If anyone sacrifices to any god other than the LORD alone, he must be set apart for destruction.
Parallel translations
- WEB “He who sacrifices to any god, except to Yahweh only, shall be utterly destroyed.
- KJV He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.
- NKJV “He who sacrifices to any god, except to the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.
- NASB “He who sacrifices to any god, other than to the Lord alone, shall be utterly destroyed.
- NLT “Anyone who sacrifices to any god other than the Lord must be destroyed.
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
Whoever sacrifices to any god but Yahweh is to be utterly destroyed. Exclusive worship of the one true God is non-negotiable.
Overview
This law enforces the first commandment, treating idolatrous sacrifice as treason against the covenant Lord who redeemed Israel. It safeguards the nation's wholehearted devotion to God alone. The exclusive worship demanded here is fulfilled in Christ, the only mediator, through whom alone we come to the Father (John 14:6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Deut 17:2–5If a man or woman among you in one of the towns that the LORD your God gives you is found doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God by transgressing His covenant
- Num 25:7–8On seeing this, Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, got up from the assembly, took a spear in his hand,
- Deut 18:20But if any prophet dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or to speak in the name of other gods, that prophet must be put to death.”
- Deut 13:1–15If a prophet or dreamer of dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you,
- Num 25:2–4who also invited them to the sacrifices for their gods. And the people ate and bowed down to these gods.
- Num 21:3And the LORD heard Israel’s plea and delivered up the Canaanites. Israel devoted them and their cities to destruction; so they named the place Hormah.
- Josh 23:15–16But just as every good thing the LORD your God promised you has come to pass, likewise the LORD will bring upon you the calamity He has threatened, until He has destroyed you from this good land He has given you.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 22:20 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.