Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:
Parallel translations
- WEB Be very careful, for you saw no kind of form on the day that Yahweh spoke to you in Horeb out of the middle of the fire,
- BSB So since you saw no form of any kind on the day the LORD spoke to you out of the fire at Horeb, be careful
- NKJV “Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire,
- NASB “So be very careful yourselves, since you did not see any form on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire,
- NLT “But be very careful! You did not see the Lord’s form on the day he spoke to you from the heart of the fire at Mount Sinai.
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
Since they saw no form at Horeb, Israel must guard against making images. It draws the practical lesson from God's formless self-revelation.
Overview
Because no form was seen when God spoke, Israel has no warrant to represent Him by any image. This careful reasoning protects the worship of the invisible God from idolatry. It guards the truth that God is known rightly through His word, not through human craftsmanship.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- 2 Cor 4:4–6In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
- Deut 4:12And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.
- Isa 40:18To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
- Mal 2:15And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
- Heb 1:3Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
- Josh 23:11Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God.
- Deut 4:9Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;
- Ps 119:9Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
- Prov 4:27Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
- Prov 4:23Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
- 1 Chr 28:9–10And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
- Jer 17:21Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;
- Deut 4:23Take 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.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 4:15 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
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