Exodus 20:4 BSB — MannaFest

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.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

KJV

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

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Commentary

2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

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

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

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.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

16 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
לֹֽ֣א	lo'	not	H3808 →
תַֽעֲשֶׂ֨ה־	ta.'a.Seh-	you must make	H6213 →
לְךָ֥֣	le.Kha	for <the> yourself
פֶ֣֙סֶל֙׀	fe.sel	an image	H6459 →
וְכָל־	ve.khol	and any	H3605 →
תְּמוּנָ֡֔ה	te.mu.Nah	form	H8544 →
אֲשֶׁ֤ר֣	'a.Sher	which	H834 →
בַּשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙׀	ba.sha.Ma.yim	[is] in the heavens	H8064 →
מִמַּ֡֔עַל	mi.Ma.'al	<from> above	H4605 →
וַֽאֲשֶׁ֥ר֩	va.'a.Sher	and which	H834 →
בָּאָ֖֨רֶץ	ba.'A.retz	[is] on the earth	H776 →
מִתַָּ֑֜חַת	mi.Ta.chat	<from> beneath	H8478 →
וַאֲשֶׁ֥֣ר	va.'a.Sher	and which	H834 →
בַּמַּ֖֣יִם׀	ba.Ma.yim	[is] in the waters	H4325 →
מִתַּ֥֣חַת	mi.Ta.chat	from under	H8478 →
לָאָֽ֗רֶץ׃	la.'A.retz	to the earth	H776 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

H4605mimaal<from> above140×

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
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…
leads to
- Deuteronomy 27:15
  ‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved idol or molten image—an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of a craftsman—and sets it up in secret.’ And let all the people…
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Leviticus 19:4
  Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods. I am the LORD your God.
- Exodus 23:24
  You must not bow down to their gods or serve them or follow their practices. Instead, you are to demolish them and smash their sacred stones to pieces.
- Numbers 33:52
  you must drive out before you all the inhabitants of the land, destroy all their carved images and cast idols, and demolish all their high places.
Through
Leviticus 19:4
Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods. I am the LORD your God.
leads to
- 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…
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Exodus 20:23
  You are not to make any gods alongside Me; you are not to make for yourselves gods of silver or gold.
Through
Psalms 97:7
All worshipers of images are put to shame— those who boast in idols. Worship Him, all you gods!
leads to
- Jeremiah 10:14
  Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.
- Hebrews 1:6
  And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all God’s angels worship Him.”