For you must not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
Parallel translations
- WEB for you shall worship no other god: for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
- KJV For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
- NKJV (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),
- NASB —for you shall not worship any other god, because the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God—
- NLT You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.
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 worship no other god, for Yahweh's name is Jealous and He is a jealous God. God rightly claims the exclusive devotion of His people.
Overview
God's jealousy is His holy zeal for the undivided love of those He has redeemed, like a husband's rightful claim on his spouse. This is the heart of the first commandment and the antidote to the calf's idolatry. It reveals that God desires not mere ritual but our whole-hearted love, fully ours to give because of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Deut 4:24For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
- Deut 32:21They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation without understanding.
- 1 Cor 10:22Are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?
- Nah 1:2The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and full of wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on His foes and reserves wrath for His enemies.
- Exod 20:3–5You shall have no other gods before Me.
- Matt 4:10“Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
- Deut 29:20The LORD will never be willing to forgive him. Instead, His anger and jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse written in this book will fall upon him. The LORD will blot out his name from under heaven
- Deut 6:15For the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.
- Isa 57:15For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.
- Isa 9:6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
- Exod 34:5–7And the LORD descended in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed His name, the LORD.
- Deut 32:16They provoked His jealousy with foreign gods; they enraged Him with abominations.
- Josh 24:19But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your rebellion or your sins.
- Deut 5:7You shall have no other gods before Me.
- Exod 33:19“I will cause all My goodness to pass before you,” the LORD replied, “and I will proclaim My name—the LORD—in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
- Deut 5:24and you said, “Behold, the LORD our God has shown us His glory and greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 34:14 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.