and lest you lift up your eyes to the sky, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the army of the sky, you are drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which Yahweh your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole sky.
Parallel Translations
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and lest you lift up your eyes to the sky, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the army of the sky, you are drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which Yahweh your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole sky.
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And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
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and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven, thou be drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath allotted unto all the peoples under the whole heaven.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Commandments (1)
The laws of the Torah, each cited and shown as a primary source.
Cross-references (23)
Passages linked to Deuteronomy 4:19 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Romans 1:25 who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
- Deuteronomy 17:3 and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the stars of the sky, which I have not commanded,
- 2 Kings 21:3 For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he raised up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel did, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served them.
- Genesis 1:16-18 God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.
- Genesis 2:1 The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished.
- 2 Kings 17:16 They abandoned all the commandments of Yahweh their God, and made molten images for themselves, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served Baal.
- Joshua 10:12-13 Then Joshua spoke to Yahweh in the day when Yahweh delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel. He said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still on Gibeon! You, moon, stop in the valley of Aijalon!” The sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies. Isn’t this written in the book of Jashar? The sun stayed in the middle of the sky, and didn’t hurry to go down about a whole day.
- Nehemiah 9:6 You are Yahweh, even you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their army, the earth and all things that are on it, the seas and all that is in them, and you preserve them all. The army of heaven worships you.
- Psalms 148:3-5 Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you heavens of heavens, you waters that are above the heavens. Let them praise Yahweh’s name, for he commanded, and they were created.
- Psalms 74:16-17 The day is yours, the night is also yours. You have prepared the light and the sun. You have set all the boundaries of the earth. You have made summer and winter.
- Psalms 136:7-9 to him who made the great lights; for his loving kindness endures forever: the sun to rule by day; for his loving kindness endures forever; the moon and stars to rule by night; for his loving kindness endures forever:
- Jeremiah 33:25 Yahweh says: “If my covenant of day and night fails, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;
- Amos 5:25-26 “Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, house of Israel? You also carried the tent of your king and the shrine of your images, the star of your god, which you made for yourselves.
- Matthew 5:45 that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.
- Job 31:26-28 if I have seen the sun when it shined, or the moon moving in splendor, and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth, this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges; for I should have denied the God who is above.
- Jeremiah 8:2 They will spread them before the sun, the moon, and all the army of the sky, which they have loved, which they have served, after which they have walked, which they have sought, and which they have worshiped. They will not be gathered or be buried. They will be like dung on the surface of the earth.
- Jeremiah 19:13 The houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, which are defiled, will be as the place of Topheth, even all the houses on whose roofs they have burned incense to all the army of the sky and have poured out drink offerings to other gods.” ’ ”
- Jeremiah 31:35 Yahweh, who gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirs up the sea, so that its waves roar; Yahweh of Armies is his name, says:
- 2 Kings 23:4-5 The king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring out of Yahweh’s temple all the vessels that were made for Baal, for the Asherah, and for all the army of the sky, and he burned them outside of Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. He got rid of the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the army of the sky.
- 2 Kings 23:11 He took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of Yahweh’s house, by the room of Nathan Melech the officer, who was in the court; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
- Ezekiel 8:16 He brought me into the inner court of Yahweh’s house; and I saw at the door of Yahweh’s temple, between the porch and the altar, there were about twenty-five men, with their backs toward Yahweh’s temple, and their faces toward the east. They were worshiping the sun toward the east.
- Zephaniah 1:5 those who worship the army of the sky on the housetops, those who worship and swear by Yahweh and also swear by Malcam,
- Acts 7:42 But God turned, and gave them up to serve the army of the sky, as it is written in the book of the prophets, ‘Did you offer to me slain animals and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He hath appointed them for to serve man.
He hath appointed them for to serve man.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Deu 4:19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes…
Deu 4:19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, [even] all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
Ver. 19. All the host of heaven.] Called the queen of heaven. {Jer 7:18}
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Should be driven.] Or, Drawn by the enticement of the devil, who is ειδωλοχαρης, saith Synisius, a great imagemonger; or by the seduction of others, or of thine own evil heart; for nemo sibi de suo palpet: quisque sibi Satan est, saith a father.
Which the Lord thy God hath divided.] And shall we fight against God, as Jehu did against Jehoram, with his own servants, nay, with those things which he hath given us for common servants to us all?
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Driven to worship them, i.e. strongly inclined, and in…
Driven to worship them, i.e. strongly inclined, and in a manner constrained, partly by the glory of these heavenly bodies, which may seem to be made for higher purposes than to enlighten this lump of earth; partly from that natural propension which is in men to idolatry. Or, shouldest be driven or thrust, to wit, out of the way of the Lord, (as it is more fully expressed, Deu 13:5) or be seduced, or led aside, as silly sheep easily are, and worship them. Or, shouldest be cast down, or throw down thyself and worship them, i.e. worship them by falling down before them.
