Limitless Word

Deuteronomy 11:16

But be careful that you are not enticed to turn aside to worship and bow down to other gods,
Deuteronomy 11:16 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Be careful, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
  • KJV Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
  • NKJV “Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them,
  • NASB Beware that your hearts are not easily deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods, and worship them.
  • NLT “But be careful. Don’t let your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the Lord and serve and worship other gods.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Moses warns them to guard their hearts against being deceived into serving other gods. Prosperity can tempt the heart toward idolatry.

Overview

Amid promised abundance, Moses cautions that the heart can be enticed away to false worship. He locates the danger inwardly, in deception that leads to idolatry. The warning underscores the need for vigilant hearts, ultimately kept faithful by God's grace in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 20

  • Heb 3:12See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God.
  • Job 31:27so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,
  • Heb 2:1We must pay closer attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
  • Deut 29:18Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations. Make sure there is no root among you that bears such poisonous and bitter fruit,
  • Jas 1:26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.
  • Deut 30:17But if your heart turns away and you do not listen, but are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them,
  • Deut 8:19If you ever forget the LORD your God and go after other gods to worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish.
  • 1 Jn 5:21Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
  • Isa 44:20He feeds on ashes. His deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”
  • Deut 4:23Be 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.
  • Luke 21:34But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.
  • Rev 20:4Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
  • Rev 13:14Because of the signs it was given to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived those who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image to the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived.
  • Luke 21:8Jesus answered, “See to it that you are not deceived. For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.
  • Deut 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 you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren.
  • Heb 12:15See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God, and that no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many.
  • Luke 21:36So keep watch at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”
  • Heb 4:1Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be deemed to have fallen short of it.
  • Rev 12:9And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
  • Deut 13:3you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. For the LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Deuteronomy videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Deuteronomy 11:16YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on DeuteronomyMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).

How Deuteronomy 11:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.