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Leviticus 19:4

in Leviticus 19

Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods. I am the LORD your God.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am Jehovah your God.

KJV

Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the Lord your God.

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This verse in Leviticus 19

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Turn ye not unto idols - אלילם elilim, literally nothings; and to this St. Paul seems to allude 1Co 8:4, where he says, We know that an idol is Nothing in the world.

This site's exposition

Ye shall fear every man his mother

on Leviticus 19:3-4

Three commands of the ten stand in these two verses, and the first of them is turned around. Exodus 20:12 reads honour thy father and thy mother, and here it is fear every man his mother, and his father, with the mother named first and fear standing where honour stood. The word rendered idols in verse 4 is elilim, which Adam Clarke renders as nothings, and 1 Corinthians 8:4 says that an idol is nothing in the world. Both verses close on I am the LORD your God.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Make not to yourselves gods, the creatures of your own fancy, nor think to worship the Creator by molten gods. You are the work of God's hands, be not so absurd as to worship gods the work of your own hands. " Molten gods are specified for the sake of the molten calf. That the sacrifices of their peace-offerings should always be offered, and eaten, according to the law,

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes

Turn ye not unto idols,....

The words behind it

12 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • אַל־may not

    ʾal-H408 →724 times

  • תִּפְנוּ֙you turn

    tifnuH6437 →135 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • הָ֣אֱלִילִ֔ים<the> worthless idols

    haelilimH457 →

  • וֵֽאלֹהֵי֙and gods of

    veloheiH430 →2601 times

  • מַסֵּכָ֔הmolten metal

    masekhahH4541 →

  • לֹ֥אnot

    lo'H3808 →5168 times

  • תַעֲשׂ֖וּyou must make

    taasuH6213 →2628 times

  • לָכֶ֑םfor <the> yourselves

    lakhem

  • אֲנִ֖יI

    ʾaniH589 →874 times

  • יְהוָ֥ה[am] Yahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃God your

    ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

16 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Exodus 20:4You 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.20 worksLeviticus 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 the LORD your God.10 worksPsalms 115:4–7Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.7 worksExodus 20:23You are not to make any gods alongside Me; you are not to make for yourselves gods of silver or gold.7 worksExodus 34:17You shall make no molten gods for yourselves.7 worksDeuteronomy 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 say, ‘Amen!’6 works
The other 10 cross-references, with their words ▾
Psalms 96:5For all the gods of the nations are idols, but it is the LORD who made the heavens.5 works1 John 5:21Little children, keep yourselves from idols.5 worksExodus 20:3–5You shall have no other gods before Me.5 works1 Corinthians 10:14Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.5 worksJudges 17:3And when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I wholly dedicate the silver to the LORD for my son’s benefit, to make a graven image and a molten idol. Therefore I will now return it to you.”5 worksExodus 32:4He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”4 worksDaniel 3:18But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”4 works1 Chronicles 16:26For all the gods of the nations are idols, but it is the LORD who made the heavens.4 worksHaggai 2:18Consider carefully from this day forward—from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, the day the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid—consider carefully:2 works2 Chronicles 28:2Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even made cast images of the Baals.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    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…

    it leads to

    • 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.

    • 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…

    • 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.

    • Exodus 20:4–5

      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.

  • Through

    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…

    it leads to

    • Exodus 34:17

      You shall make no molten gods for yourselves.

    • 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.

    • Deuteronomy 5:8

      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.

  • Through

    Exodus 20:23

    You are not to make any gods alongside Me; you are not to make for yourselves gods of silver or gold.

    it leads to

    • Ezekiel 20:39

      And as for you, O house of Israel, this is what the Lord GOD says: Go and serve your idols, every one of you. But afterward, you will surely listen to Me, and you…

Where this verse is studied

About Leviticus

Moses and Aaron Appear before Pharaoh, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Moses and Aaron Appear before Pharaoh, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Leviticus: the study guide →Read Leviticus 19 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Leviticus 19 →