Unto all nations, which are not gods, but creatures, made not for the worship, but for the use of men, yea, of the meanest and most barbarous people under heaven, and therefore cannot without great absurdity be worshipped, especially by you who are so much advanced above other nations in wisdom and knowledge, and in this, that you are my peculiar people.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven,....…
And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven,.... The starry heaven, which to do in itself is not sinful; and may be lawfully and commendably done, to raise admiration at the wonderful works of God in them, and lead to adore the author of them: but if not guarded against may be ensnaring:
and when thou seest the sun and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven; those bright luminaries, so glorious to behold, and so useful and beneficial to the earth, and the inhabitants of it:
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shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them; should have an impulse on their minds and their hearts, be inclined and drawn to the worship of them, partly by considering their splendour, glory, and usefulness, and partly by the example of others; for the worshipping of these seems to be and is the first kind of idolatry men gave into, at least it was very ancient; see Job 31:26,
which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven; the sun and the moon by their constant revolutions visit all the parts of the world, and stars are fixed in both hemispheres, so that all nations of the earth receive the benefit and advantage of all these heavenly bodies; but were never designed to be the objects of their worship, as might be learnt from their being divided to them, sometimes one part of the earth enjoying them, and then another, and not present with them all at one and the same time, which, if deities, would have been necessary; see Psa 19:6.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Driven - Strongly inclined. Which the Lord hath divided…
Driven - Strongly inclined. Which the Lord hath divided unto all nations - Which are not Gods, but creatures, made not for the worship, but for the use of men; yea, of the meanest and most barbarous people under heaven, and therefore cannot without great absurdity be worshipped, especially by you who are so much advanced above other nations in wisdom and knowledge, and in this, that you are my peculiar people.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 19. When thou seest the sun, and the…
Verse 19. When thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars] The worship of the heavenly bodies was the oldest species of idolatry. Those who had not the knowledge of the true God were led to consider the sun, moon, planets, and stars, as not only self-existing, but the authors of all the blessings possessed by mankind. The knowledge of a rational system of astronomy served to destroy this superstition; and very little of it remains now in the world, except among a few Christian and Mohammedan astrologers; those miserable sinners who endeavour, as much as possible, to revive the old idolatry, while vainly professing to believe in the true God! Nor is it to be doubted that God will proceed with them as he has done of old with the worshippers of the host of heaven. Sound philosophy is next in importance to sound divinity; and next to the study of the work of grace is that of the operations of God in nature; for these visible things make known his eternal power and Godhead.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Deu 4:19. Lest thou shouldest be driven — Strongly…
Deu 4:19. Lest thou shouldest be driven — Strongly inclined; to worship them. Which the Lord hath divided unto all nations — Which are not gods, but creatures, made not for worship, but for the use of men; yea, of the meanest and most barbarous people under heaven, and therefore cannot, without great absurdity, be worshipped, especially by you, who are so much advanced above other nations in wisdom and in knowledge, and in this, that you are my peculiar people.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Divided - i. e., “whose light God has distributed…
Divided - i. e., “whose light God has distributed to the nations for their use and benefit, and which therefore being creatures ministering to man’s convenience must not be worshipped as man’s lords.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Service. How then could the nations give way to…
Service. How then could the nations give way to such stupidity, but because they had forgotten the design of God in creating the heavenly bodies, which Moses therefore takes care to inculcate? (Genesis i. 14.) Hebrew and Septuagint, "which God has divided unto all," &c.; whence some have falsely supposed, that God had tolerated the worship of the stars in other nations. See chap. xxix. 26. (Drusius) (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 19. The Lord… hath divided — The view held…
19. The Lord… hath divided — The view held by many of this passage is that God permitted the nations to choose the heavenly bodies as objects of worship — as Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, and some modern critics, as Keil and Knobel. The meaning is, rather, that God has given the nations the heavenly bodies for service, and to lead them to the knowledge of himself. Comp. Rom_1:20.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 19. lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven]…
19. lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven] Change to Sg., confirmed by Sam. and LXX.
and when thou seest the sun, etc.] Deu_17:3 : sun, moon or any of the host of heaven. Unlike the warnings against idolatry this one is not found in JE or P. The host of heaven was the dominant influence in Babylonian religion, and though there are traces of astral worship from the earliest times in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem (cp. Bit-Ninib in the Tell-el-Amarna Letters, Beth-shemesh, etc.), it first became an active danger to Israel, when under Ahaz Assyrian example began to tempt the people of Jehovah, and in the last days of N. Israel, 2Ki_17:16, and in Judah under Manasseh, 2Ki_21:3; 2Ki_21:5; 2Ki_23:4-5; 2Ki_23:11, Assyria imposed on her tributaries the forms of Babyl. culture. Cp. the pre-exilic prophets Zep_1:5; Jer_7:18; Jer_8:2; Jer_19:13; Jer_44:17; Eze_8:16. These show that the worship was both national, in the temple, and domestic. On the temptations in Jerusalem to the worship of the heavenly host see Jerusalem, ii. 186 f. The natural seductiveness of the worship is well indicated by the successive verbs used here.
