Exodus 20:26
in Exodus 20And you must not go up to My altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not uncovered thereon.
KJV
Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.
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This verse in Exodus 20
Commentary
8 notes on this verseNeither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar - The word altar comes from altus, high or elevated, though the Hebrew word מזבח mizbach, from זבח zabach, to slay, kill, etc., signifies merely a place for sacrifice; see Gen 8:20. But the heathens, who imitated the rites of the true God in their idolatrous worship, made their altars very high; whence they derived their name altaria, altars, i.e., very high or elevated places; which they built thus, partly through pride and vain glory, and partly that their gods might the better hear them.
This site's exposition
thou shalt not build it of hewn stone
on Exodus 20:25-26
A stone altar is allowed and a tool taken to the stone pollutes it, so the one thing that would turn it into a work of craftsmanship is what disqualifies it. Deuteronomy 27:5 and 27:6 repeat the rule, and Joshua 8:31 reports it kept on mount Ebal with whole stones over which no man lifted up any iron. Steps are forbidden for the sake of modesty, and Exodus 28:42 meets the same concern for the priests with linen breeches, which is why Jewish tradition describes the later temple altar as reached by a ramp.
This site's exposition
you must not go up to My altar on steps
Adam Clarke traces the Latin altare to altus, high, and notes that the nations built their altars tall, where the Hebrew word for altar names a place of sacrifice. The rule keeps altars of earth or unshaped stones low. Solomon's bronze altar at 2 Chronicles 4:1 stood ten cubits high, and John Wesley holds that the priests went up to it by a slope.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Unity knows no number, equality allows no scale. As Scripture says, "You shall not go up by steps to my altar."
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Neither shall thou go at by steps unto mine altar - Indeed afterwards God appointed an altar ten cubits high. But it is probable, they went not up to that by steps, but by a sloping ascent.
), so that they might not go up by steps to them. That the higher the altar was, and the nearer heaven, the more acceptable the sacrifice was, was a foolish fancy of the heathen, who therefore chose high places; in opposition to this, and to show that it is the elevation of the heart, not of the sacrifice, that God looks at, they were here ordered to make their altars low.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Neither shall thou go at by steps unto mine altar - Indeed afterwards God appointed an altar ten cubits high. But it is probable, they went not up to that by steps, but by a sloping ascent.
Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar,....
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַעֲלֶ֥ה | taaleh | you must go up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| בְמַעֲלֹ֖ת | vemaalot | on steps | H4609 → | |
| עַֽל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִזְבְּחִ֑י | mizbechi | altar my | H4196 → | 401 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֛ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִגָּלֶ֥ה | tigaleh | it will be uncovered | H1540 → | |
| עֶרְוָתְךָ֖ | ʾervatekha | nakedness your | H6172 → | |
| עָלָֽיו׃ פ | ʾalav | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
תַעֲלֶ֥הyou must go up
taalehH5927 →890 times
בְמַעֲלֹ֖תon steps
vemaalotH4609 →
עַֽל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מִזְבְּחִ֑יaltar my
mizbechiH4196 →401 times
אֲשֶׁ֛רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תִגָּלֶ֥הit will be uncovered
tigalehH1540 →
עֶרְוָתְךָ֖nakedness your
ʾervatekhaH6172 →
עָלָֽיו׃ פon it
ʾalavH5921 →5755 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
1 Peter 1:16for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
it leads to
- Leviticus 11:44
For I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any creature that crawls along the ground.
- Leviticus 19:2
“Speak to the whole congregation of Israel and tell them: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.
- Leviticus 20:7
Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.
- Leviticus 11:44
Through
Ecclesiastes 5:1Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
it leads to
- Hebrews 12:28–29
Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- James 1:19
My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
- Proverbs 15:8
The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
- Hebrews 12:28–29
Through
Leviticus 10:3Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: ‘To those who come near Me I will show My holiness, and in the sight of all the people I…
it leads to
- Exodus 19:22
Even the priests who approach the LORD must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them.”
- Isaiah 49:3
He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel, in whom I will display My glory.”
- Exodus 19:22
Where this verse is studied
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Alfred Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services; Cassiodorus, EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 116:2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.