English Standard Version
Exodus 20:7
7"You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
Exodus 20:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
- New International Version (NIV)“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.
Context of Exodus 20:7
5You 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, 6but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. 8"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,
Read all of Exodus 20Exodus 20:7 word by word
לֹ֥א תִשָּׂ֛א אֶת־שֵֽׁם־יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ לַשָּׁ֑וְא כִּ֣י לֹ֤א יְנַקֶּה֙ יְהוָ֔ה אֵ֛ת אֲשֶׁר־יִשָּׂ֥א אֶת־שְׁמ֖וֹ לַשָּֽׁוְא׃ פRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 20:7
- Leviticus 19:12You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
- Leviticus 24:11and the Israelite woman's son blasphemed the Name, and cursed. Then they brought him to Moses. His mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.
- Deuteronomy 5:11"'You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
- Psalms 50:14Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High,
- Proverbs 30:9lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the Lord?" or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.
- Jeremiah 4:2and if you swear, 'As the Lord lives,' in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory."
- Matthew 5:33"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.'
- Matthew 23:16"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.'
- Matthew 26:63But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, "I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God."
- 2 Corinthians 1:23But I call God to witness against me—it was to spare you that I refrained from coming again to Corinth.
- Hebrews 6:16For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation.
- James 5:12But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
- Joshua 2:12Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father's house, and give me a sure sign
- Joshua 9:20This we will do to them: let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath that we swore to them."
- 2 Samuel 21:1Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, "There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death."
- 1 Kings 2:9Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol."
Commentaries on Exodus 20:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain - This precept not only forbids all false oaths, but all common swearing where the name of God is used, or where he is appealed to as a witness of the truth. It also necessarily forbids all light and irreverent mention of God, or any of his attributes; and this the original word לשוא lashshav particularly imports: and we may safely add to all these, that every prayer, ejaculation, etc., that is not…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. 7In Hebrew thought, a person’s name is often closely connected to that person’s nature and character (see study note on 3:13–22). To misuse God's name means to make God seem unimportant or worthless. One way to do this is by swearing an oath using God's name without intending to keep it. But there are other, more serious ways to dishonor God's name (see Numbers 20:12; Amos 2:7; compare Matthew 6:9).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-118. Remember the sabbath day--implying it was already known, and recognized as a season of sacred rest. The first four commandments [Ex 20:3-11] comprise our duties to God--the other six [Ex 20:12-17] our duties to our fellow men; and as interpreted by Christ, they reach to the government of the heart as well as the lip (Mt 5:17). "If a man do them he shall live in them" [Le 18:5; Ne 9:29]. But, ah! what an if for frail and fallen man. Whoever rests his…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 20:7
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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