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

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. And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—all the forces of heaven—don’t be seduced into worshiping them. The Lord your God gave them to all the peoples of the earth. 20Remember that the Lord rescued you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make you his very own people and his special possession, which is what you are today. 21“But the Lord was angry with me because of you. He vowed that I would not cross the Jordan River into the good land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession.

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 17:3For instance, they might serve other gods or worship the sun, the moon, or any of the stars—the forces of heaven—which I have strictly forbidden.
• 2 Kings 23:4Then the king instructed Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second rank and the Temple gatekeepers to remove from the Lord’s Temple all the articles that were used to worship Baal, Asherah, and all the powers of the heavens. The king had all these things burned outside Jerusalem on the terraces of the Kidron Valley, and he carried the ashes away to Bethel.
• Job 31:26“Have I looked at the sun shining in the skies, or the moon walking down its silver pathway,
• Jeremiah 8:2They will spread out their bones on the ground before the sun, moon, and stars—the gods my people have loved, served, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up again or buried but will be scattered on the ground like manure.
• Ezekiel 8:16Then he brought me into the inner courtyard of the Lord’s Temple. At the entrance to the sanctuary, between the entry room and the bronze altar, there were about twenty-five men with their backs to the sanctuary of the Lord. They were facing east, bowing low to the ground, worshiping the sun!
• Amos 5:25“Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, Israel?
• Genesis 2:1So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed.
• 2 Kings 17:16They rejected all the commands of the Lord their God and made two calves from metal. They set up an Asherah pole and worshiped Baal and all the forces of heaven.
• 2 Kings 21:3He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had destroyed. He constructed altars for Baal and set up an Asherah pole, just as King Ahab of Israel had done. He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them.
• Jeremiah 19:13Yes, all the houses in Jerusalem, including the palace of Judah’s kings, will become like Topheth—all the houses where you burned incense on the rooftops to your star gods, and where liquid offerings were poured out to your idols.’”
• Zephaniah 1:5For they go up to their roofs and bow down to the sun, moon, and stars. They claim to follow the Lord, but then they worship Molech, too.
• Acts 7:42Then God turned away from them and abandoned them to serve the stars of heaven as their gods! In the book of the prophets it is written, ‘Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during those forty years in the wilderness, Israel?
• Romans 1:25They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.
• Genesis 1:16God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars.
• Joshua 10:12On the day the Lord gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, Joshua prayed to the Lord in front of all the people of Israel. He said, “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.”
• Nehemiah 9:6“You alone are the Lord. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels 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