Exodus 23:24

24 Do not bow down to their gods or worship them, and do not adopt their religious practices. Destroy their gods and break down their sacred stone pillars.

Exodus 23:24 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 23:24

Thou shalt not bow down to their gods
In a way of honour to them, doing them reverence, expressing thereby an high esteem of them, trust in them, and expectation of good things from them;

nor serve them:
in any kind of service in which they usually are served by their votaries; as by offering sacrifice, incense, libations or by praying to them or praising of them, or in whatsoever way they are served by idolaters:

nor do after their works;
the works of the worshippers of idols; all those wicked works in general done by them, which should not be imitated; and those particularly relating to the service and worship of their deities:

but thou shalt overthrow them;
the heathen gods; utterly destroy them, and break them to pieces, or demolish their temples, the idolatrous houses built for them, and their altars; for the word has the signification, of demolishing buildings, and razing up the very foundations of them:

and quite break down their images;
or, "in breaking break down" F15; utterly and entirely break them down, break them to shivers, all their statues of gold or silver, brass, wood, or stone, or of whatsoever materials they were made; none were to be spared, nor any remains of them to be seen, that they might not prove a snare to any to worship them; and hereby they were to express their detestation of idolatry, and their strict and close adherence to the true God, and the worship of him as follows.


FOOTNOTES:

F15 (rbvt rbv) "confringendo confringes", Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius, "perfringendo perfringito", Piscator.

Exodus 23:24 In-Context

22 But if you obey him and do everything I command, I will fight against all your enemies.
23 My angel will go ahead of you and take you into the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I will destroy them.
24 Do not bow down to their gods or worship them, and do not adopt their religious practices. Destroy their gods and break down their sacred stone pillars.
25 If you worship me, the Lord your God, I will bless you with food and water and take away all your sicknesses.
26 In your land no woman will have a miscarriage or be without children. I will give you long lives.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.