Deuteronomy 4:15-19

The Nature of Israel’s God

4:15 Be very careful, ¹  then, because you saw no form at the time the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the middle of the fire. 4:16 I say this ²  so you will not corrupt yourselves by making an image in the form of any kind of figure. This includes the likeness of a human male or female, 4:17 any kind of land animal, any bird that flies in the sky, 4:18 anything that crawls ³  on the ground, or any fish in the deep waters of the earth. ⁴  4:19 When you look up ⁵  to the sky ⁶  and see the sun, moon, and stars – the whole heavenly creation ⁷  – you must not be seduced to worship and serve them, ⁸  for the Lord your God has assigned ⁹  them to all the people ¹⁰  of the world. ¹¹ 

Exodus 20:4

20:4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image ¹²  or any likeness ¹³  of anything ¹⁴  that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water below. ¹⁵ 

[4:15]  ¹ tn Heb “give great care to your souls.”

[4:16]  ² tn The words “I say this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 16 is subordinated to “Be careful” in v. 15, but this makes for an unduly long sentence in English.

[4:18]  ³ tn Heb “creeping thing.”

[4:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “under the earth.”

[4:19]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[4:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “all the host of heaven.”

[4:19]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Or “allotted.”

[4:19]  ¹⁰ tn Or “nations.”

[4:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “under all the heaven.”

[20:4]  ¹² tn A פֶּסֶל (pesel) is an image that was carved out of wood or stone. The Law was concerned with a statue that would be made for the purpose of worship, an idol to be venerated, and not any ordinary statue.

[20:4]  ¹³ tn The word תְּמוּנָה (tÿmunah) refers to the mental pattern from which the פֶּסֶל (pesel) is constructed; it is a real or imagined resemblance. If this is to stand as a second object to the verb, then the verb itself takes a slightly different nuance here. It would convey “you shall not make an image, neither shall you conceive a form” for worship (B. Jacob, Exodus, 547). Some simply make the second word qualify the first: “you shall not make an idol in the form of…” (NIV).

[20:4]  ¹⁴ tn Here the phrase “of anything” has been supplied.

[20:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “under the earth” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).