Deuteronomy 4:9

The NET Bible®

Again, however, pay very careful attention, lest you forget the things you have seen and disregard them for the rest of your life; instead teach them to your children and grandchildren.

Parallel Translations

Legacy Standard Bible
"Only keep yourself and keep your soul very carefully, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. But make them known to your sons and to your grandsons.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Take heede to thy selfe therefore, and kepe thy soule diligently, that thou forget not the thynges which thyne eyes haue seene, and that they depart not out of thy heart all the dayes of thy life: but teache them thy sonnes, & thy sonnes sonnes.

Easy-to-Read Version
But you must be careful! Be sure that as long as you live you never forget what you have seen. You must teach these things to your children and grandchildren.

Revised Standard Version
"Only take heed, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children's children--

World English Bible
Only take heed to yourself, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your children and your children's children;

King James Version (1611)
Onely take heed to thy selfe, and keepe thy soule diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes haue seene, and lest they depart from thy heart all the dayes of thy life: but teach them thy sonnes, & thy sonnes sonnes:

King James Version
Only 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;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Take hede to thy selfe now, and kepe well thy soule, that thou forget not the thinges which thine eyes haue sene, and that they departe not out of thy hert all the dayes of thy life. And thou shalt teach them thy children and thy childers children,

THE MESSAGE
Just make sure you stay alert. Keep close watch over yourselves. Don't forget anything of what you've seen. Don't let your heart wander off. Stay vigilant as long as you live. Teach what you've seen and heard to your children and grandchildren.

American Standard Version
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes saw, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but make them known unto thy children and thy children's children;

Bible in Basic English
Only take care, and keep watch on your soul, for fear that the things which your eyes have seen go from your memory and from your heart all the days of your life; but let the knowledge of them be given to your children and to your children's children;

Update Bible Version
Only you be careful and keep your soul diligently, or else you will forget the things which your eyes saw, and they will depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and the sons of your sons;

Webster's Bible Translation
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou shouldst forget the things which thy eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them to thy sons, and thy sons' sons:

New King James Version
Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren,

Contemporary English Version
You must be very careful not to forget the things you have seen God do for you. Keep reminding yourselves, and tell your children and grandchildren as well.

Complete Jewish Bible
Only be careful, and watch yourselves diligently as long as you live, so that you won't forget what you saw with your own eyes, so that these things won't vanish from your hearts. Rather, make them known to your children and grandchildren —

Darby Translation
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things that thine eyes have seen (and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but thou shalt make them known to thy sons and to thy sons' sons),

Geneva Bible (1587)
But take heede to thy selfe, and keepe thy soule diligently, that thou forget not the thinges which thine eyes haue seene, and that they depart not out of thine heart, all the dayes of thy life: but teach them thy sonnes, and thy sonnes sonnes:

George Lamsa Translation
Only take heed for yourselves, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but declare them to your children and your childrens children.

Good News Translation
Be on your guard! Make certain that you do not forget, as long as you live, what you have seen with your own eyes. Tell your children and your grandchildren

Amplified Bible
"Only pay attention and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your grandchildren [impressing these things on their mind and penetrating their heart with these truths]—

Hebrew Names Version
Only take heed to yourself, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your children and your children's children;

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes saw, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but make them known unto thy children and thy children's children;

New Living Translation
"But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.

New Life Bible
"Only be careful. Keep watch over your life. Or you might forget the things you have seen. Do not let them leave your heart for the rest of your life. But teach them to your children and to your grandchildren.

