Deuteronomy 4:9

THE MESSAGE

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.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Only take heed to yourself, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your children and your children's children;

King James Version
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;

Lexham English Bible
"However, take care for yourself and watch your inner self closely, so that you do not forget the things that your eyes have seen, so that they do not slip from your mind all the days of your life; and you shall make them known to your children and to your grandchildren.

English Standard Version
"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—

New Century Version
But be careful! Watch out and don't forget the things you have seen. Don't forget them as long as you live, but teach them to your children and grandchildren.

New English Translation
Again, however, pay very careful attention, lest you forget the things you have seen and disregard them for the rest of your life; instead teach them to your children and grandchildren.

Amplified Bible
"Only pay attention and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your grandchildren [impressing these things on their mind and penetrating their heart with these truths]—

New American Standard Bible
"Only be careful for yourself and watch over your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.

Geneva Bible (1587)
But take heede to thy selfe, and keepe thy soule diligently, that thou forget not the thinges which thine eyes haue seene, and that they depart not out of thine heart, all the dayes of thy life: but teach them thy sonnes, and thy sonnes sonnes:

Legacy Standard Bible
"Only keep yourself and keep your soul very carefully, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. But make them known to your sons and to your grandsons.

Contemporary English Version
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.

Complete Jewish Bible
Only be careful, and watch yourselves diligently as long as you live, so that you won't forget what you saw with your own eyes, so that these things won't vanish from your hearts. Rather, make them known to your children and grandchildren —

Darby Translation
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things that thine eyes have seen (and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but thou shalt make them known to thy sons and to thy sons' sons),

Easy-to-Read Version
But you must be careful! Be sure that as long as you live you never forget what you have seen. You must teach these things to your children and grandchildren.

George Lamsa Translation
Only take heed for yourselves, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but declare them to your children and your childrens children.

Good News Translation
Be on your guard! Make certain that you do not forget, as long as you live, what you have seen with your own eyes. Tell your children and your grandchildren

Christian Standard Bible®
“Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you don’t forget the things your eyes have seen and so that they don’t slip from your mind as long as you live. Teach them to your children and your grandchildren.

Literal Translation
Only, be on guard for yourself and keep your soul carefully, that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen; and that they not depart from your heart all the days of your life. And you shall make them known to your sons, and to your sons' sons.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Take hede to thy selfe now, and kepe well thy soule, that thou forget not the thinges which thine eyes haue sene, and that they departe not out of thy hert all the dayes of thy life. And thou shalt teach them thy children and thy childers children,

American Standard Version
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes saw, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but make them known unto thy children and thy children's children;

Bible in Basic English
Only take care, and keep watch on your soul, for fear that the things which your eyes have seen go from your memory and from your heart all the days of your life; but let the knowledge of them be given to your children and to your children's children;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Take heede to thy selfe therefore, and kepe thy soule diligently, that thou forget not the thynges which thyne eyes haue seene, and that they depart not out of thy heart all the dayes of thy life: but teache them thy sonnes, & thy sonnes sonnes.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes saw, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but make them known unto thy children and thy children's children;

King James Version (1611)
Onely take heed to thy selfe, and keepe thy soule diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes haue seene, and lest they depart from thy heart all the dayes of thy life: but teach them thy sonnes, & thy sonnes sonnes:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Take heed to thyself, and keep thy heart diligently: forget not any of the things, which thine eyes have seen, and let them not depart from thine heart all the days of thy life; and thou shalt teach thy sons and thy sons’ sons,

English Revised Version
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes saw, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but make them known unto thy children and thy children's children;

Berean Standard Bible
Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen, and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor kepe thi silf, and thi soule bisili; foryete thou not the wordis whiche thin iyen sien, and falle tho not doun fro thin herte, in alle the daies of thi lijf. Thou schalt teche tho thi sones and thi sones sones.

Young's Literal Translation
`Only, take heed to thyself, and watch thy soul exceedingly, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they turn aside from thy heart, all days of thy life; and thou hast made them known to thy sons, and to thy sons' sons.

Update Bible Version
Only you be careful and keep your soul diligently, or else you will forget the things which your eyes saw, and they will depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and the sons of your sons;

Webster's Bible Translation
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou shouldst forget the things which thy eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them to thy sons, and thy sons' sons:

World English Bible
Only take heed to yourself, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your children and your children's children;

New King James Version
Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren,

New Living Translation
"But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.

New Life Bible
"Only be careful. Keep watch over your life. Or you might forget the things you have seen. Do not let them leave your heart for the rest of your life. But teach them to your children and to your grandchildren.

New Revised Standard
But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children's children—

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Only take thou heed to thyself and keep thy soul diligently, so that thou forget not the things which thine own eyes have seen, and so that they go not out of thy heart, all the days of thy life, - but thou shalt make them known unto thy sons and unto thy son's sons: -

Douay-Rheims Bible
Keep thyself therefore, and thy soul carefully. Forget not the words that thy eyes have seen, and let them not go out of thy heart all the days of thy life. Thou shalt teach them to thy sons and to thy grandsons,

Revised Standard Version
"Only take heed, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which 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--

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.

