2 Kings 17:16

17:16 They abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God; they made two metal calves and an Asherah pole, bowed down to all the stars in the sky, ¹  and worshiped ²  Baal.

2 Kings 23:4

23:4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the high-ranking priests, ³  and the guards ⁴  to bring out of the Lord’s temple all the items that were used in the worship of ⁵  Baal, Asherah, and all the stars of the sky. ⁶  The king ⁷  burned them outside of Jerusalem in the terraces ⁸  of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. ⁹ 

Deuteronomy 4:19

4:19 When you look up ¹⁰  to the sky ¹¹  and see the sun, moon, and stars – the whole heavenly creation ¹²  – you must not be seduced to worship and serve them, ¹³  for the Lord your God has assigned ¹⁴  them to all the people ¹⁵  of the world. ¹⁶ 

Deuteronomy 17:3

17:3 by serving other gods and worshiping them – the sun, ¹⁷  moon, or any other heavenly bodies which I have not permitted you to worship. ¹⁸ 

Deuteronomy 17:2

17:2 Suppose a man or woman is discovered among you – in one of your villages ¹⁹  that the Lord your God is giving you – who sins before the Lord your God ²⁰  and breaks his covenant

Deuteronomy 33:3-5

33:3 Surely he loves the people; ²¹ 

all your holy ones ²²  are in your power. ²³ 

And they sit ²⁴  at your feet,

each receiving ²⁵  your words.

33:4 Moses delivered to us a law, ²⁶ 

an inheritance for the assembly of Jacob.

33:5 The Lord ²⁷  was king over Jeshurun, ²⁸ 

when the leaders of the people assembled,

the tribes of Israel together. ²⁹ 

Job 31:26

31:26 if I looked at the sun ³⁰  when it was shining,

and the moon advancing as a precious thing,

[17:16]  ¹ tn The phrase כָל צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם (khol tsÿva’ hashamayim), traditionally translated “all the host of heaven,” refers to the heavenly lights, including stars and planets. In 1 Kgs 22:19 these heavenly bodies are pictured as members of the Lord’s royal court or assembly, but many other texts view them as the illegitimate objects of pagan and Israelite worship.

[17:16]  ² tn Or “served.”

[23:4]  ³ tn Heb “the priests of the second [rank],” that is, those ranked just beneath Hilkiah.

[23:4]  ⁴ tn Or “doorkeepers.”

[23:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “for.”

[23:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “all the host of heaven” (also in v. 5).

[23:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:4]  ⁸ tn Or “fields.” For a defense of the translation “terraces,” see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 285.

[23:4]  ⁹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[4:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “lest you lift up your eyes.” In the Hebrew text vv. 16-19 are subordinated to “Be careful” in v. 15, but this makes for an unduly long sentence in English.

[4:19]  ¹¹ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[4:19]  ¹² tn Heb “all the host of heaven.”

[4:19]  ¹³ tn In the Hebrew text the verbal sequence in v. 19 is “lest you look up…and see…and be seduced…and worship them…and serve them.” However, the first two actions are not prohibited in and of themselves. The prohibition pertains to the final three actions. The first two verbs describe actions that are logically subordinate to the following actions and can be treated as temporal or circumstantial: “lest, looking up…and seeing…, you are seduced.” See Joüon 2:635 §168.h.

[4:19]  ¹⁴ tn Or “allotted.”

[4:19]  ¹⁵ tn Or “nations.”

[4:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “under all the heaven.”

[17:3]  ¹⁷ tc The MT reads “and to the sun,” thus including the sun, the moon, and other heavenly spheres among the gods. However, Theodotion and Lucian read “or to the sun,” suggesting perhaps that the sun and the other heavenly bodies are not in the category of actual deities.

[17:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “which I have not commanded you.” The words “to worship” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[17:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “gates.”

[17:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “does the evil in the eyes of the Lord your God.”

[33:3]  ²¹ tc Heb “peoples.” The apparent plural form is probably a misunderstood singular (perhaps with a pronominal suffix) with enclitic mem (ם). See HALOT 838 s.v. עַם B.2.

[33:3]  ²² tc Heb “his holy ones.” The third person masculine singular suffix of the Hebrew MT is problematic in light of the second person masculine singular suffix on בְּיָדֶךָ (bÿyadekha, “your hands”). The LXX versions by Lucian and Origen read, therefore, “the holy ones.” The LXX version by Theodotion and the Vulgate, however, presuppose third masculine singular suffix on בְּיָדָיו (bÿyadayv, “his hands”), and thus retain “his holy ones.” The efforts to bring pronominal harmony into the line is commendable but unnecessary given the Hebrew tendency to be untroubled by such grammatical inconsistencies. However, the translation harmonizes the first pronoun with the second so that the referent (the Lord) is clear.

[33:3]  ²³ tn Heb “hands.” For the problem of the pronoun see note on the term “holy ones” earlier in this verse.

[33:3]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew term תֻּכּוּ (tuku, probably Pual perfect of תָּכָה, takhah) is otherwise unknown. The present translation is based on the reference to feet and, apparently, receiving instruction in God’s words (cf. KJV, ASV). Other options are as follows: NIV “At your feet they all bow down” (cf. NCV, CEV); NLT “They follow in your steps” (cf. NAB, NASB); NRSV “they marched at your heels.”

[33:3]  ²⁵ tn The singular verbal form in the Hebrew text (lit. “he lifts up”) is understood in a distributive manner, focusing on the action of each individual within the group.

[33:4]  ²⁶ tn The Hebrew term תּוֹרָה (torah) here should be understood more broadly as instruction.

[33:5]  ²⁷ tn Heb “he was king.” The present translation avoids the sudden shift in person and the mistaken impression that Moses is the referent by specifying the referent as “the Lord.”

[33:5]  ²⁸ sn Jeshurun is a term of affection referring to Israel, derived from the Hebrew verb יָשַׁר (yashar, “be upright”). See note on the term in Deut 32:15.

[33:5]  ²⁹ sn The following blessing is given to the tribes in order, although the tribe of Simeon is curiously missing from the list.

[31:26]  ³⁰ tn Heb “light”; but parallel to the moon it is the sun. This section speaks of false worship of the sun and the moon.