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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Deuteronomy 4:23

So stay alert. Don't for a minute forget the covenant which God , your God, made with you. And don't take up with any carved images, no forms of any kind— God , your God, issued clear commands on that. God , your God, is not to be trifled with—he's a consuming fire, a jealous God.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Afflictions and Adversities;   Forgetting God;   Idol;   Idolatry;   Obedience;   Watchfulness;   The Topic Concordance - Alertness;   Covenant;   Idolatry;   Last Days;   Perishing;   Remembrance;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Church of Israel;   Covenant, the;   Forgetting God;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Forgiveness;   Israel;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Polytheism;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Baptism of Fire;   Deuteronomy, the Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Deuteronomy;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Forbid;   Forget;   Form;   Heed;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Ethics;   Holiness;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you an engraved image in the form of anything which the LORD your God has forbidden you.
King James Version
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.
Lexham English Bible
Watch out for yourselves so that you do not forget the covenant of Yahweh your God that he had made with you and make for yourselves a divine image of the form of anything that Yahweh your God has forbidden,
English Standard Version
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.
New Century Version
Be careful. Don't forget the Agreement of the Lord your God that he made with you, and don't make any idols for yourselves, as the Lord your God has commanded you not to do.
New English Translation
Be on guard so that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he has made with you, and that you do not make an image of any kind, just as he has forbidden you.
Amplified Bible
"So be on your guard and watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He has made with you, and make for yourselves a carved or sculpted image in the form of anything which the LORD your God has forbidden you.
New American Standard Bible
"So be careful yourselves, that you do not 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 against which the LORD your God has commanded you.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Take heede vnto your selues, least ye forget the couenant of the Lorde your God which hee made with you, and least ye make you any grauen image, or likenes of any thing, as the Lorde thy God hath charged thee.
Legacy Standard Bible
So keep yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of Yahweh your God which He cut with you and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which Yahweh your God has commanded you.
Contemporary English Version
Always remember the agreement that the Lord your God made with you, and don't make an idol in any shape or form.
Complete Jewish Bible
Watch out for yourselves, so that you won't forget the covenant of Adonai your God, which he made with you, and make yourself a carved image, a representation of anything forbidden to you by Adonai your God.
Darby Translation
Take heed to yourselves lest ye forget the covenant of Jehovah your God, which he made with you, and make yourselves a graven image, the form of anything which Jehovah thy God hath forbidden thee.
Easy-to-Read Version
You must be careful not to forget the agreement that the Lord your God made with you. You must obey the Lord 's command. Don't make any idols in any form,
George Lamsa Translation
Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and corrupt yourselves, and make for yourselves images, or the likeness of anything, which the LORD your God has forbidden you.
Good News Translation
Be certain that you do not forget the covenant that the Lord your God made with you. Obey his command not to make yourselves any kind of idol,
Christian Standard Bible®
Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you, and make an idol for yourselves in the shape of anything he has forbidden you.
Literal Translation
Be on guard for yourselves, that you not forget the covenant of Jehovah your God, which He has made with you, and make to yourselves a graven image, a likeness of anything which Jehovah your God has forbidden you.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Take hede therfore vnto youre selues, that ye forget not the conuenaunt of the LORDE youre God, and that ye make no ymages of eny maner of faßhion as the LORDE thy God hath commaunded.
American Standard Version
Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of Jehovah your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image in the form of anything which Jehovah thy God hath forbidden thee.
Bible in Basic English
Take care that you do not let the agreement of the Lord your God, which he has made with you, go out of your mind, or make for yourselves images of any sort, against the orders which the Lord your God has given you.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Take heede vnto your selues, that ye forget not ye appoyntment of the Lorde your God which he made with you, & that ye make you no grauen image or likenesse that the Lorde thy God hath forbidden thee.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
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, even the likeness of any thing which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee.
King James Version (1611)
Take heed vnto your selues, lest ye forget the couenant of the Lord your God, which hee made with you, and make you a grauen image, or the likenes of any thing which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Take heed to yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord our God, which he made with you, and ye transgress, and make to yourselves a graven image of any of the things concerning which the Lord thy God commanded thee.
English Revised Version
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 in the form of any thing which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee.
Berean Standard Bible
Be careful that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God that He made with you; do not make an idol for yourselves in the form of anything He has forbidden you.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Be thou war, lest ony tyme thou foryete the couenaunt of thi Lord God, which he made with thee, and lest thou make to thee a grauun licness of tho thingis whiche the Lord forbeed to make.
Young's Literal Translation
`Take heed to yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of Jehovah your God, which He hath made with you, and have made to yourselves a graven image, a similitude of anything [concerning] which Jehovah thy God hath charged thee:
Update Bible Version
Take heed to yourselves, or else you will forget the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he made with you, and make a graven image in the form of anything which Yahweh your God has forbidden you.
Webster's Bible Translation
Take heed to 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.
World English Bible
Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he made with you, and make you an engraved image in the form of anything which Yahweh your God has forbidden you.
New King James Version
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
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.
New Life Bible
So watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the agreement the Lord your God made with you, or make a false god for yourselves that looks like something which the Lord your God has told you not to do.
New Revised Standard
So be careful not to forget the covenant that the Lord your God made with you, and not to make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Take heed to yourselves lest ye forget the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he hath solemnised with you, - and so make for yourselves an image, the form of anything, the which Yahweh thy God hath forbidden thee;
Douay-Rheims Bible
Beware lest thou ever forget the covenant of the Lord thy God, which he hath made with thee: and make to thyself a graven likeness of those things which the Lord hath forbid to be made:
Revised Standard Version
Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make a graven image in the form of anything which the LORD your God has forbidden you.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"So watch yourselves, that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which the LORD your God has commanded you.

