Exodus 20:24
in Exodus 20You are to make for Me an altar of earth, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats and cattle. In every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in every place where I record my name I will come unto thee and I will bless thee.
KJV
An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
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This verse in Exodus 20
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings - The law concerning which was shortly to be given, though sacrifices of this kind were in use from the days of Abel. In all places where I record my name - Wherever I am worshipped, whether in the open wilderness, at the tabernacle, in the temple, the synagogues, or elsewhere, I will come unto thee and bless thee. These words are precisely the same in signification with those of our Lord, Mat 18:20: For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
This site's exposition
An altar of earth thou shalt make
The first thing commanded after the ten words is an altar, and it is made of earth. Sacrifice on it is older than the priesthood and older than the tabernacle, and it belongs to the line of altars Noah builds at Genesis 8:20 and Abram at Genesis 12:7. The promise attached is that in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee, which ties the blessing to the name rather than to the site.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
To make an altar of earth for the Lord is to place our hope in the incarnation of the Mediator. Our gift is accepted by God when, on this altar, our humility rests whatever it does upon faith in the Lord's incarnation. We place the …
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
PateriusEXPOSITION OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT, EXODUS 30 · Written before 606.
proposed
To make an altar of earth for the Lord is to place our hope in the incarnation of the Mediator. Our gift is accepted by God when, on this altar, our humility rests whatever it does upon faith in the Lord's incarnation. We place the …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
This rule being prescribed before the establishment of the ceremonial law, which appointed altars much more costly, intimates that, after the period of that law, plainness should be accepted as the best ornament of the external services of religion, and that gospel-worship should not be performed with external pomp and gaiety.
): In all places where I record my name, or where my name is recorded (that is, where I am worshipped in sincerity), I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
An altar of earth thou shall make unto me,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
This rule being prescribed before the establishment of the ceremonial law, which appointed altars much more costly, intimates that, after the period of that law, plainness should be accepted as the best ornament of the external services of religion, and that gospel-worship should not be performed with external pomp and gaiety.
The words behind it
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִזְבַּ֣ח | mizbach | an altar of | H4196 → | 401 times |
| אֲדָמָה֮ | ʾadamah | earth | H127 → | 225 times |
| תַּעֲשֶׂה־ | taaseh- | you will make | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לִּי֒ | li | for <the> me | ||
| וְזָבַחְתָּ֣ | vezavachta | and you will sacrifice | H2076 → | 134 times |
| עָלָ֗יו | ʾalav | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֹלֹתֶ֙יךָ֙ | ʾoloteikha | burnt offerings your | H5930 → | 287 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁלָמֶ֔יךָ | shelameikha | peace offerings your | H8002 → | 87 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| צֹֽאנְךָ֖ | tzonekha | sheep your | H6629 → | 274 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּקָרֶ֑ךָ | bekarecha | cattle your | H1241 → | 183 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | in every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַמָּקוֹם֙ | hamakom | <the> place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אַזְכִּ֣יר | ʾazkir | I will cause to be remembered | H2142 → | 230 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁמִ֔י | shemi | name my | H8034 → | 864 times |
| אָב֥וֹא | ʾavo' | I will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֵלֶ֖יךָ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וּבֵרַכְתִּֽיךָ׃ | uverakhtikha | and I will bless you | H1288 → | 330 times |
מִזְבַּ֣חan altar of
mizbachH4196 →401 times
אֲדָמָה֮earth
ʾadamahH127 →225 times
תַּעֲשֶׂה־you will make
taaseh-H6213 →2628 times
לִּי֒for <the> me
li
וְזָבַחְתָּ֣and you will sacrifice
vezavachtaH2076 →134 times
עָלָ֗יוon it
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עֹלֹתֶ֙יךָ֙burnt offerings your
ʾoloteikhaH5930 →287 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
שְׁלָמֶ֔יךָpeace offerings your
shelameikhaH8002 →87 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
צֹֽאנְךָ֖sheep your
tzonekhaH6629 →274 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בְּקָרֶ֑ךָcattle your
bekarechaH1241 →183 times
בְּכָל־in every
bekholH3605 →5413 times
הַמָּקוֹם֙<the> place
hamakomH4725 →401 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhere
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אַזְכִּ֣ירI will cause to be remembered
ʾazkirH2142 →230 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שְׁמִ֔יname my
shemiH8034 →864 times
אָב֥וֹאI will come
ʾavo'H935 →2568 times
אֵלֶ֖יךָto you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
וּבֵרַכְתִּֽיךָ׃and I will bless you
uverakhtikhaH1288 →330 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 12:5Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 7:12
the LORD appeared to him at night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 12:11
then the LORD your God will choose a dwelling for His Name. And there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all…
- Deuteronomy 26:2
you are to take some of the firstfruits of all your produce from the soil of the land that the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go…
- Deuteronomy 16:2
You are to offer to the LORD your God the Passover sacrifice from the herd or flock in the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for His Name.
- 2 Chronicles 7:12
Through
1 Kings 9:3And the LORD said to him: “I have heard your prayer and petition before Me. I have consecrated this temple you have built by putting My Name there forever; My eyes and My heart…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 8:29
May Your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that You may hear the prayer that Your servant prays…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 8:29
Through
2 Chronicles 7:16For I have now chosen and consecrated this temple so that My Name may be there forever. My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 7:15
Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
- 2 Chronicles 7:15
Through
2 Chronicles 6:6But now I have chosen Jerusalem for My Name to be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’
it leads to
- Psalms 132:13
For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His home:
- 1 Chronicles 28:4
Yet the LORD, the God of Israel, chose me out of all my father’s house to be king over Israel forever. For He chose Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah He…
- Psalms 132:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies6
On this verse
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Pacian of Barcelona, Commentary (church-history corpus) and Paterius, EXPOSITION OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT, EXODUS 30.