Deuteronomy 4:23
in Deuteronomy 4Be 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 4
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Be careful that you do not forget the covenant
on Deuteronomy 4:23-24
Forgetting returns at verse 23, and what could be forgotten is the covenant itself. Jealous is the word God used of himself in the second commandment at Exodus 20:5, and the fire that spoke at Horeb in verse 12 is said to be what he is. Hebrews 12:29 closes an argument about "an unshakable kingdom" by carrying verse 24 over as "For our God is a consuming fire."
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), Take heed to yourselves. Those that would be religious must be very cautious, and walk circumspectly. Considering how many temptations we are compassed about with, and what corrupt inclinations we have in our own bosoms, we have great need to look about us and to keep our hearts with all diligence.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Take heed unto yourselves,....
But, upon the whole, it is evident that religion has reason on its side, the powerful charms of which all that are irreligious wilfully stop their ears against. (1.) He urges the greatness, glory, and goodness, of God. Did we consider what a God he is with whom we have to do, we should surely make conscience of our duty to him and not dare to sin against him.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִשָּׁמְר֣וּ | hishameru | take heed | H8104 → | 468 times |
| לָכֶ֗ם | lakhem | to yourselves | ||
| פֶּֽן־ | pen- | lest | H6435 → | 133 times |
| תִּשְׁכְּחוּ֙ | tishkechu | you should forget | H7911 → | 102 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּרִ֤ית | berit | [the] covenant of | H1285 → | 284 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹ֣הֵיכֶ֔ם | ʾeloheikhem | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| כָּרַ֖ת | karat | he has made | H3772 → | 288 times |
| עִמָּכֶ֑ם | ʾimakhem | with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֨ם | vaasitem | and you will make | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָכֶ֥ם | lakhem | for yourselves | ||
| פֶּ֙סֶל֙ | pesel | an image | H6459 → | 31 times |
| תְּמ֣וּנַת | temunat | a form of | H8544 → | 10 times |
| כֹּ֔ל | kol | anything | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| צִוְּךָ֖ | tzivekha | he commanded you | H6680 → | 494 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
הִשָּׁמְר֣וּtake heed
hishameruH8104 →468 times
לָכֶ֗םto yourselves
lakhem
פֶּֽן־lest
pen-H6435 →133 times
תִּשְׁכְּחוּ֙you should forget
tishkechuH7911 →102 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּרִ֤ית[the] covenant of
beritH1285 →284 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹ֣הֵיכֶ֔םGod your
ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
כָּרַ֖תhe has made
karatH3772 →288 times
עִמָּכֶ֑םwith you
ʾimakhemH5973 →1050 times
וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֨םand you will make
vaasitemH6213 →2628 times
לָכֶ֥םfor yourselves
lakhem
פֶּ֙סֶל֙an image
peselH6459 →31 times
תְּמ֣וּנַתa form of
temunatH8544 →10 times
כֹּ֔לanything
kolH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
צִוְּךָ֖he commanded you
tzivekhaH6680 →494 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃God your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 4:9Only 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…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 6:7
And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
- Deuteronomy 11:19
Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
- Psalms 78:3–8
that we have heard and known and our fathers have relayed to us.
- Genesis 18:19
For I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, in order that…
- Deuteronomy 32:46
he said to them, “Take to heart all these words I testify among you today, so that you may command your children to carefully follow all the words of this law.
- Deuteronomy 6:7
Through
Matthew 24:4Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you.
it leads to
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3
Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed.
- 1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.
- Jeremiah 29:8
For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Do not be deceived by the prophets and diviners among you, and do not listen to the dreams you elicit from…
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Sir Robert Anderson, Types in Hebrews.