Deuteronomy 7:25
in Deuteronomy 7You must burn up the images of their gods; do not covet the silver and gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it; for it is detestable to the LORD your God.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not covet 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.
KJV
The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 7
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The silver or gold that is on them - The silver and gold with which the statues of the gods were overlaid. Paul is probably alluding to this command in Rom 2:22; and his accusation of the Jew thus shows that the prohibition of the text was very necessary. Lest thou be snared - As by the rich ephod made by Gideon: compare the marginal reference.
This site's exposition
graven images of their gods
on Deuteronomy 7:25-26
The silver and gold on the images is forbidden with a reason attached, lest thou be snared therein, and Joshua 7:21 is the case in point, where Achan takes a wedge of gold and a garment out of Jericho and Israel loses the next battle. Judges 8:24-27 has Gideon make an ephod out of spoil and all Israel go a whoring after it. Barnes reads Romans 2:22 as an allusion to this command, where Paul asks a reader who abhors idols whether he commits sacrilege. The chapter closes on the word cursed, which is herem, the same root translated utterly destroy at verse 2, so the thing devoted to destruction and the man who keeps it in his house fall under one term.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
), that is, "Lest thou be drawn, ere thou art aware, to like it and love it, to fancy it and pay respect to it" 2. Lest thou be a cursed thing like it,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The silver or gold - Wherewith the idols are covered or adorned, nor consequently any other of their ornaments. This he commands to shew his utter detestation of idolatry, and to cut off all occasions of it.
The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire,....
The idols which the heathen had worshipped were an abomination to God, and therefore must be so to them: all that truly love God hat what he hates. Observe how this is urged upon them: Thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; such a holy indignation as this must we conceive against sin, that abominable thing which the Lord hates.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
That people accordingly were truly happy as a nation, and found every promise which the faithful God made to them amply fulfilled, so long as they adhered to that obedience which was required of them.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them - Some of the ancient idols were plated over with gold, and God saw that the value of the metal and the excellence of the workmanship might be an inducement for the Israelites to preserve them; and this might lead, remotely at least, to idolatry. As the idols were accursed, all those who had them, or any thing appertaining to them, were accursed also, Deu 7:26.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| פְּסִילֵ֥י | pesilei | [the] images of | H6456 → | 23 times |
| אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֖ם | ʾeloheihem | gods their | H430 → | 2601 times |
| תִּשְׂרְפ֣וּן | tisrefun | you will burn ! | H8313 → | 117 times |
| בָּאֵ֑שׁ | baesh | with <the> fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַחְמֹד֩ | tachmod | you will covet | H2530 → | |
| כֶּ֨סֶף | kesef | silver | H3701 → | 403 times |
| וְזָהָ֤ב | vezahav | and gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶם֙ | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וְלָקַחְתָּ֣ | velakachta | and you will take [it] | H3947 → | 966 times |
| לָ֔ךְ | lakh | for <the> yourself | ||
| פֶּ֚ן | pen | lest | H6435 → | 133 times |
| תִּוָּקֵ֣שׁ | tivakesh | you should be ensnared | H3369 → | |
| בּ֔וֹ | bo | by <the> it | ||
| כִּ֧י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תוֹעֲבַ֛ת | toavat | [is] [the] abomination of | H8441 → | 117 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הֽוּא׃ | hu' | that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
פְּסִילֵ֥י[the] images of
pesileiH6456 →23 times
אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֖םgods their
ʾeloheihemH430 →2601 times
תִּשְׂרְפ֣וּןyou will burn !
tisrefunH8313 →117 times
בָּאֵ֑שׁwith <the> fire
baeshH784 →378 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תַחְמֹד֩you will covet
tachmodH2530 →
כֶּ֨סֶףsilver
kesefH3701 →403 times
וְזָהָ֤בand gold
vezahavH2091 →389 times
עֲלֵיהֶם֙on them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
וְלָקַחְתָּ֣and you will take [it]
velakachtaH3947 →966 times
לָ֔ךְfor <the> yourself
lakh
פֶּ֚ןlest
penH6435 →133 times
תִּוָּקֵ֣שׁyou should be ensnared
tivakeshH3369 →
בּ֔וֹby <the> it
bo
כִּ֧יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
תוֹעֲבַ֛ת[is] [the] abomination of
toavatH8441 →117 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
הֽוּא׃that
hu'H1931 →1879 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 12:3Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 7:5
Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Zechariah 13:2
And on that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the prophets and…
- Judges 2:2
and you are not to make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall tear down their altars.’ Yet you have not obeyed My voice. What is this you have done?
- Deuteronomy 7:5
Through
Joshua 7:21When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in…
it leads to
- James 1:15
Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
- Psalms 119:37
Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.
- Luke 12:15
And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
- 1 John 2:15–16
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
- James 1:15
Through
Deuteronomy 17:1You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep with any defect or serious flaw, for that is detestable to the LORD your God.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 15:21
But if an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.
- Deuteronomy 15:21
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.