Contextual Overview

1Now listen, Israel, listen carefully to the rules and regulations that I am teaching you to follow so that you may live and enter and take possession of the land that God , the God-of-Your-Fathers, is giving to you. Don't add a word to what I command you, and don't remove a word from it. Keep the commands of God , your God, that I am commanding you. 3You saw with your own eyes what God did at Baal Peor, how God destroyed from among you every man who joined in the Baal Peor orgies. But you, the ones who held tight to God , your God, are alive and well, every one of you, today. 5Pay attention: I'm teaching you the rules and regulations that God commanded me, so that you may live by them in the land you are entering to take up ownership. Keep them. Practice them. You'll become wise and understanding. When people hear and see what's going on, they'll say, "What a great nation! So wise, so understanding! We've never seen anything like it." 7Yes. What other great nation has gods that are intimate with them the way God , our God, is with us, always ready to listen to us? And what other great nation has rules and regulations as good and fair as this Revelation that I'm setting before you today? 9 Just make sure you stay alert. Keep close watch over yourselves. Don't forget anything of what you've seen. Don't let your heart wander off. Stay vigilant as long as you live. Teach what you've seen and heard to your children and grandchildren. 10 That day when you stood before God , your God, at Horeb, God said to me, "Assemble the people in my presence to listen to my words so that they will learn to fear me in holy fear for as long as they live on the land, and then they will teach these same words to their children." 11You gathered. You stood in the shadow of the mountain. The mountain was ablaze with fire, blazing high into the very heart of Heaven. You stood in deep darkness and thick clouds. God spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but you saw nothing—no form, only a voice. He announced his covenant, the Ten Words, by which he commanded you to live. Then he wrote them down on two slabs of stone. 14 And God commanded me at that time to teach you the rules and regulations that you are to live by in the land which you are crossing over the Jordan to possess. 15You 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. 21But God was angry with me because of you and the things you said. He swore that I'd never cross the Jordan, never get to enter the good land that God , your God, is giving you as an inheritance. This means that I am going to die here. I'm not crossing the Jordan. But you will cross; you'll possess the good land.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

heed: Deuteronomy 4:9, Deuteronomy 4:15, Deuteronomy 4:16, Deuteronomy 27:9, Joshua 23:11, Matthew 24:4, Luke 12:15, Luke 21:8, Hebrews 3:12

lest ye forget: Deuteronomy 6:12, Deuteronomy 29:25, Deuteronomy 31:20, Joshua 23:16, 1 Chronicles 16:15, Isaiah 24:5, Jeremiah 31:22, Ezekiel 16:59

make you: Deuteronomy 4:16, Exodus 20:4, Exodus 20:5

Reciprocal: Exodus 6:6 - redeem Deuteronomy 5:2 - General Deuteronomy 8:5 - consider Deuteronomy 11:16 - Take heed Deuteronomy 17:2 - in transgressing Deuteronomy 29:1 - beside the 2 Kings 10:31 - took no heed 2 Kings 17:12 - Ye shall not 2 Kings 17:35 - charged them 2 Kings 17:38 - ye shall not forget 2 Kings 22:13 - great 2 Chronicles 7:19 - shall go Psalms 103:18 - remember Proverbs 3:1 - forget Isaiah 44:21 - Remember Jeremiah 17:21 - Take Jeremiah 21:5 - with an Luke 17:3 - heed 2 Corinthians 6:16 - what Hebrews 2:1 - the more

Cross-References

Exodus 20:13
No murder.
Leviticus 19:18
"Don't seek revenge or carry a grudge against any of your people. "Love your neighbor as yourself. I am God .
Judges 9:7
When this was all told to Jotham, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim, raised his voice, and shouted: Listen to me, leaders of Shechem. And let God listen to you! The trees set out one day to anoint a king for themselves. They said to Olive Tree, "Rule over us." But Olive Tree told them, "Am I no longer good for making oil That gives glory to gods and men, and to be demoted to waving over trees?"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Take heed unto yourselves,.... Since he should not be long with them, to advise, instruct, and caution them:

lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you; what that required of them, and what was promised unto them on the performance of it, and what they must expect should they break it, and particularly be so forgetful of it, and the first articles in it, as follows:

and make you a graven image, or the likeness of anything which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee; a graven image in the likeness of men or women, of any beast on the earth, or fowl in heaven, or fish in the sea.


 
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