Exodus 23:13
in Exodus 23Pay close attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And in all things that I have said unto you take ye heed: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
KJV
And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
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This verse in Exodus 23
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect
This line closes the civil laws and turns the chapter toward the danger the rest of it is about. Making no mention of the name of other gods reaches past worship into ordinary speech, since a name kept on the tongue keeps the god in the conversation. Joshua 23:7 gives the same order to the generation that entered the land, and verses 24, 32 and 33 here name the same danger three more times before the chapter ends.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And in all things that I have said unto you, be circumspect,....
In Christian schools and academies (for it is in vain to think of reforming the play-houses), it were to be wished that the names and stories of the heathen deities, or demons rather, were not so commonly and familiarly used as they are, even with intimations of respect, and sometimes with forms of invocation. Surely we have not so learned Christ.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Rashi explained: “This verse is intended to bring every positive commandment also under the term of a prohibition, 367 So that if one fails to fulfill a positive commandment [as e.g.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Because the word l’ma’an is like ba’avur (“in order that”), we must explain.
[THREE TIMES.] The meaning of regalim. The word regel means a foot. Hence I.E.’s comment. is times. You shall serve only Me.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבְכֹ֛ל | uvekhol | and to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אָמַ֥רְתִּי | ʾamarti | I have said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵיכֶ֖ם | ʾaleikhem | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| תִּשָּׁמֵ֑רוּ | tishameru | you will take heed | H8104 → | 468 times |
| וְשֵׁ֨ם | veshem | and [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֤ים | ʾelohim | gods | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲחֵרִים֙ | ʾacherim | other | H312 → | 166 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַזְכִּ֔ירוּ | tazkiru | you will bring to remembrance | H2142 → | 230 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִשָּׁמַ֖ע | yishama' | it will be heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פִּֽיךָ׃ | pikha | mouth your | H6310 → | 498 times |
וּבְכֹ֛לand to all
uvekholH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁר־that
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
אָמַ֥רְתִּיI have said
ʾamartiH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵיכֶ֖םto you
ʾaleikhemH413 →5510 times
תִּשָּׁמֵ֑רוּyou will take heed
tishameruH8104 →468 times
וְשֵׁ֨םand [the] name of
veshemH8034 →864 times
אֱלֹהִ֤יםgods
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
אֲחֵרִים֙other
ʾacherimH312 →166 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תַזְכִּ֔ירוּyou will bring to remembrance
tazkiruH2142 →230 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִשָּׁמַ֖עit will be heard
yishama'H8085 →1159 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פִּֽיךָ׃mouth your
pikhaH6310 →498 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 4:9Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen, and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 6:7
And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
- Deuteronomy 11:19
Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
- Psalms 78:3–8
that we have heard and known and our fathers have relayed to us.
- Genesis 18:19
For I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, in order that…
- Deuteronomy 32:46
he said to them, “Take to heart all these words I testify among you today, so that you may command your children to carefully follow all the words of this law.
- Deuteronomy 6:7
Through
1 Timothy 4:16Pay close attention to your life and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
it leads to
- Titus 1:9
He must hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he can encourage others by sound teaching and refute those who contradict it.
- Titus 2:7
In everything, show yourself to be an example by doing good works. In your teaching show integrity, dignity,
- 2 John 1:8–9
Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be fully rewarded.
- Titus 1:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Exodus
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.