Exodus 20:25 (WEB)

Passage

If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of cut stones; for if you lift up your tool on it, you have polluted it.

Nearby Context

Exodus 20:23 You shall most certainly not make gods of silver or gods of gold for yourselves to be alongside me.

Exodus 20:24 You shall make an altar of earth for me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I record my name I will come to you and I will bless you.

Exodus 20:25 If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of cut stones; for if you lift up your tool on it, you have polluted it.

Exodus 20:26 You shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed to it.’

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "make", "altar", "stone", "shall", "build", "stones", "lift", and "tool". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "make" and "altar", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 24's "You shall make an altar of earth..." into verse 26's "You shall not go up by steps...", so "make" 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 "make" and "altar" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.