Martin
Puritan Board Freshman
Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ. I have recently come to an understanding and conviction that the 2nd Commandment forbids images of Christ. I am just posting this for clarification to make sure I am understanding the text correctly, or hopefully some of you who are better at explaining grammar and such can clarify anything I may be mistaken on.
Exodus 20
King James Version (KJV)
20 And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
The way I read it is such: You shall have no other gods (end thought). You shall not make an image out of anything to represent God (end thought). You shall not bow to said image (end thought). You shall not serve said image (end thought).
Am I reading that right because sometimes people will run verses 4 and 5 together and say it's okay if you are not worshipping them but when I read it I read verse 4 as one thing and verse 5 as building on the thought, hence forbidding not only worshipping images of God but also the making of such images. Am I correct in this reading, and what does the grammar look like in the original? Please correct me if I am wrong. Thank you.
Exodus 20
King James Version (KJV)
20 And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
The way I read it is such: You shall have no other gods (end thought). You shall not make an image out of anything to represent God (end thought). You shall not bow to said image (end thought). You shall not serve said image (end thought).
Am I reading that right because sometimes people will run verses 4 and 5 together and say it's okay if you are not worshipping them but when I read it I read verse 4 as one thing and verse 5 as building on the thought, hence forbidding not only worshipping images of God but also the making of such images. Am I correct in this reading, and what does the grammar look like in the original? Please correct me if I am wrong. Thank you.
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