Idol

How Nave’s arranged it

• Manufacture ofExodus 20:4Exodus 32:4Exodus 32:20Deuteronomy 4:23Isaiah 40:19Isaiah 40:20Isaiah 44:9–12Isaiah 44:17Habakkuk 2:18Acts 19:24Acts 19:25
• Manufacture of, forbiddenExodus 20:4Exodus 34:17
• Made of
• GoldExodus 32:3Exodus 32:4Psalms 115:4–7Psalms 135:15–17Isaiah 2:20Isaiah 30:22Isaiah 31:7Hosea 8:4
• SilverIsaiah 2:20Isaiah 30:22Isaiah 31:7Hosea 8:4
• Wood and stoneLeviticus 26:1Deuteronomy 4:282 Kings 19:18Isaiah 37:19Isaiah 41:6Isaiah 44:13–19Ezekiel 20:32
• Coverings ofIsaiah 30:22
• Prayer to, unanswered1 Kings 18:25–29Isaiah 16:12
• Things offered to, not to be eatenExodus 34:15
• See Iconoclasm

The passages, in Bible order (29)

The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 16 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.

1. Exodus 20:4

   You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.

   ›Commentary on Exodus 20:42 voices

   “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.

   “Thou 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 plagues, particularly those on Exodus

   Everything gathered on Exodus 20:4→

   Verse page →Original language →

2. Exodus 32:3

   Then all the people took off their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron.

   ›Commentary on Exodus 32:32 voices

   “And all the people brake off the golden earrings, which were in their ears,.... The men took off their earrings, and persuaded their wives and children, or obliged them to part with theirs; though the Targum of Jonathan says the women refused to give their ornaments to their husbands, therefore all the people immediately broke off all the golden ornaments which were in their ears (x), so intent were they upon idolatry. This is to be understood not of every individual, but of the greatest part of the people; so apostle explains it of some of them, 1Co 10:

   “Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox ( Ps. cvi. 20 ), and proclaimed their own folly, beyond that of other idolaters, who worshipped the host of heaven. Having made the calf in Horeb, they worshipped the graven image, Ps. cvi.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 32:3→

   Verse page →Original language →

3. Exodus 32:4

   He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”

   ›Commentary on Exodus 32:42 voices

   “This idol seems to have been the god Apis, the chief deity of the Egyptians, worshipped at Memphis under the form of a live ox, three years old. It was distinguished by a triangular white spot on its forehead and other peculiar marks.

   “Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox ( Ps. cvi. 20 ), and proclaimed their own folly, beyond that of other idolaters, who worshipped the host of heaven. Having made the calf in Horeb, they worshipped the graven image, Ps. cvi.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 32:4→

   Verse page →Original language →

4. Exodus 32:20

   Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, and scattered the powder over the face of the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink it.

   ›Commentary on Exodus 32:201 voice

   “He took the calf - and burnt - and ground it to powder, etc. - How truly contemptible must the object of their idolatry appear when they were obliged to drink their god, reduced to powder and strewed on the water! “But,” says an objector, “how could gold, the most ductile of all metals, and the most ponderous, be stamped into dust and strewed on water?” In Deu 9:21, this matter is fully explained.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 32:20→

   Verse page →Original language →

5. Exodus 34:15

   Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices.

   ›Commentary on Exodus 34:151 voice

   “Moses bowed . . . and worshipped--In the East, people bow the head to royalty, and are silent when it passes by, while in the West, they take off their hats and shout.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 34:15→

   Verse page →Original language →

6. Exodus 34:17

   You shall make no molten gods for yourselves.

   ›Commentary on Exodus 34:172 voices

   "You shall make for yourself no molten gods." You see that he forbids the making of images because of idolatry and that it is impossible to make an image of the bodiless, invisible and uncircumscribed God. "You saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke.…" And St. Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, says, "Being therefore God's offspring, we ought not to think that the Deity is like gold, or silver or stone, a representation by the art and imagination of man."

   “Moses bowed . . . and worshipped--In the East, people bow the head to royalty, and are silent when it passes by, while in the West, they take off their hats and shout.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 34:17→

   Verse page →Original language →

7. Leviticus 26:1

   “You must not make idols for yourselves or set up a carved image or sacred pillar; you must not place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down to it. For I am the LORD your God.

   ›Commentary on Leviticus 26:12 voices

   “For this reason, in order to root out the materials of idolatry, God's law proclaims, "You shall not make an idol"; and by adding, "Nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven or in the earth or in the sea," it utterly forbade such crafts to the servants of God. Enoch had anticipated this law when he prophesied that the demons and the spirits of the rebellious angels would turn to idolatry every element and property of the universe, everything which heaven and sea and earth contain, to be consecrated as a god against God.

   “Idols - literally, “things of nought.” Hebrew אלילים 'ĕlı̂ylı̂m. There appears to have been a play on the similarity in sound of this word to אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym (God). Compare 1Co 8:4. Standing image - Either an upright statue, or a pillar, such as an obelisk or a Celtic menhir, set up for an idolatrous purpose (compare Exo 34:13 note).

   Everything gathered on Leviticus 26:1→

   Verse page →Original language →

8. Deuteronomy 4:23

   Be careful that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God that He made with you; do not make an idol for yourselves in the form of anything He has forbidden you.

