Exodus 23:24

Exodus 23:24 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.
• New International Version (NIV)Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces.
• New King James Version (NKJV)You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.
• New Living Translation (NLT)You must not worship the gods of these nations or serve them in any way or imitate their evil practices. Instead, you must utterly destroy them and smash their sacred pillars.

Context of Exodus 23:24

22"But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23"When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. 25You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. 26None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.

Exodus 23:24 word by word

לֹֽא־תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֤ה לֵאלֹֽהֵיהֶם֙ וְלֹ֣א תָֽעָבְדֵ֔ם וְלֹ֥א תַעֲשֶׂ֖ה כְּמַֽעֲשֵׂיהֶ֑ם כִּ֤י הָרֵס֙ תְּהָ֣רְסֵ֔ם וְשַׁבֵּ֥ר תְּשַׁבֵּ֖ר מַצֵּבֹתֵיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thou shalt not bow downשָׁחָהshâchâh · to bowH7812
• to their godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• nor serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: ministerH5647
• them, nor doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• after their worksמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deed: workH4639
• but thou shalt utterlyהָרַסhâras · to overthrowH2040
• them, and quiteשָׁבַרshâbar · to breakH7665
• their imagesמַצֵּבָהmatstsêbâh · pillarH4676

Cross-references for Exodus 23:24

• Exodus 20:5You 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,
• Leviticus 18:3You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes.
• Deuteronomy 12:30take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.'
• 2 Chronicles 33:2And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.
• Psalms 101:3I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.
• Psalms 106:35but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did.
• Ezekiel 16:47Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.
• Exodus 32:20He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.
• Exodus 34:13You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim
• Numbers 33:52then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places.
• Deuteronomy 7:5But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their Asherim and burn their carved images with fire.
• Deuteronomy 12:3You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place.
• 2 Chronicles 34:3For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and the metal images.

Commentaries on Exodus 23:24

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 24Break down their images - מצבתיהם matstsebotheyhem, from נצב natsab, to stand up; pillars, anointed stones, etc., such as the baitulia. See Clarke on Genesis 28:18; (note).Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-33Verses 20-33 It is here promised that they should be guided and kept in their way through the wilderness to the land of promise, Behold, I send an angel before thee, mine angel. The precept joined with this promise is, that they be obedient to this angel whom God would send before them. Christ is the Angel of Jehovah; this is plainly taught by St. Paul, 1Co 10:9. They should have a comfortable settlement in the land of Canaan. How reasonable are the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 24In Canaanite worship, people built holy pillars to represent the gods. Sometimes, they carved them to look like humans.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 20-2520-25. Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way--The communication of these laws, made to Moses and by him rehearsed to the people, was concluded by the addition of many animating promises, intermingled with several solemn warnings that lapses into sin and idolatry would not be tolerated or passed with impunity.Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 23:24

• Amorites
• Canaanites
• Iconoclasm
• Jebusites
• War

In the dictionaries

• Beware
• Book
• Countenance
• Idolatry
• Ingathering
• Refresh
• Seethe
• Turn
• Wrest
• Bible, the

Commentaries on Exodus 23

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings