New English Translation
Exodus 20:4
4“You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water below.
Exodus 20:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
- New International Version (NIV)“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
Context of Exodus 20:4
2“I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 3“You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water below. 5You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children to the third and fourth generations of those who reject me, 6and showing covenant faithfulness to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Read all of Exodus 20Exodus 20:4 word by word
לֹֽ֣א תַֽעֲשֶׂ֨ה־לְךָ֥֣ פֶ֣֙סֶל֙׀ וְכָל־תְּמוּנָ֡֔ה אֲשֶׁ֤ר֣ בַּשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙׀ מִמַּ֡֔עַל וַֽאֲשֶׁ֥ר֩ בָּאָ֖֨רֶץ מִתַָּ֑֜חַת וַאֲשֶׁ֥֣ר בַּמַּ֖֣יִם׀ מִתַּ֥֣חַת לָאָֽ֗רֶץ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thou shalt not makeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- unto thee any graven imageפֶּ֫סֶלpesel · idolH6459
- or any likenessתְּמוּנָהtemûnâh temûnâh · likenessH8544
- thatאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
- in heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
- aboveמַ֫עַלma‛al · aboveH4605
- in the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- in the waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
Cross-references for Exodus 20:4
- Exodus 32:1When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Get up, make us gods that will go before us. As for this fellow Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him!”
- Exodus 34:17You must not make yourselves molten gods.
- Leviticus 19:4Do not turn to idols, and you must not make for yourselves gods of cast metal. I am the Lord your God.
- Leviticus 26:1“‘You must not make for yourselves idols, so you must not set up for yourselves a carved image or a pillar, and you must not place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down before it, for I am the Lord your God.
- Deuteronomy 4:15Be very careful, then, because you saw no form at the time the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the middle of the fire.
- Deuteronomy 5:8You must not make for yourself an image of anything in heaven above, on earth below, or in the waters beneath.
- Deuteronomy 27:15‘Cursed is the one who makes a carved or metal image – something abhorrent to the Lord, the work of the craftsman – and sets it up in a secret place.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
- 1 Kings 12:28After the king had consulted with his advisers, he made two golden calves. Then he said to the people, “It is too much trouble for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look, Israel, here are your gods who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
- 2 Chronicles 33:7He put an idolatrous image he had made in God’s temple, about which God had said to David and to his son Solomon, “This temple in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will be my permanent home.
- Psalms 97:7All who worship idols are ashamed, those who boast about worthless idols. All the gods bow down before him.
- Psalms 115:4Their idols are made of silver and gold – they are man-made.
- Psalms 135:15The nations’ idols are made of silver and gold, they are man-made.
- Isaiah 40:18To whom can you compare God? To what image can you liken him?
- Isaiah 42:8I am the Lord! That is my name! I will not share my glory with anyone else, or the praise due me with idols.
- Isaiah 44:9All who form idols are nothing; the things in which they delight are worthless. Their witnesses cannot see; they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame.
- Isaiah 45:16They will all be ashamed and embarrassed; those who fashion idols will all be humiliated.
Commentaries on Exodus 20:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image - As the word פסל pasal signifies to hew, carve, grave, etc., פסל pesel may here signify any kind of image, either of wood, stone, or metal, on which the axe, the chisel, or the graving tool has been employed. This commandment includes in its prohibitions every species of idolatry known to have been practiced among the Egyptians. The reader will see this the more plainly by consulting the notes on the ten…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. 4Refusing to make an image of God is the first step in recognizing that he is transcendent. This means God is the Creator of the universe and is completely distinct from it. God is not part of creation. If people represent God as something in creation, they will eventually worship that created thing. Instead of worshiping the Creator, they begin to worship what God made. This exchange leads to moral corruption and spiritual harm (Romans 1:18–25).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 20:4
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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