Exodus 23:13

13 "Pay strict attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.^[a]

Exodus 23:13 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 23:13

And in all [things] that I have said unto you, be circumspect,
&c.] Or observe them, be careful to keep them punctually and constantly, even all that are delivered in this and the preceding chapters:

and make no mention of the name of other gods;
neither call upon them, nor swear by them, nor make vows to them; and, as little as possible, ever utter their names, and never with pleasure and delight, and showing any honour of them, and reverence to them, but with the utmost detestation and abhorrence:

neither let it be heard out of thy mouth;
not any of their names; the same thing in different words, the more to inculcate and impress the thing upon the mind, and to show with what vehemence and earnestness this is pressed.

Exodus 23:13 In-Context

11 But during the seventh year you are to let it rest and leave it uncultivated, so that the poor among your people may eat [from it] and the wild animals may consume what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

12 "Do your work for six days but rest on the seventh day so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave as well as the foreign resident may be refreshed.

13 "Pay strict attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.

14 "Celebrate a festival in My honor three times a year

15 Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, because you came out of Egypt in that month. No one is to appear before Me empty-handed.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit mouth