• John 4:24For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
• Acts 17:29And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.
• Acts 20:4Several men were traveling with him. They were Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica; Gaius from Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.
• 1 Timothy 1:17All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 4:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16The likeness of male or female - Such as Baal-peor and the Roman Priapus, Ashtaroth or Astarte, and the Greek and Roman Venus; after whom most nations of the world literally went a whoring.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16idol: Idolatry limited the Lord to what a human artist could imagine and make. But the Lord is greater than anything a person can create. Israel was not to make idols shaped like any of God’s creatures (4:17–18). This command protected the people from false worship. Idols and images could lead people to worship created things instead of the Creator (5:8–9; Romans 1:23–25). Instead of honoring the God who made everything, they might honor something he made.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 4:16

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Idolatry
• Obedience

In the dictionaries

• Graven image
• Add
• Consider
• Consuming
• Diminish
• Furnace
• Hearken
• Idol
• Deuteronomy
• Figure

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