Deuteronomy 4:9

Reminder of the Horeb Covenant

4:9 Again, however, pay very careful attention,¹ 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.

Deuteronomy 4:15

The Nature of Israel’s God

4:15 Be very careful,² then, because you saw no form at the time the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the middle of the fire.

Joshua 22:5

22:5 But carefully obey the commands and instructions Moses the Lord’s servant gave you. Love³ the Lord your God, follow all his instructions,⁴ obey⁵ his commands, be loyal to him,⁶ and serve him with all your heart and being!”⁷

Joshua 23:11

23:11 Watch yourselves carefully! Love the Lord your God!⁸

Joshua 23:1

Joshua Challenges Israel to be Faithful

23:1 A long time⁹ passed after the Lord made Israel secure from all their enemies,¹⁰ and Joshua was very old.¹¹

Joshua 1:7-9

1:7 Make sure you are¹² very strong and brave! Carefully obey¹³ all the law my servant Moses charged you to keep!¹⁴ Do not swerve from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful¹⁵ in all you do.¹⁶ 1:8 This law scroll must not leave your lips!¹⁷ You must memorize it¹⁸ day and night so you can carefully obey¹⁹ all that is written in it. Then you will prosper²⁰ and be successful.²¹ 1:9 I repeat,²² be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic,²³ for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do.”²⁴

Psalms 39:1

Psalm 39²⁵

For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David.

39:1 I decided,²⁶ “I will watch what I say

and make sure I do not sin with my tongue.²⁷

I will put a muzzle over my mouth

while in the presence of an evil man.”²⁸

Ephesians 5:15

Live Wisely

5:15 Therefore be very careful how you live – not as unwise but as wise,

Ephesians 5:1

Live in Love

5:1 Therefore, be²⁹ imitators of God as dearly loved children

Ephesians 4:16

4:16 From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together³⁰ through every supporting ligament.³¹ As each one does its part, the body grows in love.

Hebrews 12:15

12:15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, that no one be like a bitter root springing up³² and causing trouble, and through him many become defiled.

¹tn Heb “watch yourself and watch your soul carefully.”

²tn Heb “give great care to your souls.”

³tn Heb “But be very careful to do the commandment and the law which Moses, the Lord’s servant, commanded you, to love.”

⁴tn Heb “walk in all his paths.”

⁵tn Or “keep.”

⁶tn Heb “hug him.”

⁷tn Or “soul.”

⁴tn Heb “Watch carefully yourselves so as to love the Lord your God.”

⁵tn Heb “many days.”

⁶tn Heb “the Lord had given rest to Israel from their enemies all around.”

⁷tn Heb “was old, coming into the days.” This expression, referring to advancing in years, also occurs in the following verse.

⁶tn Or “Only be.”

⁷tn Heb “so you can be careful to do.” The use of the infinitive לִשְׁמֹר (lishmor, “to keep”) after the imperatives suggests that strength and bravery will be necessary for obedience. Another option is to take the form לִשְׁמֹר as a vocative lamed (ל) with imperative (see Isa 38:20 for an example of this construction), which could be translated, “Indeed, be careful!”

⁸tn Heb “commanded you.”

⁹tn Heb “be wise,” but the word can mean “be successful” by metonymy.

¹⁰tn Heb “in all which you go.”

⁷tn Heb “mouth.”

⁸tn Heb “read it in undertones,” or “recite it quietly” (see HALOT 1:237).

⁹tn Heb “be careful to do.”

¹⁰tn Heb “you will make your way prosperous.”

¹¹tn Heb “and be wise,” but the word can mean “be successful” by metonymy.

⁸tn Heb “Have I not commanded you?” The rhetorical question emphasizes the importance of the following command by reminding the listener that it is being repeated.

⁹tn Or perhaps, “don’t get discouraged!”

¹⁰tn Heb “in all which you go.”

⁹sn Psalm 39. The psalmist laments his frailty and mortality as he begs the Lord to take pity on him and remove his disciplinary hand.

¹⁰tn Heb “I said.”

¹¹tn Heb “I will watch my ways, from sinning with my tongue.”

¹²sn The psalmist wanted to voice a lament to the Lord (see vv. 4-6), but he hesitated to do so in the presence of evil men, for such words might be sinful if they gave the wicked an occasion to insult God. See C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms (ICC), 1:345.

¹⁰tn Or “become.”

¹¹tn The Greek participle συμβιβαζόμενον (sumbibazomenon) translated “held together” also has in different contexts, the idea of teaching implied in it.

¹²tn Grk “joint of supply.”

¹²tn Grk “that there not be any root of bitterness,” but referring figuratively to a person who causes trouble (as in Deut 29:17 [LXX] from which this is quoted).