Exodus 20:4

KJV1611 – Modern English

You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

לֹֽ֣א תֽ͏ַעֲשֶׂ֨ה־לְךָ֥֣ פֶ֣֙סֶל֙ ׀ וְכָל־תְּמוּנָ֡֔ה אֲשֶׁ֤֣ר בַּשָּׁמַ֣֙יִם֙ ׀ מִמַּ֡֔עַל וֽ͏ַאֲשֶׁ֥ר֩ בָּאָ֖֨רֶץ מִתָּ֑͏ַ֜חַת וַאֲשֶׁ֥֣ר בַּמַּ֖֣יִם ׀ מִתַּ֥֣חַת לָאָֽ֗רֶץ

Transliteration

lōʾ ṯaʿăśeh-ləḵā pesel and-all-təmûnāh ʾăsher bash-shāmayim from-mimmaʿal wa-ʾăsher bā-ʾāreṣ mit-tāḥaṯ wa-ʾăsher bam-mayim from-mittaḥaṯ lā-ʾāreṣ

Grammar Details

• *lōʾ ṯaʿăśeh*: negative particle + qal imperfect, 2nd masculine singular - you shall not make
• *ləḵā*: preposition with 2nd masculine singular suffix - for yourself
• *pesel*: masculine singular noun - carved image/idol
• *təmûnāh*: feminine singular noun - likeness/form/representation
• *ʾăsher*: relative pronoun - that/which
• *bash-shāmayim*: preposition + definite article + masculine plural noun - in the heavens
• *mimmaʿal*: preposition + adverb - from above
• *bā-ʾāreṣ*: preposition + definite article + feminine singular noun - in the earth
• *mit-tāḥaṯ*: preposition + adverb - from below
• *bam-mayim*: preposition + definite article + masculine plural noun - in the waters
• *lā-ʾāreṣ*: preposition + definite article + feminine singular noun - to the earth

Word Meanings

• *pesel*: carved image/idol/statue
• *təmûnāh*: form/likeness/representation/semblance
• *mimmaʿal*: above/overhead
• *mit-tāḥaṯ*: beneath/below

Other Translations

• Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

  You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth.

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  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:

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  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:

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  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:

• Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

  Thou shalt make the no grauen ymage, nether any symilitude that is in heauen aboue, ether in the erth beneth, or in the water that ys beneth the erth.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Thou shalt make the no grauen ymage ner eny symilitude, nether of it that is aboue in heauen, ner of it that is beneth vpon earth, ner of it that is in the water vnder the earth.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  Thou shalt make thee no grauen image, neither any similitude of things that are in heauen aboue, neither that are in the earth beneath, nor that are in the waters vnder the earth.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  Thou shalt make thee no grauen image, neyther any similitude that is in heauen aboue, eyther in the earth beneath, or in the waters vnder the earth.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  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:

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  "You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  `Thou dost not make to thyself a graven image, or any likeness which `is' in the heavens above, or which `is' in the earth beneath, or which `is' in the waters under the earth.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  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.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  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:

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  You are not to make an image or picture of anything in heaven or on the earth or in the waters under the earth:

• World English Bible (2000)

  "You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  “You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water below.

