Exodus 22:20

20 “Anyone who sacrifices to any god other than the LORD must be destroyed.

Exodus 22:20 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 22:20

He that sacrificeth unto [any] god
To Elohim, to strange gods, to the idols of the people, as the Targum of Jonathan; to the Egyptian deities, to the gods of the Moabites, Amorites, Edomites, Canaanites, Philistines, or any other: Aben Ezra says the word Elohim comprehends angels; and by the exceptive clause it is plain it takes in all that had been, were, or ever would be the objects of idolatrous worship, especially the sun, moon, and stars, the principal objects of worship in those days:

save unto the Lord only;
the true and living God; Jehovah, the self-existent, immutable, and eternal Being; the Creator of all things, the possessor of heaven and earth, the most high God, and the only one: sacrificing takes in all the acts of service performed to an idol as to the true God, as offering incense, pouring out a libation, as well as slaying and burning an animal as Jarchi observes: he shall be utterly destroyed; be accursed, anathematized, devoted to destruction, as the word used signifies: the Targum of Jonathan is,

``he shall be killed with the sword, and his goods consumed,''

not only lose his life but his substance, and so be destroyed in body and estate.

Exodus 22:20 In-Context

18 “You must not allow a sorceress to live.
19 “Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal must certainly be put to death.
20 “Anyone who sacrifices to any god other than the LORD must be destroyed.
21 “You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.
22 “You must not exploit a widow or an orphan.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.