EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Exodus 20:5
5You must not bend down your head to any idol or worship it. I am the Lord your God and I want you to belong to me alone. I will punish children because of the bad things that their fathers have done. I will also punish their children and their grandchildren too. That is how I will punish everyone who turns against me.
Exodus 20:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
- New International Version (NIV)You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
- English Standard Version (ESV)You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,
- New King James Version (NKJV)you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
Context of Exodus 20:5
3You must not have any other gods except me. 4You must not make any idol for yourself. Do not make a false god in the shape of anything that is in the sky above. Do not make one in the shape of anything on the earth or in the sea. You must not bend down your head to any idol or worship it. I am the Lord your God and I want you to belong to me alone. I will punish children because of the bad things that their fathers have done. I will also punish their children and their grandchildren too. That is how I will punish everyone who turns against me. 6But I will truly love all those who love me. They are the people who obey my laws. I will continue to love them and their families for ever. 7You must not speak the name of the Lord your God in a wrong way. The Lord will punish anyone who speaks his name in a wrong way.
Read all of Exodus 20Exodus 20:5 word by word
לֹֽא־תִשְׁתַּחְוֶ֥֣ה לָהֶ֖ם֮ וְלֹ֣א תָעָבְדֵ֑ם֒ כִּ֣י אָֽנֹכִ֞י יְהוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ אֵ֣ל קַנָּ֔א פֹּ֠קֵד עֲוֹ֨ן אָבֹ֧ת עַל־בָּנִ֛ים עַל־שִׁלֵּשִׁ֥ים וְעַל־רִבֵּעִ֖ים לְשֹׂנְאָֽ֑י׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thou shalt not bow downשָׁחָהshâchâh · to bowH7812
- thyself to them, nor serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: ministerH5647
- them: for I the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- a jealousקַנָּאqannâ' · jealousH7067
- Godאֵל'êl · GodH410
- visitingפָּקַדpâqad · to reckon: visitH6485
- the iniquityעָוֺן‛âvôn ‛âvôn · iniquity: crimeH5771
- of the fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
- upon the childrenבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- unto the thirdשִׁלֵּשׁshillêsh · thirdH8029
- and fourthרִבֵּעַribbêa‛ · fourthH7256
- of them that hateשָׂנֵאώânê' · to hateH8130
Cross-references for Exodus 20:5
- Exodus 23:24Do not worship their gods. Do not serve them. Do not copy the evil things that these people do. Destroy their idols and break their special stones into pieces.
- Leviticus 26:1You must not make idols from stones and worship them. You must not draw things on stones and bend down in front of them. I am the Lord your God.
- Joshua 23:7Do not become friends of the nations that live near you. Do not call out to their gods. Do not use the names of their gods to make a promise. You must not serve them or worship them.
- Judges 2:19But when the leader died, the people would stop serving the Lord. They would do even more wicked things than their fathers had done. They would serve false gods and they would worship them. They refused to stop doing the wicked things that they wanted to do.
- 2 Kings 17:35The Lord made a covenant with the descendants of Israel. He said to them, ‘Do not worship any other gods. Do not bend down low to give them honour. Do not serve them. Do not offer any sacrifices to them.
- 2 Chronicles 25:14After Amaziah's army had killed the soldiers from Edom, he returned to Judah. He brought back some idols of the gods that the people of Edom worshipped. He started to worship them as his own gods. He offered sacrifices to them.
- Isaiah 44:15He uses some of the wood to burn. He makes himself warm beside the fire. He may light a fire and then he may bake bread on it. Then he uses some of the wood to make a god that he will worship! Yes, he makes an idol, and he bends down in front of it.
- Matthew 4:9The Devil said, ‘I will give you power over all these countries. Just go down on your knees in front of me. Worship me and I will give it all to you.’
- Exodus 34:14Do not worship any other god instead of me. I am the Lord and I want you to belong to me alone.
- Deuteronomy 4:24That is because the Lord your God wants you to belong to him alone. He is like a fire that destroys all bad things.
- Deuteronomy 6:15The Lord your God lives among you. He wants you to belong to him alone. If you worship other gods, he will be very angry with you. He will completely destroy you from the whole earth.
- Deuteronomy 32:21They have made me jealous as they serve false gods. They have made me angry as they worship useless idols. So I will make them jealous as I help a useless nation. I will make them angry as I bless a foolish nation.
- Joshua 24:19Joshua said to them, ‘The Lord is a holy God. You will not be able to serve him. He wants you to belong to him. If you turn against him or you do not obey him, he will not forgive you.
- Psalms 78:58The places where they worshipped their idols made God very angry.
- Proverbs 6:34The woman's husband will be jealous, and he will become very angry. He will want the man to receive full punishment.
- Ezekiel 8:3He put out something in the shape of a hand. He took hold of the hair on my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up, high in the sky, and took me to Jerusalem. This happened in the vision which God gave to me. I came to the north gate of the temple's inside yard. In that place there was a disgusting idol that made God very angry.
Commentaries on Exodus 20:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Jealous God - This shows in a most expressive manner the love of God to this people. He felt for them as the most affectionate husband could do for his spouse; and was jealous for their fidelity, because he willed their invariable happiness. Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children - This necessarily implies - if the children walk in the steps of their fathers; for no man can be condemned by Divine justice for a crime of which he was never…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-17Verses 1-17 The Hebrew name which is rendered in our King James Version as the ten commandments occurs in Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 4:13; Deuteronomy 10:4. It literally means “the Ten Words.” The Ten Commandments are also called the law, even the commandment Exodus 24:12, the words of the covenant Exodus 34:28, the tables of the covenant Deuteronomy 9:9, the covenant Deuteronomy 4:13, the two tables Deuteronomy 9:10, Deuteronomy 9:17, and, most…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-11Verses 3-11 The first four of the ten commandments, commonly called the FIRST table, tell our duty to God. It was fit that those should be put first, because man had a Maker to love, before he had a neighbour to love. It cannot be expected that he should be true to his brother, who is false to his God. The first commandment concerns the object of worship, JEHOVAH, and him only. The worship of creatures is here forbidden. Whatever comes short of perfect…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-6jealous God: When Scripture calls God a jealous God, it means he strongly opposes his people turning to false gods. He does not want them to give their loyalty to other gods (see Joshua 24:19–20). God’s jealousy is not selfish. It shows his deep love and his desire for his people to remain faithful to him. to the third and fourth generations … a thousand generations: We must understand both parts of this statement together. God does not punish children…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4-54-5. Thou shalt not make ... any graven image ... thou shalt not bow down thyself to them--that is, "make in order to bow." Under the auspices of Moses himself, figures of cherubim, brazen serpents, oxen, and many other things in the earth beneath, were made and never condemned. The mere making was no sin--it was the making with the intent to give idolatrous worship.Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 20:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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