Referenced Verses

• Lev 26:1 : 1 You shall make no idols nor carved image, neither set up a standing image, nor shall you set up any image of stone in your land to bow down to it: for I am the LORD your God.
• Deut 4:15-19 : 15 Take therefore good heed to yourselves; for you saw no form on the day that the LORD spoke to you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: 16 Lest you corrupt yourselves, and make for yourselves a carved image, the likeness of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17 The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 The likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: 19 And lest you lift up your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, should be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD your God has divided to all nations under the whole heaven.
• Ps 97:7 : 7 Confounded be all who serve carved images, who boast of idols: worship him, all you gods.
• Deut 27:15 : 15 Cursed be the man that makes any graven or molten image, an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and puts it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.
• Lev 19:4 : 4 Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.
• Acts 17:29 : 29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, engraved by art and man's design.
• Isa 45:16 : 16 They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together, those who are makers of idols.
• Rev 14:9-9 : 9 And a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 He shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.
• Rev 16:2 : 2 And the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth; and there came a foul and painful sore upon the men who had the mark of the beast, and upon those who worshiped his image.
• 1 Kgs 12:28 : 28 Therefore the king took counsel and made two calves of gold, and said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
• 2 Chr 33:7 : 7 And he set a carved image, the idol he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and Solomon his son, 'In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name forever.'
• Acts 19:26-35 : 26 Moreover, you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands; 27 So that not only is this our craft in danger of being discredited, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana might be despised, and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship. 28 And when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. 29 And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theater. 30 And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him. 31 And certain chiefs of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him, urging him not to adventure himself into the theater. 32 Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and most did not know why they had come together. 33 And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with the hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people. 34 But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. 35 And when the town clerk had quieted the people, he said, Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple keeper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?
• Rom 1:23 : 23 And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, and to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things.
• Rev 9:20 : 20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.
• Rev 13:14-15 : 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to those who dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. 15 And he had power to give life to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
• Isa 46:5-8 : 5 To whom will you liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike? 6 They pour out gold from the bag, and weigh silver on the scales, and hire a goldsmith; and he makes it a god: they fall down, yes, they worship. 7 They carry him upon the shoulder, they bear him, and set him in his place, and he stands; from his place he shall not move: yes, one shall cry to him, yet he cannot answer, nor save him out of his trouble. 8 Remember this, and show yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O you transgressors.
• Jer 10:3-5 : 3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. 4 They decorate it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, so that it does not move. 5 They stand upright like a palm tree, but do not speak: they must be carried, because they cannot go. Do not be afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.
• Jer 10:8-9 : 8 But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the wooden idol is a doctrine of vanities. 9 Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple are their clothing: they are all the work of skilled men.
• Jer 10:14-16 : 14 Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is humiliated by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. 15 They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation, they shall perish. 16 The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the Maker of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.
• Ezek 8:10 : 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, portrayed upon the wall all around.
• Ps 115:4-8 : 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 5 They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see; 6 They have ears, but they do not hear; noses they have, but they do not smell; 7 They have hands, but they do not handle; feet they have, but they do not walk; nor do they speak through their throat. 8 Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them.
• Ps 135:15-18 : 15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. 16 They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes have they, but they do not see; 17 They have ears, but they do not hear; neither is there any breath in their mouths. 18 Those who make them are like them: so is everyone that trusts in them.
• Isa 40:18-20 : 18 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him? 19 The workman molds a graven image, the goldsmith covers it with gold and casts silver chains. 20 He who is so impoverished that he has no offering chooses a tree that will not rot; he seeks for himself a skillful workman to prepare a graven image that will not be moved.
• Isa 42:8 : 8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, nor my praise to carved images.
• Isa 42:17 : 17 They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in carved images, that say to the molded images, 'You are our gods.'
• Isa 44:9-9 : 9 Those who make a carved image are all of them vanity; and their delightful things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. 10 Who has formed a god, or cast a carved image that is profitable for nothing? 11 Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together. 12 The smith with the tongs both works in the coals, and fashions it with hammers, and works it with the strength of his arms: yes, he is hungry, and his strength fails: he drinks no water, and is faint. 13 The carpenter stretches out his rule; he marks it out with a line; he fits it with planes, and he marks it out with the compass, and makes it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house. 14 He cuts down cedars, and takes the cypress and the oak, which he strengthens for himself among the trees of the forest: he plants an ash, and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it shall be for a man to burn: for he will take of it, and warm himself; yes, he kindles it, and bakes bread; yes, he makes a god, and worships it; he makes it a carved image, and falls down to it. 16 He burns part of it in the fire; with part of it he eats flesh; he roasts a roast, and is satisfied: yes, he warms himself, and says, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, even his carved image: he falls down to it, and worships it, and prays to it, and says, Deliver me, for you are my god. 18 They have not known nor understood: for he has shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. 19 And none considers in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yes, also I have baked bread on the coals of it; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the rest of it an abomination? shall I fall down to the stump of a tree? 20 He feeds on ashes: a deceived heart has turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
• Deut 4:23-25 : 23 Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image, or the likeness of anything, which the LORD your God has forbidden you. 24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. 25 When you beget children, and children's children, and have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a carved image, or the likeness of anything, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD your God, to provoke him to anger:
• Exod 32:1 : 1 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, "Arise, make us gods to go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."
• Exod 32:8 : 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made a molten calf, have worshiped it, have sacrificed to it, and have said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.'"
• Exod 32:23 : 23 For they said to me, 'Make us gods who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'
• Exod 34:17 : 17 You shall make no molten gods for yourself.
• Deut 5:8 : 8 You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: