Exodus 20:23 (ASV)

Passage

Ye shall not make [other gods] with me; gods of silver, or gods of gold, ye shall not make unto you.

Nearby Context

Exodus 20:21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

Exodus 20:22 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.

Exodus 20:23 Ye shall not make [other gods] with me; gods of silver, or gods of gold, ye shall not make unto you.

Exodus 20:24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in every place where I record my name I will come unto thee and I will bless thee.

Exodus 20:25 And if thou make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stones; for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "make", "other", "gods", "silver", and "gold". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "make", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "And Jehovah said unto Moses Thus thou..." into verse 24's "An altar of earth thou shalt make...", so "shall" and "make" belong inside that flow. In Exodus context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "shall" and "make" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.