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ob-zuÌ‚rv´ (representing various words, but chiefly שמר, shaÌ„mar, “to keep,†“to watch†etc.): Properly means “to take heed to,†as in , “Thou seest many things, but thou observest not†and from this sense all the usages of the word in English Versions of the Bible can be understood. Most of them, indeed are quite good modern usage (as “observe a feast,†, etc.; “observe a law†, etc.), but a few are archaic. So , the King James Version “His father observed the saying†(the Revised Version (British and American) “kept the saying in mindâ€); , “As a leopard ... will I observe them†(the Revised Version (British and American) “watchâ€); , “observe lying vanities†(the Revised Version (British and American) “regard,†but “give heed to†would be clearer; compare ). Still farther from modern usage is , “I have heard him, and observed him†(the Revised Version (British and American) “will regardâ€; the meaning is “care forâ€); and , “For Herod feared John ... and observed him†(the Revised Version (British and American) “kept him safeâ€). In the last case, the King James Version editors seem to have used “to observe†as meaning “to give reverence to.â€
Observation is found in , “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation†(μετὰ τηÏηÌσεως, metaÌ parateÌ„reÌ„ÌseoÌ„s). The meaning of the English is, “so that it can be observed,†but the exact force of the underlying Greek (“visibly?†“so that it can be computed in advance?â€) is a matter of extraordinary dispute at the present time. See KINGDOM OF GOD.