Deuteronomy 4:18
New International Version
or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below.

New Living Translation
a small animal that scurries along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea.

English Standard Version
the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth.

Berean Standard Bible
or of any creature that crawls on the ground or fish that is in the waters below.

King James Bible
The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:

New King James Version
the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth.

New American Standard Bible
a representation of anything that crawls on the ground, or a representation of any fish that is in the water below the earth.

NASB 1995
the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water below the earth.

NASB 1977
the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water below the earth.

Legacy Standard Bible
the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water below the earth,

Amplified Bible
the likeness of anything that crawls on the ground, or of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth.

Christian Standard Bible
any creature that crawls on the ground, or any fish in the waters under the earth.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
any creature that crawls on the ground, or any fish in the waters under the earth.

American Standard Version
the likeness of anything that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth;

Contemporary English Version
reptiles, or fish.

English Revised Version
the likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
any creature that crawls on the ground, or any fish in the water.

Good News Translation
reptile or fish.

International Standard Version
any creeping thing on the ground, or any fish in the sea.

Majority Standard Bible
or of any creature that crawls on the ground or fish that is in the waters below.

NET Bible
anything that crawls on the ground, or any fish in the deep waters of the earth.

New Heart English Bible
the likeness of any crawling creature that crawls on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water below the land;

Webster's Bible Translation
The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:

World English Bible
the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth;
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
a form of any creeping thing on the ground, a form of any fish which [is] in the waters below the earth.

Young's Literal Translation
a form of any creeping thing on the ground -- a form of any fish which is in the waters under the earth;

Smith's Literal Translation
The model of any thing creeping upon the earth, the model of any fish that is in the waters from under the earth:
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Or of creeping things, that move on the earth, or of fishes, that abide in the waters under the earth:

Catholic Public Domain Version
or of reptiles, which move across the earth, or of fish, which abide in the waters under the earth.

New American Bible
the form of anything that crawls on the ground, or the form of any fish in the waters under the earth.

New Revised Standard Version
the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
The likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth;

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
A form of any creeping thing of the earth, a form of any fish of the sea which is under the earth:
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
the likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
the likeness of any reptile which creeps on the earth, the likeness of any fish of those which are in the waters under the earth;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Warning Against Idolatry
17of any beast that is on the earth or bird that flies in the air, 18or of any creature that crawls on the ground or fish that is in the waters below. 19When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.…

Cross References
Exodus 20:4
You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.

Leviticus 26:1
“You must not make idols for yourselves or set up a carved image or sacred pillar; you must not place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down to it. For I am the LORD your God.

Romans 1:23
and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Isaiah 44:13-20
The woodworker extends a measuring line; he marks it out with a stylus; he shapes it with chisels and outlines it with a compass. He fashions it in the likeness of man, like man in all his glory, that it may dwell in a shrine. / He cuts down cedars or retrieves a cypress or oak. He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow. / It serves as fuel for man. He takes some of it to warm himself, and he kindles a fire and bakes his bread. He also fashions it into a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. ...

Acts 17:29
Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.

Psalm 115:4-8
Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. / They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; / they have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell; ...

Psalm 135:15-18
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. / They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; / they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouths. ...

Jeremiah 10:14-15
Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them. / They are worthless, a work to be mocked. In the time of their punishment they will perish.

Isaiah 40:18-20
To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him? / To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains? / One lacking such an offering chooses wood that will not rot. He seeks a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple.

Isaiah 46:5-7
To whom will you liken Me or count Me equal? To whom will you compare Me, that we should be alike? / They pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales; they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god, so they can bow down and worship. / They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not answer; it saves no one from his troubles.

1 Kings 11:4-8
For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been. / Solomon followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. / So Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD; unlike his father David, he did not follow the LORD completely. ...

2 Kings 17:16
They abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves two cast idols of calves and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the host of heaven and served Baal.

2 Chronicles 33:7
Manasseh even took the carved image he had made and set it up in the house of God, of which God had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will establish My Name forever.

Ezekiel 8:10
So I went in and looked, and engraved all around the wall was every kind of crawling creature and detestable beast, along with all the idols of the house of Israel.

Hosea 13:2
Now they sin more and more and make for themselves cast images, idols skillfully made from their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. People say of them, “They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calves!”


Treasury of Scripture

The likeness of any thing that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:

Jump to Previous
Below Beneath Creature Creepeth Creeps Earth Likeness Moves Pattern Water Waters
Jump to Next
Below Beneath Creature Creepeth Creeps Earth Likeness Moves Pattern Water Waters
Deuteronomy 4
1. An exhortation to obedience
41. Moses appoints the three cities of refuge on that side of Jordan
44. Recapitulation














or of any creature that crawls on the ground
This phrase refers to the prohibition against creating images or idols of any living creature that moves along the earth. The Hebrew word for "creature" here is "רֶמֶשׂ" (remes), which encompasses all creeping things, including insects and reptiles. In the ancient Near Eastern context, many cultures worshipped gods represented by such creatures, believing them to possess divine attributes. The Israelites were called to be distinct, worshipping the one true God who is above all creation. This command underscores the importance of not reducing the divine to the level of created things, which are limited and finite. It serves as a reminder of God's transcendence and the call to worship Him in spirit and truth, rather than through physical representations.

or of any fish in the waters below
The mention of "fish" in this context highlights the comprehensive nature of the prohibition against idolatry. The Hebrew word "דָּגָה" (dagah) refers to fish, which were often deified in ancient cultures, particularly in Egypt and Mesopotamia. The waters, often seen as chaotic and mysterious, were believed to be the dwelling place of powerful deities. By forbidding the creation of images of fish, the text emphasizes that even the most mysterious and seemingly powerful elements of creation are not to be worshipped. This reflects the biblical theme that God is the Creator of all, sovereign over the waters and all that is within them. It calls believers to recognize God's ultimate authority and to reject the temptation to attribute divine power to any part of His creation. This command encourages a focus on the Creator rather than the creation, fostering a deeper understanding of God's majesty and holiness.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
[or]
תַּבְנִ֕ית (taḇ·nîṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 8403: Structure, a model, resemblance

of any
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

creature that crawls
רֹמֵ֖שׂ (rō·mêś)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 7430: To glide swiftly, to crawl, move with short steps, to swarm

on the ground
בָּאֲדָמָ֑ה (bā·’ă·ḏā·māh)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 127: Ground, land

or
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

fish
דָּגָ֥ה (dā·ḡāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 1710: A fish

in the waters
בַּמַּ֖יִם (bam·ma·yim)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen

below.
מִתַּ֥חַת (mit·ta·ḥaṯ)
Preposition-m
Strong's 8478: The bottom, below, in lieu of


Links
Deuteronomy 4:18 NIV
Deuteronomy 4:18 NLT
Deuteronomy 4:18 ESV
Deuteronomy 4:18 NASB
Deuteronomy 4:18 KJV

Deuteronomy 4:18 BibleApps.com
Deuteronomy 4:18 Biblia Paralela
Deuteronomy 4:18 Chinese Bible
Deuteronomy 4:18 French Bible
Deuteronomy 4:18 Catholic Bible

OT Law: Deuteronomy 4:18 The likeness of anything that creeps (Deut. De Du)
Deuteronomy 4:17
Top of Page
Top of Page