Deuteronomy 4:15

Contemporary English Version

Moses said to Israel: When God spoke to you from the fire, he was invisible. So be careful

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Take therefore good heed to yourselves; for you saw no manner of form on the day that the LORD spoke to you in Horev out of the midst of the fire.

King James Version
Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:

Lexham English Bible
"So you must be very careful for yourselves, because you did not see any form on the day Yahweh spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire,

English Standard Version
"Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire,

New Century Version
Since the Lord spoke to you from the fire at Mount Sinai, but you did not see him, watch yourselves carefully!

New English Translation
Be very careful, then, because you saw no form at the time the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the middle of the fire.

Amplified Bible
"So pay attention and watch yourselves carefully—for you did not see any form [of God] on the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire—

New American Standard Bible
"So be very careful yourselves, since you did not see any form on the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire,

Geneva Bible (1587)
Take therefore good heede vnto your selues: for ye sawe no image in the day that the Lord spake vnto you in Horeb out of the middes of the fire:

Legacy Standard Bible
"So keep your souls very carefully, since you did not see any form on the day Yahweh spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire,

Complete Jewish Bible
"Therefore, watch out for yourselves! Since you did not see a shape of any kind on the day Adonai spoke to you in Horev from the fire,

Darby Translation
And take great heed to your souls (for ye saw no form on the day that Jehovah spoke to you in Horeb from the midst of the fire),

Easy-to-Read Version
"On the day the Lord spoke to you from the fire at Mount Horeb, you did not see him—there was no shape for God.

George Lamsa Translation
Take therefore good heed to yourselves; for you saw no manner of form on the day that the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire;

Good News Translation
"When the Lord spoke to you from the fire on Mount Sinai, you did not see any form. For your own good, then, make certain

Christian Standard Bible®
“Diligently watch yourselves—because you did not see any form on the day the Lord spoke to you out of the fire at Horeb—

Literal Translation
Therefore you shall carefully watch over your souls, for you have not seen any likeness in the day Jehovah spoke to you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Kepe well youre soules therfore, for ye sawe no maner of ymage, in the daye wha the LORDE spake vnto you out of the fyre vpon mount Horeb, that ye destroye not youre selues,

American Standard Version
Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of form on the day that Jehovah spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire;

Bible in Basic English
So keep watch on yourselves with care; for you saw no form of any sort on the day when the voice of the Lord came to you in Horeb out of the heart of the fire:

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Take therfore good heede vnto your selues as pertaynyng vnto your soules, (for ye sawe no maner of image in the day that the Lorde spake vnto you in Horeb, out of the middes of fire)

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves--for ye saw no manner of form on the day that the LORD spoke unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire--

King James Version (1611)
Take ye therfore good heed vnto your selues, (for ye saw no maner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake vnto you in Horeb, out of the midst of the fire)

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And take good heed to your hearts, for ye saw no similitude in the day in which the Lord spoke to you in Choreb in the mountain out of the midst of the fire:

English Revised Version
Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of form on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:

Berean Standard Bible
So since you saw no form of any kind on the day the LORD spoke to you out of the fire at Horeb, be careful

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor kepe ye bisili youre soulis; ye sien not ony licnesse in the dai in which the Lord spak to you in Oreb, fro the myddis of the fier;

Young's Literal Translation
and ye have been very watchful of your souls, for ye have not seen any similitude in the day of Jehovah's speaking unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire,

Update Bible Version
Therefore take good heed to yourselves; for you saw no manner of form on the day that Yahweh spoke to you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire.

Webster's Bible Translation
Take ye therefore good heed to yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day [that] the LORD spoke to you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire;

World English Bible
Take therefore good heed to yourselves; for you saw no manner of form on the day that Yahweh spoke to you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire.

New King James Version
"Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire,

New Living Translation
"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.

New Life Bible
"So watch yourselves and be careful. For you saw no body on the day the Lord spoke to you in the fire at Mount Sinai.

