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You shall not make any carved image for yourself or a likeness of anything in heaven above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth. Do not bow down to them or be subservient to them,[a] for I the Lord your God am a jealous God.[b] I follow up on[c] the guilt of the fathers with their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren, if they also hate me. But I show mercy to thousands who love me and keep my commandments.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 20:5 The verb is not the normal form for serve but a special form that implies subservience.
  2. Exodus 20:5 That is, I am a God who demands exclusive loyalty
  3. Exodus 20:5 Or demand an accounting for. The Hebrew verb pachad has traditionally been translated visit, but in present-day English visit usually has a social connotation. The term, however, refers to an official visit to bring punishment or reward to someone.

“You shall not make for yourself an image(A) in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship(B) them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,(C) punishing the children for the sin of the parents(D) to the third and fourth generation(E) of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand(F) generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

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