New King James Version
Exodus 20:7
7“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.
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 Living Translation (NLT)“You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.
Context of Exodus 20:7
5you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6but showing mercy to thousands, to 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 him guiltless who takes His name in vain. 8“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9Six days you shall 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 19:12And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
- Leviticus 24:11And the Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the name of the Lord and cursed; and so they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.)
- Deuteronomy 5:11‘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.
- Psalms 50:14Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High.
- Proverbs 30:9Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God.
- Jeremiah 4:2And you shall swear, ‘The Lord lives,’ In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; The nations shall bless themselves in Him, And in Him they shall glory.”
- Matthew 5:33“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’
- Matthew 23:16“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’
- Matthew 26:63But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”
- 2 Corinthians 1:23Moreover I call God as witness against my soul, that to spare you I came no more to Corinth.
- Hebrews 6:16For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute.
- James 5:12But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.
- Joshua 2:12Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token,
- Joshua 9:20This we will do to them: We will let them live, lest wrath be upon us because of the oath which we swore to them.”
- 2 Samuel 21:1Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, “It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.”
- 1 Kings 2:9Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him; but bring his gray hair down to the grave with blood.”
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries