Leviticus 26:1
in Leviticus 26“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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Ye shall make you no idols, neither shall ye rear you up a graven image, or a pillar, neither shall ye place any figured stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am Jehovah your God.
KJV
Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the Lord your God.
⋯
This verse in Leviticus 26
Commentary
8 notes on this verseFor this reason, in order to root out the materials of idolatry, God's law proclaims, "You shall not make an idol"; and by adding, "Nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven or in the earth or in the sea," it utterly forbade such crafts to the servants of God. Enoch had anticipated this law when he prophesied that the demons and the spirits of the rebellious angels would turn to idolatry every element and property of the universe, everything which heaven and sea and earth contain, to be consecrated as a god against God.
This site's exposition
You must not make idols for yourselves
on Leviticus 26:1-2
The chapter opens by repeating two commands before it names a single blessing, no idols and keep my sabbaths. Both come back in the curses, images cut down at verse 30 and the land taking its sabbaths at verse 34.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
An image - Or pillar, that is, to worship it, or bow down to it, as it follows. Otherwise this was not simply prohibited, being practiced by holy men, both before and after this law.
They are the abstract of the second and fourth commandments, which, as they are by much the largest in the decalogue, so they are most frequently insisted on in other parts of the law.
Ye shall have no idols, or graven image,....
Next to God's being, unity, and universal influence, it is necessary that we know and believe that he is an infinite Spirit; and therefore to represent him by an image in the making of it, to confine him to an image in the consecrating of it, and to worship him by an image in bowing down to it, changes his truth into a lie and his glory into shame, as much as any thing.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Idols - literally, “things of nought.” Hebrew אלילים 'ĕlı̂ylı̂m. There appears to have been a play on the similarity in sound of this word to אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym (God). Compare 1Co 8:4. Standing image - Either an upright statue, or a pillar, such as an obelisk or a Celtic menhir, set up for an idolatrous purpose (compare Exo 34:13 note).
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Ye shall make you no idols - See note on Exo 20:4, and see the note on Gen 28:18-19 (note), concerning consecrated stones. Not only idolatry in general is forbidden here, but also the superstitious use of innocent and lawful things. Probably the stones or pillars which were first set up, and anointed by holy men in commemoration of signal interposition of God in their behalf, were afterward abused to idolatrous and superstitious purposes, and therefore prohibited. This we know was the case with the brazen serpent, 2Ki 18:4.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַעֲשׂ֨וּ | taasu | you must make | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָכֶ֜ם | lakhem | for <the> yourselves | ||
| אֱלִילִ֗ם | ʾelilim | worthless idols | H457 → | |
| וּפֶ֤סֶל | ufesel | and an idol | H6459 → | |
| וּמַצֵּבָה֙ | umatzevah | and a sacred pillar | H4676 → | |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תָקִ֣ימוּ | takimu | you must set up | H6965 → | 628 times |
| לָכֶ֔ם | lakhem | for <the> yourselves | ||
| וְאֶ֣בֶן | veeven | and a stone of | H68 → | 273 times |
| מַשְׂכִּ֗ית | maskit | a carved image | H4906 → | |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִתְּנוּ֙ | titenu | you must make | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| בְּאַרְצְכֶ֔ם | beartzekhem | in land your | H776 → | 2504 times |
| לְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֹ֖ת | lehishtachavot | to bow down | H7812 → | |
| עָלֶ֑יהָ | ʾaleiha | to it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כִּ֛י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃ | ʾeloheikhem | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תַעֲשׂ֨וּyou must make
taasuH6213 →2628 times
לָכֶ֜םfor <the> yourselves
lakhem
אֱלִילִ֗םworthless idols
ʾelilimH457 →
וּפֶ֤סֶלand an idol
ufeselH6459 →
וּמַצֵּבָה֙and a sacred pillar
umatzevahH4676 →
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תָקִ֣ימוּyou must set up
takimuH6965 →628 times
לָכֶ֔םfor <the> yourselves
lakhem
וְאֶ֣בֶןand a stone of
veevenH68 →273 times
מַשְׂכִּ֗יתa carved image
maskitH4906 →
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִתְּנוּ֙you must make
titenuH5414 →2011 times
בְּאַרְצְכֶ֔םin land your
beartzekhemH776 →2504 times
לְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֹ֖תto bow down
lehishtachavotH7812 →
עָלֶ֑יהָto it
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 times
כִּ֛יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָ֖ה[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.
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 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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.
- Exodus 34:17
Through
Exodus 23:24You 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.
it leads to
- Exodus 20:5
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth…
- Deuteronomy 12:30–31
be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.”
- Exodus 20:5
Through
Numbers 33:52you 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.
it leads to
- 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.
- Deuteronomy 20:16–18
However, in the cities of the nations that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not leave alive anything that breathes.
- Exodus 23:24
Through
Leviticus 19:4Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods. I am the LORD your God.
it leads to
- Exodus 20:23
You are not to make any gods alongside Me; you are not to make for yourselves gods of silver or gold.
- Psalms 115:4–7
Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
- Exodus 20:23
Where this verse is studied
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Andrew Bonar, A Commentary on Leviticus; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Tertullian, ON IDOLATRY 4.1-2.