Exodus 20:23

Exodus 20:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.
• English Standard Version (ESV)You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.
• New King James Version (NKJV)You shall not make anything to be with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Remember, you must not make any idols of silver or gold to rival me.

Context of Exodus 20:23

21The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. 22Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold. 24“ ‘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. 25If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.

Exodus 20:23 word by word

לֹ֥א תַעֲשׂ֖וּן אִתִּ֑י אֱלֹ֤הֵי כֶ֙סֶף֙ וֵאלֹהֵ֣י זָהָ֔ב לֹ֥א תַעֲשׂ֖וּ לָכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Ye shall not makeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• with me godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• of silverכֶּ֫סֶףkeseph · silver: moneyH3701
• of goldזָהָבzâhâb · goldH2091

Cross-references for Exodus 20:23

• Exodus 20:3“You shall have no other gods before me.
• Exodus 32:1When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”
• 1 Samuel 5:4But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained.
• 2 Kings 17:33They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.
• Ezekiel 20:39“ ‘As for you, people of Israel, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Go and serve your idols, every one of you! But afterward you will surely listen to me and no longer profane my holy name with your gifts and idols.
• Ezekiel 43:8When they placed their threshold next to my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they defiled my holy name by their detestable practices. So I destroyed them in my anger.
• Daniel 5:4As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.
• Zephaniah 1:5those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the Lord and who also swear by Molek,
• 1 Corinthians 10:21You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.
• 2 Corinthians 6:14Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
• Colossians 2:18Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind.
• 1 John 5:20We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
• Revelation 22:15Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Commentaries on Exodus 20:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23Ye shall not make with me gods of silver - The expressions here are very remarkable. Before it was said, Ye shall have no other gods Before me, פני אל al panai, Exodus 20:3. Here they are commanded, ye shall not make gods of silver or gold אתי itti With me, as emblems or representatives of God, in order, as might be pretended, to keep these displays of his magnificence in memory; on the contrary, he would have only an altar of earth - of plain turf, on…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. 22-2322-23. the Lord said unto Moses--It appears from De 4:14-16, that this injunction was a conclusion drawn from the scene on Sinai--that as no similitude of God was displayed then, they should not attempt to make any visible figure or form of Him.Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 20:23

• Idolatry
• Silver

In the dictionaries

• Book
• Commit
• Covet
• Grave
• Guiltless
• Hold
• Likeness
• Remember
• Steal
• Visit

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