New Revised Standard
But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children's children—

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Take heed to thyself, and keep thy heart diligently: forget not any of the things, which thine eyes have seen, and let them not depart from thine heart all the days of thy life; and thou shalt teach thy sons and thy sons’ sons,

English Revised Version
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes saw, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but make them known unto thy children and thy children's children;

Berean Standard Bible
Only 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.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Only take thou heed to thyself and keep thy soul diligently, so that thou forget not the things which thine own eyes have seen, and so that they go not out of thy heart, all the days of thy life, - but thou shalt make them known unto thy sons and unto thy son's sons: -

Douay-Rheims Bible
Keep thyself therefore, and thy soul carefully. Forget not the words that thy eyes have seen, and let them not go out of thy heart all the days of thy life. Thou shalt teach them to thy sons and to thy grandsons,

Lexham English Bible
"However, take care for yourself and watch your inner self closely, so that you do not forget the things that your eyes have seen, so that they do not slip from your mind all the days of your life; and you shall make them known to your children and to your grandchildren.

Literal Translation
Only, be on guard for yourself and keep your soul carefully, that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen; and that they not depart from your heart all the days of your life. And you shall make them known to your sons, and to your sons' sons.

English Standard Version
"Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children—

New American Standard Bible
"Only be careful for yourself and watch over your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.

New Century Version
But be careful! Watch out and don't forget the things you have seen. Don't forget them as long as you live, but teach them to your children and grandchildren.

Christian Standard Bible®
"Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you don't forget the things your eyes have seen and so that they don't slip from your mind as long as you live. Teach them to your children and your grandchildren.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor kepe thi silf, and thi soule bisili; foryete thou not the wordis whiche thin iyen sien, and falle tho not doun fro thin herte, in alle the daies of thi lijf. Thou schalt teche tho thi sones and thi sones sones.

Young's Literal Translation
`Only, take heed to thyself, and watch thy soul exceedingly, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they turn aside from thy heart, all days of thy life; and thou hast made them known to thy sons, and to thy sons' sons.

Contextual Overview

¹ Now, Israel, pay attention to the statutes and ordinances I am about to teach you, so that you might live and go on to enter and take possession of the land that the Lord , the God of your ancestors, is giving you. ² Do not add a thing to what I command you nor subtract from it, so that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I am delivering to you. ³ You have witnessed what the Lord did at Baal Peor, how he eradicated from your midst everyone who followed Baal Peor. ⁴ But you who remained faithful to the Lord your God are still alive to this very day, every one of you. ⁵ Look! I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the Lord my God told me to do, so that you might carry them out in the land you are about to enter and possess. ⁶ So be sure to do them, because this will testify of your wise understanding to the people who will learn of all these statutes and say, "Indeed, this great nation is a very wise people." ⁷ In fact, what other great nation has a god so near to them like the Lord our God whenever we call on him? ⁸ And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this whole law that I am about to share with you today? ⁹ Again, however, pay very careful attention, lest you forget the things you have seen and disregard them for the rest of your life; instead teach them to your children and grandchildren. ¹⁰ You stood before the Lord your God at Horeb and he said to me, "Assemble the people before me so that I can tell them my commands. Then they will learn to revere me all the days they live in the land, and they will instruct their children."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

keep thy soul: Deuteronomy 4:15, Deuteronomy 4:23, Proverbs 3:1, Proverbs 3:3, Proverbs 4:20-23, Luke 8:18, Hebrews 2:3, James 2:22

lest they: Joshua 1:18, Psalms 119:11, Proverbs 3:1-3, Proverbs 3:21, Proverbs 4:4, Proverbs 7:1, Hebrews 2:1, Revelation 3:3

teach them: Deuteronomy 6:7, Deuteronomy 11:19, Deuteronomy 29:29, Deuteronomy 31:19, Genesis 18:19, Exodus 13:8, Exodus 13:9, Exodus 13:14-16, Joshua 4:6, Joshua 4:7, Joshua 4:21, Psalms 34:11-16, Psalms 71:18, Psalms 78:3-8, Proverbs 1:8, Proverbs 4:1-13, Proverbs 23:26, Isaiah 38:19, Ephesians 6:4

