Deuteronomy 4:15-24

The Voice

¹⁵ So be very careful! Your souls are at stake! You didn’t see any shape when the Eternal spoke to you at Horeb from inside that fire, ¹⁶ so don’t ever become so corrupt that you carve an idol representing Him for yourselves in any shape, whether in the form of a man or a woman, ¹⁷ or in the form of an animal that lives on the land, or a bird with wings that flies through the sky, ¹⁸ or anything that crawls on the ground, or a fish that swims in the sea. ¹⁹ And don’t ever become so corrupt that you look up into the sky and see the sun, the moon, and the stars—as if each of them were a god—and be led astray to bow down to them and worship them, which the Eternal your God has given to all the people on earth. ²⁰ But the Eternal has done something unique for you: He chose you and delivered you from slavery in Egypt where you were purified as if in an iron furnace, and He made you His very own people, which you are today. ²¹ The Eternal was angry with me because of you, and He swore I would not cross the Jordan River and enter the good land the Eternal your God is giving you to live in. ²² I’m not going to cross the Jordan. I’m going to die over on this side, but you will cross the river and take ownership of that good land. ²³ So be very careful! Don’t forget the covenant the Eternal your God made with you; don’t make yourselves an idol in the shape of anything. The Eternal your God has commanded you not to! ²⁴ The Eternal your God burns with jealousy when you’re not completely loyal to Him.