Bible Strands
Leviticus 19:4
Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods. I am the LORD your God.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Yahweh speaks to Israel through Moses, positioning this command between instructions to honor parents and keep the Sabbath and regulations for peace offerings.
The words — תִּפְנוּ (tipnû) means you turn, and אֱלִילִים (ʾĕlîlîm) denotes worthless idols, forming the direct prohibition against diverting allegiance.
The thread — This prohibition recurs in Leviticus 26:1, Exodus 20:23, and Exodus 34:17, consistently forbidding the crafting or setting up of carved or molten images.
Why it lands — It requires the immediate rejection of all rival deities and the exclusive acknowledgment of Yahweh as the sole God of Israel.
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
King James Version
Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the Lord your God.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 26:1 “You must not make idols for yourselves or set up a carved image or sacred pillar; you must not place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down to it. For I am the LORD your God.
- Exodus 20:23 You are not to make any gods alongside Me; you are not to make for yourselves gods of silver or gold.
- Exodus 34:17 You shall make no molten gods for yourselves.
- Psalms 115:4 Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
- Deuteronomy 27:15 ‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved idol or molten image—an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of a craftsman—and sets it up in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other gods before Me.
- Psalms 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols, but it is the LORD who made the heavens.
- 1 Corinthians 10:14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
- 1 John 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
- Exodus 32:4 He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”