Exodus 20:7 (YLT)

Passage

`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.

Nearby Context

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.

Exodus 20:8 `Remember the Sabbath-day to sanctify it;

Exodus 20:9 six days thou dost labour, and hast done all thy work,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "dost", "take", "name", "jehovah", "vain", and "acquitteth". 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 6's "and doing kindness to thousands of those..." into verse 8's "Remember the Sabbath-day to sanctify it...", 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.