Exodus 20:4 (DRB)

Passage

Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth.

Nearby Context

Exodus 20:2 I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt not have strange gods before me.

Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth.

Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me:

Exodus 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands to them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "shalt", "make", "thyself", "graven", "likeness", "heaven", and "above". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "shalt", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "Thou shalt not have strange gods before..." into verse 5's "Thou shalt not adore them nor serve...", so "thou" and "shalt" 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 "thou" and "shalt" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.