Reciprocal: Exodus 10:2 - And that Exodus 19:4 - seen Exodus 19:12 - Take Exodus 23:13 - be circumspect Deuteronomy 4:16 - corrupt Deuteronomy 8:5 - consider Deuteronomy 11:16 - Take heed Deuteronomy 15:5 - General Joshua 22:5 - take Joshua 23:3 - And ye Joshua 23:11 - Take good Psalms 78:4 - We will Psalms 78:7 - not forget Psalms 111:4 - He hath Psalms 119:4 - General Proverbs 4:23 - Keep Proverbs 22:6 - a child Isaiah 42:20 - Seeing Isaiah 44:21 - Remember Jeremiah 17:21 - Take Luke 17:3 - heed Galatians 3:19 - It was added Hebrews 3:9 - and Hebrews 12:5 - ye have forgotten Hebrews 12:15 - Looking

Cross-References

Genesis 4:4
But Abel brought some of the firstborn of his flock—even the fattest of them. And the Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering,

Genesis 4:9
Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" And he replied, "I don't know! Am I my brother's guardian?"

Genesis 4:11
So now, you are banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.

Genesis 4:13
Then Cain said to the Lord , "My punishment is too great to endure!

Genesis 4:14
Look! You are driving me off the land today, and I must hide from your presence. I will be a homeless wanderer on the earth; whoever finds me will kill me."

Genesis 37:32
Then they brought the special tunic to their father and said, "We found this. Determine now whether it is your son's tunic or not."

Psalms 9:12
For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed; he did not overlook their cry for help

Proverbs 28:13
The one who covers his transgressions will not prosper, but whoever confesses them and forsakes them will find mercy.

John 8:44
You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Only take heed to thyself,.... To walk according to this law, and not swerve from it:

and keep thy soul diligently; from the transgressions and breaches of it:

lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen; either the statutes and judgments set before them, and the circumstances of the delivery of them; or the punishment inflicted on the breakers of them; or the favours bestowed on those that observed them:

and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; out of thy mind and memory, and have no place in thy affections, through a neglect and disuse of them:

but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons; their children and grandchildren, that they may be trained up in them in their youth, and so not depart from them when grown up, and in years; see Deuteronomy 6:7.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A full stop should end Deuteronomy 4:9; and Deuteronomy 4:10 begin, At the time that thou stoodest, etc. Deuteronomy 4:11 then ye came near, etc. Moses, exhorting to heedful observance of the Law, strives to renew the impressions of that tremendous scene which attended its promulgation at Sinai.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Deuteronomy 4:9. Only take heed to thyself — Be circumspect and watchful.

Keep thy soul diligently — Be mindful of thy eternal interests. Whatever becomes of the body, take care of the soul.

Lest thou forget — God does his work that they may be had in everlasting remembrance; and he that forgets them, forgets his own mercies. Besides, if a man forget the work of God on his soul, he loses that work.

Lest they depart from thy heart — It is not sufficient to lay up Divine things in the memory, they must be laid up in the heart. Thy word have I hidden in my heart, says David, that I might not sin against thee. The life of God in the soul of man can alone preserve the soul to life everlasting; and this grace must be retained all the days of our life. When Adam fell, his condition was not meliorated by the reflection that he had been once in paradise; nor does it avail Satan now that he was once an angel of light. Those who let the grace of God depart from their hearts, lose that grace; and those who lose the grace, fall from the grace; and as some have fallen and risen no more, so may others; therefore, take heed to thyself, c. Were it impossible for men finally to fall from the grace of God, exhortations of this kind had never been given, because they would have been unnecessary, and God never does an unnecessary thing.

But teach them thy sons — If a man know the worth of his own soul, he will feel the importance of the salvation of the souls of his family. Those who neglect family religion, neglect personal religion if more attention were paid to the former, even among those called religious people, we should soon have a better state of civil society. On family religion God lays much stress; and no head of a family can neglect it without endangering the final salvation of his own soul. Genesis 18:32; Genesis 18:32, and Genesis 19:38; Genesis 19:38, and Deuteronomy 6:7; Deuteronomy 6:7.