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

keep thy soul: Deuteronomy 4:15, Deuteronomy 4:23, Proverbs 3:1, Proverbs 3:3, Proverbs 4:20-23, Luke 8:18, Hebrews 2:3, James 2:22

lest they: Joshua 1:18, Psalms 119:11, Proverbs 3:1-3, Proverbs 3:21, Proverbs 4:4, Proverbs 7:1, Hebrews 2:1, Revelation 3:3

teach them: Deuteronomy 6:7, Deuteronomy 11:19, Deuteronomy 29:29, Deuteronomy 31:19, Genesis 18:19, Exodus 13:8, Exodus 13:9, Exodus 13:14-16, Joshua 4:6, Joshua 4:7, Joshua 4:21, Psalms 34:11-16, Psalms 71:18, Psalms 78:3-8, Proverbs 1:8, Proverbs 4:1-13, Proverbs 23:26, Isaiah 38:19, Ephesians 6:4

Reciprocal: Exodus 10:2 - And that Exodus 19:4 - seen Exodus 19:12 - Take Exodus 23:13 - be circumspect Deuteronomy 4:16 - corrupt Deuteronomy 8:5 - consider Deuteronomy 11:16 - Take heed Deuteronomy 15:5 - General Joshua 22:5 - take Joshua 23:3 - And ye Joshua 23:11 - Take good Psalms 78:4 - We will Psalms 78:7 - not forget Psalms 111:4 - He hath Psalms 119:4 - General Proverbs 4:23 - Keep Proverbs 22:6 - a child Isaiah 42:20 - Seeing Isaiah 44:21 - Remember Jeremiah 17:21 - Take Luke 17:3 - heed Galatians 3:19 - It was added Hebrews 3:9 - and Hebrews 12:5 - ye have forgotten Hebrews 12:15 - Looking

Cross-References

Genesis 4:9
God said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "How should I know? Am I his babysitter?"

Genesis 4:13
Cain said to God , "My punishment is too much. I can't take it! You've thrown me off the land and I can never again face you. I'm a homeless wanderer on Earth and whoever finds me will kill me."

Proverbs 28:13
You can't whitewash your sins and get by with it; you find mercy by admitting and leaving them.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Only take heed to thyself,.... To walk according to this law, and not swerve from it:

and keep thy soul diligently; from the transgressions and breaches of it:

lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen; either the statutes and judgments set before them, and the circumstances of the delivery of them; or the punishment inflicted on the breakers of them; or the favours bestowed on those that observed them:

and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; out of thy mind and memory, and have no place in thy affections, through a neglect and disuse of them:

but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons; their children and grandchildren, that they may be trained up in them in their youth, and so not depart from them when grown up, and in years; see Deuteronomy 6:7.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A full stop should end Deuteronomy 4:9; and Deuteronomy 4:10 begin, At the time that thou stoodest, etc. Deuteronomy 4:11 then ye came near, etc. Moses, exhorting to heedful observance of the Law, strives to renew the impressions of that tremendous scene which attended its promulgation at Sinai.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Deuteronomy 4:9. Only take heed to thyself — Be circumspect and watchful.

Keep thy soul diligently — Be mindful of thy eternal interests. Whatever becomes of the body, take care of the soul.

Lest thou forget — God does his work that they may be had in everlasting remembrance; and he that forgets them, forgets his own mercies. Besides, if a man forget the work of God on his soul, he loses that work.

Lest they depart from thy heart — It is not sufficient to lay up Divine things in the memory, they must be laid up in the heart. Thy word have I hidden in my heart, says David, that I might not sin against thee. The life of God in the soul of man can alone preserve the soul to life everlasting; and this grace must be retained all the days of our life. When Adam fell, his condition was not meliorated by the reflection that he had been once in paradise; nor does it avail Satan now that he was once an angel of light. Those who let the grace of God depart from their hearts, lose that grace; and those who lose the grace, fall from the grace; and as some have fallen and risen no more, so may others; therefore, take heed to thyself, c. Were it impossible for men finally to fall from the grace of God, exhortations of this kind had never been given, because they would have been unnecessary, and God never does an unnecessary thing.

But teach them thy sons — If a man know the worth of his own soul, he will feel the importance of the salvation of the souls of his family. Those who neglect family religion, neglect personal religion if more attention were paid to the former, even among those called religious people, we should soon have a better state of civil society. On family religion God lays much stress; and no head of a family can neglect it without endangering the final salvation of his own soul. Genesis 18:32; Genesis 18:32, and Genesis 19:38; Genesis 19:38, and Deuteronomy 6:7; Deuteronomy 6:7.