Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall not do so to Yahweh your God.
- BSB You shall not worship the LORD your God in this way.
- NKJV You shall not worship the Lord your God with such things.
- NASB You shall not act this way toward the Lord your God.
- NLT “Do not worship the Lord your God in the way these pagan peoples worship their gods.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Israel must not worship the LORD in the corrupt manner the nations used for their gods. God prescribes how he is to be approached.
Overview
Having ordered the destruction of pagan shrines, Moses warns that Israel must not import those practices into the worship of Yahweh. True worship is defined by God's revelation, not human imagination or surrounding culture. This principle, that God determines how he is to be worshiped, runs through Scripture and finds its fulfillment in worshiping the Father in spirit and truth through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Lev 20:23And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.
- Deut 20:18That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.
- Deut 16:21–22Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee.
- Deut 12:30–31Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 12:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.