Exodus 20:5 (YLT)

Passage

Thou dost not bow thyself to them, nor serve them: for I, Jehovah thy God, <FI>am<Fi> a zealous God, charging iniquity of fathers on sons, on the third <FI>generation<Fi> , and on the fourth, of those hating Me,

Nearby Context

Exodus 20:3 `Thou hast no other Gods before Me.

Exodus 20:4 `Thou dost not make to thyself a graven image, or any likeness which <FI>is<Fi> in the heavens above, or which <FI>is<Fi> in the earth beneath, or which <FI>is<Fi> in the waters under the earth.

Exodus 20:5 Thou dost not bow thyself to them, nor serve them: for I, Jehovah thy God, <FI>am<Fi> a zealous God, charging iniquity of fathers on sons, on the third <FI>generation<Fi> , and on the fourth, of those hating Me,

Exodus 20:6 and doing kindness to thousands, of those loving Me and keeping My commands.

Exodus 20:7 `Thou dost not take up the name of Jehovah thy God for a vain thing, for Jehovah acquitteth not him who taketh up His name for a vain thing.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "dost", "thyself", "serve", "jehovah", "zealous", "charging", and "iniquity". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "dost", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "Thou dost not make to thyself a..." into verse 6's "and doing kindness to thousands of those...", so "thou" and "dost" 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 "dost" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.