New English Translation
Exodus 20:7
7“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold guiltless anyone 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.
- 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
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. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold guiltless anyone who takes his name in vain. 8“Remember the Sabbath day to set it apart as holy. 9For six days you may 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 must not swear falsely in my name, so that you do not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.
- Leviticus 24:11The Israelite woman’s son misused the Name and cursed, so they brought him to Moses. (Now his mother’s name was Shelomith daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.)
- Deuteronomy 5:11You must not make use of the name of the Lord your God for worthless purposes, for the Lord will not exonerate anyone who abuses his name that way.
- Psalms 50:14Present to God a thank-offering! Repay your vows to the sovereign One!
- Proverbs 30:9lest I become satisfied and act deceptively and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I become poor and steal and demean the name of my God.
- Jeremiah 4:2You must be truthful, honest and upright when you take an oath saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ If you do, the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are and will make him the object of their boasting.”
- Matthew 5:33“Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation, ‘Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’
- Matthew 23:16“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’
- Matthew 26:63But Jesus was silent. The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
- 2 Corinthians 1:23Now I appeal to God as my witness, that to spare you I did not come again to Corinth.
- Hebrews 6:16For people swear by something greater than themselves, and the oath serves as a confirmation to end all dispute.
- James 5:12And above all, my brothers and sisters, 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 into judgment.
- Joshua 2:12So now, promise me this with an oath sworn in the Lord’s name. Because I have shown allegiance to you, show allegiance to my family. Give me a solemn pledge
- Joshua 9:20We must let them live so we can escape the curse attached to the oath we swore to them.”
- 2 Samuel 21:1During David’s reign there was a famine for three consecutive years. So David inquired of the Lord. The Lord said, “It is because of Saul and his bloodstained family, because he murdered the Gibeonites.”
- 1 Kings 2:9But now don’t treat him as if he were innocent. You are a wise man and you know how to handle him; make sure he has a bloody death.”
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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