Exodus 20:3
New International Version
“You shall have no other gods before me.

New Living Translation
“You must not have any other god but me.

English Standard Version
“You shall have no other gods before me.

Berean Standard Bible
You shall have no other gods before Me.

King James Bible
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

New King James Version
“You shall have no other gods before Me.

New American Standard Bible
“You shall have no other gods before Me.

NASB 1995
“You shall have no other gods before Me.

NASB 1977
“You shall have no other gods before Me.

Legacy Standard Bible
“You shall have no other gods before Me.

Amplified Bible
“You shall have no other gods before Me.

Christian Standard Bible
Do not have other gods besides me.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Do not have other gods besides Me.

American Standard Version
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Contemporary English Version
Do not worship any god except me.

English Revised Version
Thou shalt have none other gods before me.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Never have any other god.

Good News Translation
"Worship no god but me.

International Standard Version
You are to have no other gods besides me.

Majority Standard Bible
You shall have no other gods before Me.

NET Bible
"You shall have no other gods before me.

New Heart English Bible
Do not have other gods before me.

Webster's Bible Translation
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

World English Bible
“You shall have no other gods before me.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
You have no other Gods before Me.

Young's Literal Translation
'Thou hast no other Gods before Me.

Smith's Literal Translation
There shall be no other God to thee to my face.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Thou shalt not have strange gods before me.

Catholic Public Domain Version
You shall not have strange gods before me.

New American Bible
You shall not have other gods beside me.

New Revised Standard Version
you shall have no other gods before me.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
You shall have no other gods except me.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
You shall not have other gods outside of me.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Thou shalt have no other gods beside me.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Ten Commandments
2“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3You shall have no other gods before Me. 4You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.…

Cross References
Deuteronomy 5:7
You shall have no other gods before Me.

Isaiah 45:5-6
I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me, / so that all may know, from where the sun rises to where it sets, that there is none but Me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.

Matthew 4:10
“Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus told him. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

1 Corinthians 8:4-6
So about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one. / For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many so-called gods and lords), / yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist.

Deuteronomy 6:14
Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you.

Isaiah 44:6-8
Thus says the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me. / Who then is like Me? Let him say so! Let him declare his case before Me, since I established an ancient people. Let him foretell the things to come, and what is to take place. / Do not tremble or fear. Have I not told you and declared it long ago? You are My witnesses! Is there any God but Me? There is no other Rock; I know not one.”

1 John 5:21
Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

2 Kings 17:35
For the LORD had made a covenant with the Israelites and commanded them, “Do not worship other gods or bow down to them; do not serve them or sacrifice to them.

Jeremiah 25:6
Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’

1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

Hosea 13:4
Yet I am the LORD your God ever since the land of Egypt; you know no God but Me, for there is no Savior besides Me.

Acts 17:22-31
Then Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious. / For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you. / The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands. ...

Psalm 81:9
There must be no strange god among you, nor shall you bow to a foreign god.

1 Kings 18:21
Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did not answer a word.

Romans 1:21-23
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. / Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, / and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.


Treasury of Scripture

You shall have no other gods before me.

Exodus 15:11
Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

Deuteronomy 5:7
Thou shalt have none other gods before me.

Deuteronomy 6:5,14
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might…

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Exodus 20
1. The ten commandments are spoken by Jehovah
18. The people are afraid, but Moses comforts them
21. Idolatry is forbidden
23. Of what sort the altar should be














You shall have
This phrase is a direct command, indicating an imperative from God to His people. The Hebrew word used here is "lo yihyeh," which translates to "shall not be" or "shall not exist." This command is not merely a suggestion but a foundational principle for the Israelites. It establishes the exclusivity of their relationship with God, emphasizing that their allegiance and worship are to be directed solely to Him. This command sets the tone for the covenant relationship between God and His people, underscoring the seriousness of their commitment.

no other gods
The term "other gods" refers to any deity or object of worship that could potentially rival the one true God. In the ancient Near Eastern context, polytheism was prevalent, with various cultures worshiping multiple gods associated with different aspects of life and nature. The Hebrew word for "gods" here is "elohim," which can refer to divine beings or idols. This commandment is a clear denouncement of idolatry and polytheism, calling the Israelites to monotheism. It is a reminder that God is unique and incomparable, deserving of exclusive devotion and worship.

before Me
The phrase "before Me" is translated from the Hebrew "al panay," which literally means "upon My face" or "in My presence." This expression conveys the idea of having no other gods in God's sight or presence. It implies that God is omnipresent and omniscient, aware of all that occurs in the lives of His people. The commandment is not just about physical idols but also about the heart's allegiance. It calls for an internal and external commitment to God, where no other entity or desire takes precedence over Him. This phrase reinforces the personal and intimate nature of the relationship God desires with His people, where He is the central focus of their lives.

(3) Thou shalt have no other gods before me.--Heb., There shalt be to thee no other god before me. The result is the same, whether we translate Elohim by "god" or "gods;" but the singular verb shows that the plural form of the name is a mere plural of dignity.

Before me--literally, before my face--means strictly, "side by side with me"--i.e., "in addition to me." God does not suppose that the Israelites, after all that He had done for them, would discard Him, and substitute other gods in His place, but fears the syncretism which would unite His worship with that of other deities. All polytheisms were syncretic, and readily enlarged their pantheons, since, when once the principle of unity is departed from, whether the plurality be a little greater or a little less cannot much signify. The Egyptian religion seems to have adopted Ammon at a comparatively late period from Arabia; it took Bar, or Baal, Anta, or Ana‹tis, Astaret, or Astarte, Reshpu, or Reseph, &c., from Syria, and it admitted Totuu from Ethiopia. Israel, in after-times, fell into the same error, and, without intending to apostatise from Jehovah, added on the worship of Baal, Ashtoreth, Moloch, Chemosh, Remphan, &c. It is this form of polytheism against which the first commandment is directed. It asserts the sole claim of Jehovah to our religious regards.

Verse 3. - Thou shalt have. The use of the second person singular is remarkable when a covenant was being made with the people (Exodus 19:5). The form indicated that each individual of the nation was addressed severally, and was required himself to obey the law, a mere general national obedience being insufficient. No one can fail to see how much the commands gain in force, through all time, by being thus addressed to the individual conscience. No other gods before me. "Before me" literally, "before my face," is a Hebrew idiom, and equivalent to "beside me," "in addition to me." The commandment requires the worship of one God alone, Jehovah - the God who had in so ninny ways manifested himself to the Israelites, and implies that there is, in point of fact, no other God. A belief in the unity of God is said to lie at the root of the esoteric Egyptian religion; but Moses can scarcely have derived his belief from this source, since the Egyptian notions on the subject were tinged with pantheism and materialism, from which the religion of Moses is entirely free. Outwardly the Egyptian religion, like that of the nations of Western Asia generally, was a gross polytheism; and it is against polytheistic notions that the first commandment raises a protest.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
You
לְךָ֛֩‪‬ (lə·ḵā)
Preposition | second person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew

shall have
יִהְיֶֽה־ (yih·yeh-)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

no
לֹֽ֣א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

other
אֲחֵרִ֖֜ים (’ă·ḥê·rîm)
Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 312: Hinder, next, other

gods
אֱלֹהִ֥֨ים (’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

before
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

Me.
פָּנָֽ֗יַ‪‬ (pā·nā·ya)
Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 6440: The face


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OT Law: Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other gods before (Exo. Ex)
Exodus 20:2
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