God’s Word Translation
Exodus 20:7
7“Never use the name of the Lord your God carelessly. The Lord will make sure that anyone who carelessly uses his name will be punished.
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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"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 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.
Context of Exodus 20:7
5Never worship them or serve them, because I, the Lord your God, am a God who does not tolerate rivals. I punish children for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. 6But I show mercy to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my commandments. “Never use the name of the Lord your God carelessly. The Lord will make sure that anyone who carelessly uses his name will be punished. 8“Remember the day of rest by observing it as a holy day. 9You have six days to 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 19:12“Never swear by my name in order to deceive anyone. This dishonors the name of your God. I am the Lord.
- Leviticus 24:11The Israelite woman’s son began cursing the Lord’s name and treating it with contempt. So they brought him to Moses.
- Deuteronomy 5:11“Never use the name of the Lord your God carelessly. The Lord will make sure that anyone who uses his name carelessly will be punished.
- Psalms 50:14Bring ⌞your⌟ thanks to God as a sacrifice, and keep your vows to the Most High.
- Proverbs 30:9or I may feel satisfied and deny you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or I may become poor and steal and give the name of my God a bad reputation.
- Jeremiah 4:2if you take the oath, ‘As the Lord lives …’ in an honest, fair, and right way, then the nations will be blessed, and they will be honored by me.”
- Matthew 5:33“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Never break your oath, but give to the Lord what you swore in an oath to give him.’
- Matthew 23:16“How horrible it will be for you, you blind guides! You say, ‘To swear an oath by the temple doesn’t mean a thing. But to swear an oath by the gold in the temple means a person must keep his oath.’
- Matthew 26:63But Jesus was silent. Then the chief priest said to him, “Swear an oath in front of the living God and tell us, are you the Messiah, the Son of God?”
- 2 Corinthians 1:23I appeal to God as a witness on my behalf, that I stayed away from Corinth because I wanted to spare you.
- Hebrews 6:16When people take oaths, they base their oaths on someone greater than themselves. Their oaths guarantee what they say and end all arguments.
- James 5:12Above all things, my brothers and sisters, do not take an oath on anything in heaven or on earth. Do not take any oath. If you mean yes, say yes. If you mean no, say no. Do this so that you won’t be condemned.
- Joshua 2:12Please swear by the Lord that you’ll be as kind to my father’s family as I’ve been to you. Also give me some proof
- Joshua 9:20We must let them live to avoid ⌞the Lord’s⌟ anger because of the oath we swore.”
- 2 Samuel 21:1In the time of David, there was a famine for three successive years, and David asked the Lord’s advice about it. The Lord answered, “It’s because of Saul and his family. They are guilty of murder because they killed the people of Gibeon.”
- 1 Kings 2:9Now, don’t let him go unpunished. You are wise and know what to do to him: Put that gray-haired, old man into his grave by slaughtering him.”
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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