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thou be drawn away] Rather reflexive, let thyself be drawn, Deu_30:4; Deu_30:17; cp. the active form, Deu_13:5; Deu_13:10; Deu_13:13 [Heb. 6, 11, 14].
worship them, and serve them,] Rather, bow down to them and worship them. Cp. Deu_5:9, Deu_8:19, Deu_11:16, Deu_17:3, Deu_29:26 (25), Deu_30:17, and the addition to E, Exo_20:5.
which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all the peoples] Distributed, or allotted. An interesting attempt by the writer to reconcile his great truth that Jehovah is God alone with the fact that the other nations worship other gods (cp. Deu_29:26). This is part of His supreme Providence. Some find also in the words the feeling that such cults preserved the Gentiles from utter ignorance of God, and cite Clem. Alex. (Strom. vi. 14, 110 f.): the stars have been assigned to them, ἵνα μὴ τέλεον ἄθεοι γενόμενοι τελέως καὶ διαφάρωσιν, and as a guide to God Himself, ὁδὸς γὰρ αὕτη δοθεῖσα τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἀνακῦψαι πρὸς θεόν.
The coincidence of the change of address to the Sg. with the change of subject leads some to take the verse as an intrusion by a later hand. But it may be a later addition by the author of the context himself on consideration of Deu_17:3, and as this is in the Sg. form it would account for his change to the Sg. here. But note the parallel under the whole heaven with Deu_2:25. In any case there is no need to take the passage as post-exilic; the danger it would avert was, as the passages cited show, especially strong before the exile.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (19) The sun, and the moon, and the stars.—The…
(19) The sun, and the moon, and the stars.—The purest worship of antiquity—that which we find among the Persians—hardly escaped this snare.
Which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations.—The heavenly bodies could never be regarded as special protectors of any one nation. But Jehovah was pledged to be the God of Israel. This appears to be the argument of Deu_4:19-20.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, etc.…
Lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, etc. The worship of the heavenly bodies, especially star-worship, prevailed among the Canaanites and many of the Semitic tribes, but was not confined to them; the Egyptians also reverenced the sun as Re, the moon as Isis, and the stars as the symbols of deities. The Israelites were thus, both from past associations and from what they might encounter in Canaan, exposed to the danger of being seduced into idolatry. Shouldest be driven: shouldest be urged on, drawn, or constrained (cf. Deu_13:13) Which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven, God had allotted (qlj) to all mankind the heavenly bodies for their advantage (Gen_1:14-18; Psa_104:19; Jer_31:35) it was, therefore, not competent for any one nation to seek to appropriate them as specially theirs, and it was absurd for any to offer religious service to objects intended for the service of man. Targum: Which the Lord thy God prepared for all peoples under heaven; Vulgate: Quae creavit Dominus Deus tuus in ministerium cunctis gentibus. This seems better than the interpretation that God had "allotted them for worship, i.e. had permitted them the nations to choose them as the objects of their worship" (Keil, etc.); for:
1. There is no distinction here between the Hebrews and the other nations of the earth; "all nations" includes them as well as the heathen.
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2. Though God permitted the heathen to worship the heavenly bodies, he never allotted these to men in order that they might worship them. "It noteth God"s bounty in giving all people the use of those creatures, and the base mind of man to worship such things as are given for servants unto men" (Ainsworth).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 You shall not lift your eyes ... and look…
You shall not lift your eyes ... and look ... and be drawn ... Yahweh your God
Moses speaks to the Israelites as if they were one man, so all instances of "you" and "your" and the words "lift," "look," and "be drawn" are singular. (See: Forms of You)
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You shall not ... and be drawn away to worship
This can be stated in active form. AT: "Do not ... and do not let anyone make you want to worship" or "Do not ... and do not allow yourself worship" (See: Active or Passive)
all the host of the heavens
"everything you can see in the sky." This is another way of referring to the sun, moon, and stars.
of which Yahweh your God has given a share all the peoples
This is an idiom. Moses speaks of the stars as if they were small objects like food that Yahweh was dividing and giving out to the people groups. AT: "that Yahweh your God has put there to help all people groups" (See: Idiom)
brought you out of the iron furnace
Moses speaks of Egypt and the hard work the Israelites did there as if it were an oven in which iron is heated and the Israelites were the iron. AT: "brought you out of the land where people made you do hard work" (See: Metaphor)
a people of his own inheritance
This is an idiom that can be translated "people who belong only to him." (See: Idiom)
translationWords
heaven
worship
Yahweh
God
Egypt
inherit
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 4:19 forces of heaven: This phrase refers to the…
4:19 forces of heaven: This phrase refers to the stars and other heavenly bodies, which, like earthly creations, were thought to embody or represent deities. Instead, they are servants of God, named by him to carry out their duties of marking the times and seasons (Gen 1:14-19; Isa 40:26). • The Lord your God gave them: Rather than worshiping these heavenly bodies, the people of Israel were to recognize that God’s creation was made, among other reasons, to serve humankind (Gen 1:28).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.