22 And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
23 Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.
24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.
22 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto Moses, H4872 Thus thou shalt say H559 unto the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 Ye have seen H7200 that I have talked H1696 with you from heaven. H8064
23 Ye shall not make H6213 with me gods H430 of silver, H3701 neither shall ye make H6213 unto you gods H430 of gold. H2091
24 An altar H4196 of earth H127 thou shalt make H6213 unto me, and shalt sacrifice H2076 thereon thy burnt offerings, H5930 and thy peace offerings, H8002 thy sheep, H6629 and thine oxen: H1241 in all places H4725 where I record H2142 my name H8034 I will come H935 unto thee, and I will bless H1288 thee.
25 And if thou wilt make H6213 me an altar H4196 of stone, H68 thou shalt not build H1129 it of hewn stone: H1496 for if thou lift up H5130 thy tool H2719 upon it, thou hast polluted H2490 it.
26 Neither shalt thou go up H5927 by steps H4609 unto mine altar, H4196 that thy nakedness H6172 be not discovered H1540 thereon.
22 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
23 Ye shall not make `other gods' with me; gods of silver, or gods of gold, ye shall not make unto you.
24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in every place where I record my name I will come unto thee and I will bless thee.
25 And if thou make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stones; for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not uncovered thereon.
22 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Thus dost thou say unto the sons of Israel: Ye -- ye have seen that from the heavens I have spoken with you;
23 ye do not make with Me gods of silver, even gods of gold ye do not make to yourselves.
24 `An altar of earth thou dost make for Me, and thou hast sacrificed on it thy burnt-offerings and thy peace-offerings, thy flock and thy herd; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered I come in unto thee, and have blessed thee.
25 `And if an altar of stones thou dost make to Me, thou dost not build them of hewn work; when thy tool thou hast waved over it, then thou dost pollute it;
26 neither dost thou go up by steps on Mine altar, that thy nakedness be not revealed upon it.
22 And Jehovah said to Moses, Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: Ye have seen that I have spoken with you from the heavens.
23 Ye shall not make beside me gods of silver, and ye shall not make to you gods of gold.
24 An altar of earth shalt thou make unto me, and shalt sacrifice on it thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings, thy sheep and thine oxen: in all places where I shall make my name to be remembered, I will come unto thee, and bless thee.
25 And if thou make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone; for if thou lift up thy sharp tool upon it, thou hast profaned it.
26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.
22 Yahweh said to Moses, "This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
23 You shall most certainly not make alongside of me gods of silver, or gods of gold for yourselves.
24 You shall make an altar of earth for me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace-offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I record my name I will come to you and I will bless you.
25 If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones; for if you lift up your tool on it, you have polluted it.
26 Neither shall you go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed to it.'
22 And the Lord said to Moses, Say to the children of Israel, You yourselves have seen that my voice has come to you from heaven
23 Gods of silver and gods of gold you are not to make for yourselves.
24 Make for me an altar of earth, offering on it your burned offerings and your peace-offerings, your sheep and your oxen: in every place where I have put the memory of my name, I will come to you and give you my blessing.
25 And if you make me an altar of stone do not make it of cut stones: for the touch of an instrument will make it unclean.
26 And do not go up by steps to my altar, for fear that your bodies may be seen uncovered.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Exodus 20
Commentary on Exodus 20 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 20
Ex 20:1-26. The Ten Commandments.
1. And God spake all these words—The Divine Being Himself was the speaker (De 5:12, 32, 33), in tones so loud as to be heard—so distinct as to be intelligible by the whole multitude standing in the valleys below, amid the most appalling phenomena of agitated nature. Had He been simply addressing rational and intelligent creatures, He would have spoken with the still small voice of persuasion and love. But He was speaking to those who were at the same time fallen and sinful creatures, and a corresponding change was required in the manner of God's procedure, in order to give a suitable impression of the character and sanctions of the law revealed from heaven (Ro 11:5-9).
2. I am the Lord thy God—This is a preface to the ten commandments—the latter clause being specially applicable to the case of the Israelites, while the former brings it home to all mankind; showing that the reasonableness of the law is founded in their eternal relation as creatures to their Creator, and their mutual relations to each other.
3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me—in My presence, beside, or except Me.
4, 5. 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.
8. Remember the sabbath day—implying it was already known, and recognized as a season of sacred rest. The first four commandments [Ex 20:3-11] comprise our duties to God—the other six [Ex 20:12-17] our duties to our fellow men; and as interpreted by Christ, they reach to the government of the heart as well as the lip (Mt 5:17). "If a man do them he shall live in them" [Le 18:5; Ne 9:29]. But, ah! what an if for frail and fallen man. Whoever rests his hope upon the law stands debtor to it all; and in this view every one would be without hope were not "the Lord our Righteousness" [Jer 23:6; 33:16] (Joh 1:17).
18-21. all the people saw the thunderings and the lightnings—They were eye and ear witnesses of the awful emblems of the Deity's descent. But they perceived not the Deity Himself.
19. let not God speak with us, lest we die, &c.—The phenomena of thunder and lightning had been one of the plagues so fatal to Egypt, and as they heard God speaking to them now, they were apprehensive of instant death also. Even Moses himself, the mediator of the old covenant, did "exceedingly quake and fear" (Heb 12:21). But doubtless God spake what gave him relief—restored him to a frame of mind fit for the ministrations committed to him; and hence immediately after he was enabled to relieve and comfort them with the relief and comfort which he himself had received from God (2Co 1:4).
22, 23. the Lord said unto Moses—It appears from De 4:14-16, that this injunction was a conclusion drawn from the scene on Sinai—that as no similitude of God was displayed then, they should not attempt to make any visible figure or form of Him.
24. An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me—a regulation applicable to special or temporary occasions.
25. thou shalt not build it of hewn stone, &c.—that is, carved with figures and ornaments that might lead to superstition.
26. by steps—a precaution taken for the sake of decency, in consequence of the loose, wide, flowing garments of the priests.