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Selected Verse: Exodus 20:3 - Strong Concordance
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| Ex 20:3 |
Strong Concordance |
Thou shalt have no other [0312] gods [0430] before me [06440]. |
| |
King James |
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
| Thou shalt have no other gods before me--in My presence, beside, or except Me. |
| Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78] |
| The First Word. - "Let there not be to thee (thou shalt have no) other gods פּני על פּן," lit., beyond Me (על as in Gen 48:22; Psa 16:2), or in addition to Me (על as in Gen 31:50; Deu 19:9), equivalent to πλὴν ἐμοῦ (lxx), "by the side of Me" (Luther). "Before Me," coram me (Vulg., etc.), is incorrect; also against Me, in opposition to Me. (On פּני see Exo 33:14.) The singular יהיה does not require that we should regard Elohim as an abstract noun in the sense of Deity; and the plural אחרים would not suit this rendering (see Gen 1:14). The sentence is quite a general one, and not only prohibits polytheism and idolatry, the worship of idols in thought, word, and deed (cf. Deu 8:11, Deu 8:17, Deu 8:19), but also commands the fear, love, and worship of God the Lord (cf. Deu 6:5, Deu 6:13, Deu 6:17; Deu 10:12, Deu 10:20). Nearly all the commandments are couched in the negative form of prohibition, because they presuppose the existence of sin and evil desires in the human heart. |
| Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
| The first commandment is concerning the object of our worship, Jehovah, and him only, Thou shalt have no other gods before me - The Egyptians, and other neighbouring nations, had many gods, creatures of their own fancy. This law was pre - fixed because of that transgression; and Jehovah being the God of Israel, they must entirely cleave to him, and no other, either of their own invention, or borrowed from their neighbours. The sin against this commandment, which we are most in danger of, is giving that glory to any creature which is due to God only. Pride makes a God of ourselves, covetousness makes a God of money, sensuality makes a God of the belly. Whatever is loved, feared, delighted in, or depended on, more than God, that we make a god of. This prohibition includes a precept which is the foundation of the whole law, that we take the Lord for our God, accept him for ours, adore him with humble reverence, and set our affections entirely upon him. There is a reason intimated in the last words before me. It intimates, That we cannot have any other god but he will know it. That it is a sin that dares him to his face, which he cannot, will not, overlook. The second commandment is concerning the ordinances of worship, or the way in which God will be worshipped, which it is fit himself should appoint. Here is, [1.] The prohibition; we are forbidden to worship even the true God by images, Exo 20:4-5. First, The Jews (at least after the captivity) thought themselves forbidden by this to make any image or picture whatsoever. It is certain it forbids making any image of God, for to whom can we liken him? Isa 40:18, Isa 40:25. It also forbids us to make images of God in our fancies, as if he were a man as we are. Our religious worship must be governed by the power of faith, not by the power of imagination. Secondly, They must not bow down to them - Shew any sign of honour to them, much less serve them by sacrifice, or any other act of religious worship. When they paid their devotion to the true God, they must not have any image before them for the directing, exciting, or assisting their devotion. Though the worship was designed to terminate in God, it would not please him if it came to him through an image. The best and most ancient lawgivers among the Heathen forbad the setting up of images in their temples. It was forbidden in Rome by Numa a Pagan prince, yet commanded in Rome by the Pope, a Christian bishop. The use of images in the church of Rome, at this day, is so plainly contrary to the letter of this command, that in all their catechisms, which they put into the hand of the people, they leave out this commandment, joining the reason of it to the first, and so the third commandment they call the second, the fourth the third, &c. only to make up the number ten, they divide the tenth into two. For I the Lord Jehovah, thy God, am a jealous God, especially in things of this nature. It intimates the care he has of his own institutions, his displeasure against idolaters, and that he resents every thing in his worship that looks like, or leads to, idolatry: visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation - Severely punishing. Nor is it an unrighteous thing with God if the parents died in their iniquity, and the children tread in their steps, when God comes, by his judgments, to reckon with them, to bring into the account the idolatries their fathers were guilty of. Keeping mercy for thousands of persons, thousands of generations, of them that love me and keep my commandments - This intimates, that the second commandment, though in the letter of it is only a prohibition of false worship, yet includes a precept of worshipping God in all those ordinances which he hath instituted. As the first commandment requires the inward worship of love, desire, joy, hope, so this the outward worship of prayer and praise, and solemn attendance on his word. This mercy shall extend to thousands, much further than the wrath threatened to those that hate him, for that reaches but to the third or fourth generation. |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
Thou shalt have no other gods before me - אלהים אחרים elohim acherim, no strange gods - none that thou art not acquainted with, none who has not given thee such proofs of his power and godhead as I have done in delivering thee from the Egyptians, dividing the Red Sea, bringing water out of the rock, quails into the desert, manna from heaven to feed thee, and the pillar of cloud to direct, enlighten, and shield thee. By these miracles God had rendered himself familiar to them, they were intimately acquainted with the operation of his hands; and therefore with great propriety he says, Thou shalt have no strange gods before me; על פני al panai, before or in the place of those manifestations which I have made of myself.
