Exodus 20:23 Made Simple

KJV ORIGINAL

Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.

Close to the original. Clear modern English.

✦ MADE SIMPLE

You must not make silver gods to worship alongside me, and you must not make gold gods for yourselves.

⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE

God is telling His people they cannot worship idols made of precious metals—He alone deserves their worship.

📚 Historical Context

This command comes immediately after God gave the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. The Israelites had just witnessed God's power through thunder, lightning, and smoke on the mountain. In the ancient world, people commonly made statues of gods from valuable materials like gold and silver, believing these idols held divine power.

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Revelation 20:4

Then I saw thrones with people sitting on them, given the authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been executed for speaking up about Jesus and God's truth — people who refused to bow down to the beast or worship its image, who never took its mark on their foreheads or hands. They came back to life and ruled alongside Christ for a thousand years.

Ezekiel 46:10

The prince should be right there with everyone else — when they come in for worship, he comes in too, and when they leave, he leaves with them.

1 Chronicles 6:39

And his relative Asaph, who stood at his right side—this same Asaph who was the son of Berachiah, the son of Shimea,

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