^4:19When you look up²⁷ to the sky²⁸ and see the sun, moon, and stars—the whole heavenly creation²⁹—you must not be seduced to worship and serve them,³⁰ for the Lord your God has assigned³¹ them to all the people³² of the world.³³

Read in Logos

Footnotes

27 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.
28 Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
29 Heb “all the host of heaven.”
30 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 2: §168.h.
31 Or “allotted.”
32 Or “nations.”
33 Heb “under all the heaven.” The OT views the heavenly host as God’s council, which surrounds his royal throne ready to do his bidding (see 1 Kgs 22:19). God has given this group, sometimes called the “sons of God” (cf. Job 1:6; 38:7; Ps 89:6), jurisdiction over the nations. See Deut 32:8 (). Some also see this assembly as the addressee in Ps 82. While God delegated his council to rule over the nations, he established a theocratic government over Israel and ruled directly over his chosen people via the Mosaic covenant. See v. 20, as well as Deut 32:9.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

When you look to the heavens and see the sun, moon, and stars—all the stars in the sky—do not be led astray to bow in worship to them and serve them. The Lord your God has provided them for all people everywhere under heaven.

NLTNew Living Translation

And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—all the forces of heaven—don’t be seduced into worshiping them. The Lord your God gave them to all the peoples of the earth.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And do this so that you do not lift your eyes toward heaven and observe the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of the heaven, and be led astray and bow down to them and serve them, things that Yahweh your God has allotted to all of the peoples under all of the heaven.

KJV 1900King James Version

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.

Public Domain