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.
• New International Version (NIV)Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or 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.

Context of Exodus 20:23

21As the people stood in the distance, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was. 22And the Lord said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: You saw for yourselves that I spoke to you from heaven. Remember, you must not make any idols of silver or gold to rival me. 24“Build for me an altar made of earth, and offer your sacrifices to me—your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats, and your cattle. Build my altar wherever I cause my name to be remembered, and I will come to you and bless you. 25If you use stones to build my altar, use only natural, uncut stones. Do not shape the stones with a tool, for that would make the altar unfit for holy use.

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 must not have any other god but me.
• Exodus 32:1When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.”
• 1 Samuel 5:4But the next morning the same thing happened—Dagon had fallen face down before the Ark of the Lord again. This time his head and hands had broken off and were lying in the doorway. Only the trunk of his body was left intact.
• 2 Kings 17:33And though they worshiped the Lord, they continued to follow their own gods according to the religious customs of the nations from which they came.
• Ezekiel 20:39“As for you, O people of Israel, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Go right ahead and worship your idols, but sooner or later you will obey me and will stop bringing shame on my holy name by worshiping idols.
• Ezekiel 43:8They put their idol altars right next to mine with only a wall between them and me. They defiled my holy name by such detestable sin, so I consumed them in my anger.
• Daniel 5:4While they drank from them they praised their idols made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
• Zephaniah 1:5For they go up to their roofs and bow down to the sun, moon, and stars. They claim to follow the Lord, but then they worship Molech, too.
• 1 Corinthians 10:21You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too.
• 2 Corinthians 6:14Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?
• Colossians 2:18Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud,
• 1 John 5:20And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.
• Revelation 22:15Outside the city are the dogs—the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie.

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