Exodus 20:24 (DBY)

Passage

An altar of earth shalt thou make unto me, and shalt sacrifice on it thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings, thy sheep and thine oxen: in all places where I shall make my name to be remembered, I will come unto thee, and bless thee.

Nearby Context

Exodus 20:22 And Jehovah said to Moses, Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: Ye have seen that I have spoken with you from the heavens.

Exodus 20:23 Ye shall not make beside me gods of silver, and ye shall not make to you gods of gold.

Exodus 20:24 An altar of earth shalt thou make unto me, and shalt sacrifice on it thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings, thy sheep and thine oxen: in all places where I shall make my name to be remembered, I will come unto thee, and bless thee.

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

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sheep", "altar", "earth", "shalt", "thou", "make", "sacrifice", and "burnt-offerings". 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 beside me gods..." 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.