Exodus 22:20

20 "Whoever sacrifices to any god, save to the LORD only, shall be utterly 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 shall not permit a sorceress to live.
19 "Whoever lies with a beast shall be put to death.
20 "Whoever sacrifices to any god, save to the LORD only, shall be utterly destroyed.
21 "You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
22 You shall not afflict any widow or orphan.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.