   Verse page →Original language →

9. Deuteronomy 4:28

   And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.

   ›Commentary on Deuteronomy 4:281 voice

   “Justly are they then sent to the gods whom they have served, Judg. x. 14 . [3.] Yet he encourages them to hope that God would reserve mercy for them in the latter days, that he would by his judgments upon them bring them to repentance, and take them again into covenant with himself,

   Everything gathered on Deuteronomy 4:28→

   Verse page →Original language →

10. 1 Kings 18:25–29

    Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. Then call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.”

    ›Commentary on 1 Kings 18:25–292 voices

    “[Elijah] ordered [the prophets of Baal] to sacrifice first, in order that they might not have any excuse [by saying], "If we had sacrificed first, [Baal] would have accepted our sacrifice, but now he is angry with us, because we have sacrificed last." They planned …

    “Elijah gives precedence in everything to the Baal-priests, to take away all ground for cavil in case of failure. It is his object to make an impression on king and people; and he feels rightly that the impression will depend greatly on the contrast between their inability and the power given to him.

    Everything gathered on 1 Kings 18:25–29→

    Verse page →Original language →

11. 2 Kings 19:18

    They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands.

    ›Commentary on 2 Kings 19:181 voice

    “Have cast their gods into the fire - In general the Assyrians carried off the images of the gods from the temples of the conquered nations, and deposited them in their own shrines, as at once trophies of victory and proof of the superiority of the Assyrian deities over those of their enemies. But sometimes the gods are said to have been “destroyed” or “burnt with fire;” which was probably done when the idols were of rude workmanship or coarse material; and when it was inconvenient to encumber an army with spoils so weighty and difficult, of transport.

    Everything gathered on 2 Kings 19:18→

    Verse page →Original language →

12. Psalms 115:4–7

    Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.

    ›Commentary on Psalms 115:4–72 voices

    “Their idols are silver and gold, mere dead inert matter; at the best only made of precious metal, but that metal quite as powerless as the commonest wood or clay. The value of the idol shows the folly of the maker in wasting his substance, but certainly does not increase the power of the image, since there is no more life in silver and gold than in brass or iron. The work of men's hands.

    But this all inspired Scripture also teaches more plainly and with more authority, so that we in our turn write boldly to you as we do, and you, if you refer to Scripture, will be able to verify what we say. For an argument when confirmed by higher authority is irresistibly proved. From the first then the divine Word firmly taught the Jewish people about the abolition of idols when it said, "You shall not make for yourself a graven image or the likeness of anything that is in the heaven above or in the earth beneath."

    Everything gathered on Psalms 115:4–7→

    Verse page →Original language →

13. Psalms 135:15–17

    The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.

    ›Commentary on Psalms 135:15–171 voice

    "I am the Lord your God. You shall not make for yourselves idols fashioned by the hand, neither set up a graven image. Nor shall you set up a remarkable stone in your land [to worship it]: I am the Lord your God." These words indeed were first spoken by the Lord by the lips of Moses, being applicable certainly to whomsoever the Lord God of Israel may lead forth in like manner from the Egypt of a most superstitious world and from the place of human slavery.

    Everything gathered on Psalms 135:15–17→

    Verse page →Original language →

14. Isaiah 2:20

    In that day men will cast away to the moles and bats their idols of silver and gold—the idols they made to worship.

    ›Commentary on Isaiah 2:201 voice

    “Which they made each one for himself to worship “Which they have made to worship” - The word לו lo, for himself, is omitted by two ancient MSS., and is unnecessary. It does not appear that any copy of the Septuagint has it, except MS. Pachom, and MS. 1. D. II., and they have ἑαυτοις, להם lahem, to themselves.

    Everything gathered on Isaiah 2:20→

    Verse page →Original language →

15. Isaiah 16:12

    When Moab appears on the high place, when he wearies himself and enters his sanctuary to pray, it will do him no good.

    ›Commentary on Isaiah 16:121 voice

    “When it is seen that Moab, etc. “When Moab shall see,” etc. - For נראה nirah, a MS. reads ראה raah, and so the Syriac and Chaldee. “Perhaps כי נראה ki nirah is only a various reading of כי נלאה ki nilah.” Secker. A very probable conjecture.

    Everything gathered on Isaiah 16:12→

    Verse page →Original language →

16. Isaiah 30:22

    So you will desecrate your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away like menstrual cloths, saying to them, “Be gone!”

    ›Commentary on Isaiah 30:222 voices

    “(Verse 23.) And you shall defile the plates of your carved silver, and the garment of your molded gold, and scatter them like the impurity of a menstruating woman: go forth, you shall say to it. LXX: And you shall defile the silver and the gold idols: you shall break them and scatter them like the water of a menstruating woman, and you shall cast them away like feces.

    Ye shall defile “Ye shall treat as defiled” - The very prohibition of Moses, Deu 7:25, only thrown out of the prose into the poetical form: “The graven images of their gods ye shall burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or the gold that is on them; nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein; for it is an abomination to Jehovah thy God.”

    Everything gathered on Isaiah 30:22→

    Verse page →Original language →