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Exodus 20:4

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:

KJV

Non facies tibi sculptile, neque omnem similitudinem quæ est in cælo desuper, et quæ in terra deorsum, nec eorum quæ sunt in aquis sub terra.

Vulgate

Οὐ ποιήσεις σεαυτῷ εἴδωλον οὐδὲ παντὸς ὁμοίωμα, ὅσα ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἄνω καὶ ὅσα ἐν τῇ γῇ κάτω καὶ ὅσα ἐν τοῖς ὕδασιν ὑποκάτω τῆς γῆς.

LXX

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:

ASV

לֹֽ֣א תַֽעֲשֶׂ֨ה לְ/ךָ֥ פֶ֨סֶל֙ וְ/כָל תְּמוּנָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֤ר בַּ/שָּׁמַ֨יִם֙ מִ/מַּ֔עַל וַ/אֲשֶׁ֥ר בָּ/אָ֖רֶץ מִ/תָּ֑חַת וַ/אֲשֶׁ֥ר בַּ/מַּ֖יִם מִ/תַּ֥חַת לָ/אָֽרֶץ

Hebrew

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In the original Hebrew

11 distinct Hebrew words appear in this verse.

אֲשֶׁר
'shr
particle · 5461×
אֶ֣רֶץ
'rts
noun · 2484×
ה
h
adverb · 140×
ו
v
noun · 505×
יַּ֥עַשׂ
y'sh
verb · 2621×
כָּל
kl
noun · 5376×
לֹ֣א
l'
proper_noun · 5171×
מַ֖יִם
mym
noun · 580×
פָּ֑סֶל
psl
noun · 30×
שָּׁמַ֔יִם
shmym
noun · 419×
תְּמוּנָ֔ה
tmvnh
noun · 10×

Themes

Historic Christian voices

6 passages from patristic writers, Reformers, and church catechisms citing this verse.

§2056The word "Decalogue" means literally "ten words."11 God revealed these "ten words" to his people on the holy mountain. They were written "with the finger of God,"12 unlike the other commandments written by Moses.13 They are pre-eminently the words of God. They are handed on to us in the books of Exodus 14 and Deuteronomy.15 Beginning with the Old Testament, the sacred books ref…
Q. What does the Lord say in his law? A. God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Honor your father and your mother. You …

Cross-references

  • 1Kgs 12:28 — Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egyp
  • 2Chr 33:7 — And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the t
  • 2Kgs 17:35 — With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:
  • Acts 7:43 — Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.
  • Acts 17:29 — Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.
  • Acts 17:29 — Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.
  • Acts 19:26 — Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:
  • Deut 4:15 — Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:
  • Deut 4:16 — Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
  • Deut 4:23 — Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden th
  • Deut 5:8 — Thou shalt not make 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 waters beneath the earth:
  • Deut 5:8 — Thou shalt not make 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 waters beneath the earth:
  • Deut 5:9 — Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them
  • Deut 16:22 — Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the LORD thy God hateth.
  • Deut 27:15 — Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and sa
  • Deut 27:15 — Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and sa
  • Exod 32:1 — And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for
  • Exod 32:8 — They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, w
  • Exod 32:23 — For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
  • Exod 34:17 — Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.
  • Ezek 8:10 — So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about.
  • Ezek 8:10 — So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about.
  • Ezek 20:7 — Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
  • Isa 40:18 — To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
  • Isa 40:18 — To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
  • Isa 42:8 — I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
  • Isa 42:17 — They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.
  • Isa 44:9 — They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.
  • Isa 45:16 — They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols.
  • Isa 46:5 — To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?
  • Jer 10:3 — For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
  • Jer 10:8 — But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.
  • Jer 10:14 — Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
  • Judg 17:3 — And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molt
  • Lev 19:4 — Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.
  • Lev 26:1 — 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.
  • Lev 26:1 — 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.
  • Num 12:8 — With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
  • Ps 97:7 — Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.
  • Ps 97:7 — Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.