Exodus 20:24 (ASV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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.

Exodus 20:26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not uncovered thereon.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sheep", "altar", "earth", "thou", "shalt", "make", "sacrifice", and "thereon". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sheep" and "altar", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 23's "Ye shall not make other gods with..." into verse 25's "And if thou make me an altar...", so "sheep" and "altar" 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 "sheep" and "altar" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.