This commandment prohibits every species of mental idolatry, and all inordinate attachment to earthly and sensible things. As God is the fountain of happiness, and no intelligent creature can be happy but through him, whoever seeks happiness in the creature is necessarily an idolater; as he puts the creature in the place of the Creator, expecting that from the gratification of his passions, in the use or abuse of earthly things, which is to be found in God alone. The very first commandment of the whole series is divinely calculated to prevent man's misery and promote his happiness, by taking him off from all false dependence, and leading him to God himself, the fountain of all good. |
20 Thou shalt fear [03372] the LORD [03068] thy God [0430]; him shalt thou serve [05647], and to him shalt thou cleave [01692], and swear [07650] by his name [08034].
12 And now, Israel [03478], what doth the LORD [03068] thy God [0430] require [07592] of thee, but to fear [03372] the LORD [03068] thy God [0430], to walk [03212] in all his ways [01870], and to love [0157] him, and to serve [05647] the LORD [03068] thy God [0430] with all thy heart [03824] and with all thy soul [05315],
17 Ye shall diligently [08104] keep [08104] the commandments [04687] of the LORD [03068] your God [0430], and his testimonies [05713], and his statutes [02706], which he hath commanded [06680] thee.
13 Thou shalt fear [03372] the LORD [03068] thy God [0430], and serve [05647] him, and shalt swear [07650] by his name [08034].
5 And thou shalt love [0157] the LORD [03068] thy God [0430] with all thine heart [03824], and with all thy soul [05315], and with all thy might [03966].
19 And it shall be, if thou do at all [07911] forget [07911] the LORD [03068] thy God [0430], and walk [01980] after [0310] other [0312] gods [0430], and serve [05647] them, and worship [07812] them, I testify [05749] against you this day [03117] that ye shall surely [06] perish [06].
17 And thou say [0559] in thine heart [03824], My power [03581] and the might [06108] of mine hand [03027] hath gotten [06213] me this wealth [02428].
11 Beware [08104] that thou forget [07911] not the LORD [03068] thy God [0430], in not keeping [08104] his commandments [04687], and his judgments [04941], and his statutes [02708], which I command [06680] thee this day [03117]:
14 And God [0430] said [0559], Let there be lights [03974] in the firmament [07549] of the heaven [08064] to divide [0914] the day [03117] from the night [03915]; and let them be for signs [0226], and for seasons [04150], and for days [03117], and years [08141]:
14 And he said [0559], My presence [06440] shall go [03212] with thee, and I will give thee rest [05117].
9 If thou shalt keep [08104] all these commandments [04687] to do [06213] them, which I command [06680] thee this day [03117], to love [0157] the LORD [03068] thy God [0430], and to walk [03212] ever [03117] in his ways [01870]; then shalt thou add [03254] three [07969] cities [05892] more for thee, beside these three [07969]:
50 If thou shalt afflict [06031] my daughters [01323], or if thou shalt take [03947] other wives [0802] beside [05921] my daughters [01323], no man [0376] is with us; see [07200], God [0430] is witness [05707] betwixt me and thee.
2 O my soul, thou hast said [0559] unto the LORD [03068], Thou art my Lord [0136]: my goodness [02896] extendeth not to thee;
22 Moreover I have given [05414] to thee one [0259] portion [07926] above thy brethren [0251], which I took [03947] out of the hand [03027] of the Amorite [0567] with my sword [02719] and with my bow [07198].
25 To whom then will ye liken [01819] me, or shall I be equal [07737]? saith [0559] the Holy One [06918].
18 To whom then will ye liken [01819] God [0410]? or what likeness [01823] will ye compare [06186] unto him?
4 Thou shalt not make [06213] unto thee any graven image [06459], or any likeness [08544] of any thing that [0834] is in heaven [08064] above [04605], or that is in the earth [0776] beneath, or that is in the water [04325] under the earth [0776]:
5 Thou shalt not bow down [07812] thyself to them, nor serve [05647] them: for I the LORD [03068] thy God [0430] am a jealous [07067] God [0410], visiting [06485] the iniquity [05771] of the fathers [01] upon the children [01121] unto the third [08029] and fourth [07256] generation of them that hate [08130] me;