God’s Word Translation
Exodus 20:24
24“You must build an altar for me made out of dirt. Sacrifice your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep, goats, and cattle on it. Wherever I choose to have my name remembered, I will come to you and bless you.
Exodus 20:24 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
- New International Version (NIV)“ ‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you.
- English Standard Version (ESV)An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.
- New King James Version (NKJV)An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you.
Context of Exodus 20:24
22The Lord said to Moses, “This is what you must say to the Israelites: You’ve seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven. 23Never make any gods of silver or gold for yourselves. Never worship them. “You must build an altar for me made out of dirt. Sacrifice your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep, goats, and cattle on it. Wherever I choose to have my name remembered, I will come to you and bless you. 25If you build an altar for me made out of stones, never make it with cut stone blocks. If you use a chisel on it, you will make it unacceptable to me. 26Never use stairs to go up to my altar. Otherwise, people will be able to see under your clothes.”
Read all of Exodus 20Exodus 20:24 word by word
מִזְבַּ֣ח אֲדָמָה֮ תַּעֲשֶׂה־לִּי֒ וְזָבַחְתָּ֣ עָלָ֗יו אֶת־עֹלֹתֶ֙יךָ֙ וְאֶת־שְׁלָמֶ֔יךָ אֶת־צֹֽאנְךָ֖ וְאֶת־בְּקָרֶ֑ךָ בְּכָל־הַמָּקוֹם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אַזְכִּ֣יר אֶת־שְׁמִ֔י אָב֥וֹא אֵלֶ֖יךָ וּבֵרַכְתִּֽיךָ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- An altarמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
- of earthאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: soilH127
- thou shalt makeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- unto me, and shalt sacrificeזָבַחzâbach · to sacrificeH2076
- thereon thy burnt offeringsעֹלָה‛ôlâh ‛ôlâh · burnt offeringH5930
- and thy peace offeringsשֶׁ֫לֶםshelem · peace offeringH8002
- thy sheepצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629
- and thine oxenבָּקָרbâqâr · cattleH1241
- in all placesמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
- where I recordזָכַרzâkar · to rememberH2142
- my nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
- I will comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- unto thee, and I will blessבָּרַךְbârak · to blessH1288
Cross-references for Exodus 20:24
- John 4:24God is a spirit. Those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
- Leviticus 1:1The Lord called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting. He said,
- Leviticus 3:1⌞The Lord continued,⌟ “If your sacrifice is a fellowship offering of cattle in the Lord’s presence, it must be a male or female animal that has no defects.
- Deuteronomy 12:5The Lord your God will choose a place out of all your tribes to live and put his name. Go there and worship him.
- Deuteronomy 14:23Eat the tenth of your grain, new wine, and olive oil, and eat the firstborn of your cattle, sheep, and goats in the presence of the Lord your God in the place he will choose to put his name. Then you will learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live.
- Deuteronomy 16:5You’re not allowed to slaughter the animals for Passover in any of the cities the Lord your God is giving you.
- Deuteronomy 26:2take some of the first produce harvested from the fields in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket. Then go to the place where the Lord your God will choose for his name to live.
- 1 Kings 8:29Night and day may your eyes be on this temple, the place about which you said, ‘My name will be there.’ Listen to me as I pray toward this place.
- 1 Kings 9:3The Lord said to him, “I have heard your prayer for mercy that you made to me. I have declared that this temple which you have built is holy so that my name may be placed there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
- 2 Chronicles 6:6But now I’ve chosen Jerusalem to be a place for my name; I’ve chosen David to rule my people Israel.’
- 2 Chronicles 7:16I have chosen and declared this temple holy so that my name may be placed there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
- 2 Chronicles 12:13King Rehoboam strengthened his position in Jerusalem and ruled. He was 41 years old when he began to rule. He ruled for 17 years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord chose from all the tribes of Israel, the city where the Lord put his name. (Rehoboam’s mother was an Ammonite woman named Naamah.)
- Ezra 6:12May the God whose name is worshiped there cause the downfall of each king and nation who tries to tamper with my orders or tries to destroy the temple of the God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued a decree. It’s to be carried out exactly as ordered.
- Nehemiah 1:9But if you return to me and continue to obey my commandments, though your people may be driven to the most distant point on the horizon, I will come and get you from there and bring you to the place where I chose to put my name.’
- Psalms 74:7They burned your holy place to the ground. They dishonored the place where you live among us.
- Psalms 76:2His tent is in Salem. His home is in Zion.
Commentaries on Exodus 20:24
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 24Thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings - The law concerning which was shortly to be given, though sacrifices of this kind were in use from the days of Abel. In all places where I record my name - Wherever I am worshipped, whether in the open wilderness, at the tabernacle, in the temple, the synagogues, or elsewhere, I will come unto thee and bless thee. These words are precisely the same in signification with those of our Lord, Matthew 18:20; : For…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22-26Verses 22-26 Nothing could be more appropriate as the commencement of the book of the covenant than these regulations for public worship. The rules for the building of altars must have been old and accepted, and are not inconsistent with the directions for the construction of the altar of the court of the tabernacle, Exodus 27:1-8 (compare Joshua 22:26-28).Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 22-26Verses 22-26 Moses having entered into the thick darkness, God there spake in his hearing all that follows from hence to the end of chap. 23, which is mostly an exposition of the ten commandments. The laws in these verses relate to God's worship. The Israelites are assured of God's gracious acceptance of their devotions. Under the gospel, men are encouraged to pray every where, and wherever God's people meet in his name to worship him, he will be in the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22-26The Lord is beyond human understanding, as shown by his speaking to the people with a voice from heaven (20:22). This had two effects on their practices: They could not use silver or gold to make human-shaped gods (20:23). They could not carve stones for an altar (20:25). This might be to prevent them from carving stone gods. They must make the altar from earth and uncut stones (20:24, 25). The rule against revealing nakedness might have been to…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2424. An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me--a regulation applicable to special or temporary occasions.Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 20:24
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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