New Revised Standard
Since you saw no form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire, take care and watch yourselves closely,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Ye must take diligent heed, therefore unto your own souls, for ye saw no manner of form, on the day Yahweh spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire;

Douay-Rheims Bible
Keep therefore your souls carefully. You saw not any similitude in the day that the Lord God spoke to you in Horeb from the midst of the fire:

Revised Standard Version
"Therefore take good heed to yourselves. Since you saw no form on the day that the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire,

THE MESSAGE
You saw no form on the day God spoke to you at Horeb from out of the fire. Remember that. Carefully guard yourselves so that you don't turn corrupt and make a form, carving a figure that looks male or female, or looks like a prowling animal or a flying bird or a slithering snake or a fish in a stream. And also carefully guard yourselves so that you don't look up into the skies and see the sun and moon and stars, all the constellations of the skies, and be seduced into worshiping and serving them. God set them out for everybody's benefit, everywhere. But you— God took you right out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to become the people of his inheritance—and that's what you are this very day.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"So watch yourselves carefully, since you did not see any form on the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire,

Contextual Overview

¹ Moses said: Israel, listen to these laws and teachings! If you obey them, you will live, and you will go in and take the land that the Lord is giving you. He is the God your ancestors worshiped, ² and now he is your God. I am telling you everything he has commanded, so don't add anything or take anything away. ³ You saw how he killed everyone who worshiped the god Baal Peor. ⁴ But all of you that were faithful to the Lord your God are still alive today. ⁵No other nation has laws that are as fair as the ones the Lord my God told me to give you. If you faithfully obey them when you enter the land, you will show other nations how wise you are. In fact, everyone that hears about your laws will say, "That great nation certainly is wise!" And what makes us greater than other nations? We have a God who is close to us and answers our prayers. ⁹ You must be very careful not to forget the things you have seen God do for you. Keep reminding yourselves, and tell your children and grandchildren as well. ¹⁰ Do you remember the day you stood in the Lord 's presence at Mount Sinai? The Lord said, "Moses, bring the people of Israel here. I want to speak to them so they will obey me as long as they live, and so they will teach their children to obey me too." ¹¹ Mount Sinai was surrounded by deep dark clouds, and fire went up to the sky. You came to the foot of the mountain, ¹² and the Lord spoke to you from the fire. You could hear him and understand what he was saying, but you couldn't see him. ¹³ The Lord said he was making an agreement with you, and he told you that your part of the agreement is to obey the Ten Commandments. Then the Lord wrote these Commandments on two flat stones.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Take ye: Deuteronomy 4:9, Deuteronomy 4:23, Joshua 23:11, 1 Chronicles 28:9, 1 Chronicles 28:10, Psalms 119:9, Proverbs 4:23, Proverbs 4:27, Jeremiah 17:21, Malachi 2:15

of similitude: Deuteronomy 4:12, Isaiah 40:18, 2 Corinthians 4:4-6, Hebrews 1:3

Reciprocal: Exodus 20:4 - General Exodus 23:13 - be circumspect Exodus 32:1 - make Numbers 12:8 - similitude Deuteronomy 5:8 - graven image 2 Kings 10:31 - took no heed 2 Kings 17:12 - Ye shall not Isaiah 40:25 - General Luke 17:3 - heed Romans 1:23 - an image

Cross-References

Genesis 4:24
Anyone who tries to get even with me will be punished ten times more than anyone who tries to get even with Cain."

Leviticus 26:18
Then, if you still refuse to obey me, I will punish you seven times for each of your sins,

Leviticus 26:21
If you keep rebelling against me, I'll punish you seven times worse, just as your sins deserve!

Leviticus 26:24
I'll remain your enemy and punish you even worse.

Leviticus 26:28
I'll really get furious and punish you terribly for your sins!

Psalms 59:11
Don't kill them, or everyone may forget! Just use your mighty power to make them tremble and fall. You are a shield for your people.

Psalms 79:12
Each of those nations sneered at you, our Lord. Now let others sneer at them, seven times as much.

Proverbs 6:31
And thieves who get caught must pay back seven times what was stolen and lose everything.

Ezekiel 9:4
"Walk through the city of Jerusalem and mark the forehead of anyone who is truly upset and sad about the disgusting things that are being done here."

Hosea 1:4
Then the Lord said, "Hosea, name your son Jezreel, because I will soon punish the descendants of King Jehu of Israel for the murders he committed in Jezreel Valley. I will destroy his kingdom,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves,.... As to keep all the laws given them, so particularly to avoid idolatry:

for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire; and therefore, as they had nothing that directed and led them, so they had nothing that could be a temptation to them, to make any form or likeness, and worship it.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Deuteronomy 4:15. Ye saw no manner of similitude — Howsoever God chose to appear or manifest himself, he took care never to assume any describable form. He would have no image worship, because he is a SPIRIT, and they who worship him must worship him in Spirit and in truth. These outward things tend to draw the mind out of itself, and diffuse it on sensible, if not sensual, objects; and thus spiritual worship is prevented, and the Holy Ghost grieved. Persons acting in this way can never know much of the religion of the heart.