ob-zurv' (representing various words, but chiefly shamar, "to keep," "to watch" etc.): Properly means "to take heed to," as in
Isa 42:20, "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,"
Ex 12:17, etc.; "observe a law"
Le 19:37, etc.), but a few are archaic. So
Ge 37:11, the King James Version "His father observed the saying" (the Revised Version (British and American) "kept the saying in mind");
Ho 13:7, "As a leopard.... will I observe them" (the Revised Version (British and American) "watch");
Jon 2:8, "observe lying vanities" (the Revised Version (British and American) "regard," but "give heed to" would be clearer; compare
Ps 107:43). Still farther from modern usage is
Ho 14:8, "I have heard him, and observed him" (the Revised Version (British and American) "will regard"; the meaning is "care for"); and
Mr 6:20, "For Herod feared John.... and observed him" (the Revised Version (British and American) "kept him safe"). In the last case, the King James Version editors seem to have used "to observe" as meaning "to give reverence to."