Exodus 23:24

You must not bow down to their gods or serve them or follow their practices. Instead, you are to demolish them and smash their sacred stones to pieces.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — YHWH speaks to Israel through Moses following the covenant stipulations, directing the nation toward the imminent conquest of Canaan. The words — תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה (tish.ta.cha.Veh) means "you must bow down," and תָּעָבֵד (ta.'a.ve.De/m) means "you must be enticed to serve." The thread — The parallel commands against idolatrous worship and destruction of foreign shrines appear in Exodus 20:5, Numbers 33:52, and Deuteronomy 12:30. Why it lands — The text commands absolute rejection of Canaanite worship and physical destruction of its cultic objects, then immediately conditions divine blessing on exclusive service to YHWH.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

לֹֽא־lo'-not תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֤הtish.ta.cha.Vehyou must bow down לֵאלֹֽהֵיהֶם֙le./lo.hei./Hemto/ gods/ their וְלֹ֣אve./Lo'and/ not תָֽעָבְדֵ֔םta.'a.ve.De/myou must be enticed to serve/ them וְלֹ֥אve./Lo'and/ not תַעֲשֶׂ֖הta.'a.Sehyou must make כְּמַֽעֲשֵׂיהֶ֑םke./ma.'a.sei./Hemlike/ works/ their כִּ֤יkifor הָרֵס֙ha.Rescompletely <tear down>תְּהָ֣רְסֵ֔םte.Ha.re.Se/myou will tear down/ them וְשַׁבֵּ֥רve./sha.Berand/ totally <shatter>תְּשַׁבֵּ֖רte.sha.Beryou will shatter into pieces מַצֵּבֹתֵיהֶֽם׃ma.tze.vo.tei./Hemsacred pillars/ their

King James Version

Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.

Cross-references

Exodus 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
Numbers 33:52 you must drive out before you all the inhabitants of the land, destroy all their carved images and cast idols, and demolish all their high places.
Deuteronomy 12:30 be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.”
Deuteronomy 7:5 Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.
Deuteronomy 12:3 Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.
Exodus 32:20 Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, and scattered the powder over the face of the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink it.
Leviticus 18:3 You must not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not follow the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you. You must not walk in their customs.
2 Chronicles 33:9 So Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem astray, so that they did greater evil than the nations that the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.
Psalms 106:35 but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs.
Exodus 34:13 Rather, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, and chop down their Asherah poles.