Exodus 20:4 (GNV)

Passage

Thou shalt make thee no grauen image, neither any similitude of things that are in heauen aboue, neither that are in the earth beneath, nor that are in the waters vnder the earth.

Nearby Context

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

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt haue none other Gods before me.

Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt make thee no grauen image, neither any similitude of things that are in heauen aboue, neither that are in the earth beneath, nor that are in the waters vnder the earth.

Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bowe downe to them, neither serue them: for I am the Lord thy God, a ielous God, visiting the iniquitie of the fathers vpon the children, vpon the third generation and vpon the fourth of them that hate me:

Exodus 20:6 And shewing mercie vnto thousandes to them that loue me, and keepe my commandemets.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "shalt", "make", "thee", "grauen", "image", "neither", and "similitude". 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 haue none other Gods before..." into verse 5's "Thou shalt not bowe downe to them...", 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.