Exodus 20:4
New King James Version
4 (A)“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
Leviticus 26:1
New King James Version
Promise of Blessing and Retribution(A)
26 ‘You shall (B)not make idols for yourselves;
neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves;
nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it;
for I am the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 5:8
New King James Version
8 (A)‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
Deuteronomy 4:15-19
New King James Version
Beware of Idolatry
15 (A)“Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no (B)form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, 16 lest you (C)act corruptly and (D)make for yourselves a carved image in the [a]form of any figure: (E)the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth. 19 And take heed, lest you (F)lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, (G)all the host of heaven, you feel driven to (H)worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has [b]given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.
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- Deuteronomy 4:16 similitude
- Deuteronomy 4:19 divided
Psalm 97:7
New King James Version
7 (A)Let all be put to shame who serve carved images,
Who boast of idols.
(B)Worship Him, all you gods.
Leviticus 19:4
New King James Version
4 (A)‘Do not turn to idols, (B)nor make for yourselves [a]molded gods: I am the Lord your God.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Leviticus 19:4 molten
Deuteronomy 27:15
New King James Version
15 (A)‘Cursed is the one who makes a carved or molded image, [a]an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’
(B)“And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen!’
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Deuteronomy 27:15 a detestable thing
Acts 17:29
New King James Version
29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, (A)we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.
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Revelation 16:2
New King James Version
First Bowl: Loathsome Sores
2 So the first went and poured out his bowl (A)upon the earth, and a [a]foul and (B)loathsome sore came upon the men (C)who had the mark of the beast and those (D)who worshiped his image.
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- Revelation 16:2 severe and malignant, lit. bad and evil
Jeremiah 10:14-16
New King James Version
14 (A)Everyone is (B)dull-hearted, without knowledge;
(C)Every metalsmith is put to shame by an image;
(D)For his molded image is falsehood,
And there is no breath in them.
15 They are futile, a work of errors;
In the time of their punishment they shall perish.
16 (E)The Portion of Jacob is not like them,
For He is the Maker of all things,
And (F)Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;
(G)The Lord of hosts is His name.
Psalm 115:4-8
New King James Version
4 (A)Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
5 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
6 They have ears, but they do not hear;
Noses they have, but they do not smell;
7 They have hands, but they do not handle;
Feet they have, but they do not walk;
Nor do they mutter through their throat.
8 (B)Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.
Romans 1:23
New King James Version
23 and changed the glory of the (A)incorruptible (B)God into an image made like [a]corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
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- Romans 1:23 perishable
Jeremiah 10:8-9
New King James Version
8 But they are altogether (A)dull-hearted and foolish;
A wooden idol is a [a]worthless doctrine.
9 Silver is beaten into plates;
It is brought from Tarshish,
And (B)gold from Uphaz,
The work of the craftsman
And of the hands of the metalsmith;
Blue and purple are their clothing;
They are all (C)the work of skillful men.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 10:8 vain teaching
Isaiah 45:16
New King James Version
16 They shall be (A)ashamed
And also disgraced, all of them;
They shall go in confusion together,
Who are makers of idols.
Isaiah 42:8
New King James Version
8 I am the Lord, that is My name;
And My (A)glory I will not give to another,
Nor My praise to carved images.
Psalm 135:15-18
New King James Version
15 (A)The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
17 They have ears, but they do not hear;
Nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.
Deuteronomy 4:23-25
New King James Version
23 Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, (A)and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you. 24 For (B)the Lord your God is a consuming fire, (C)a jealous God.
25 “When you beget children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, and act corruptly and make a carved image in the form of anything, and (D)do evil in the sight of the Lord your God to provoke Him to anger,
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Acts 19:26-35
New King James Version
26 Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that (A)they are not gods which are made with hands. 27 So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and [a]her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.”
28 Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” 29 So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized (B)Gaius and (C)Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions. 30 And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him. 31 Then some of the [b]officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater. 32 Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And (D)Alexander (E)motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people. 34 But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”
35 And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess [c]Diana, and of the image which fell down from [d]Zeus?
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- Acts 19:27 NU she be deposed from her magnificence
- Acts 19:31 Asiarchs, rulers of Asia, the province
- Acts 19:35 Gr. Artemis
- Acts 19:35 heaven
Ezekiel 8:10
New King James Version
10 So I went in and saw, and there—every (A)sort of (B)creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, [a]portrayed all around on the walls.
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- Ezekiel 8:10 Or carved
Revelation 14:9-11
New King James Version
9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, (A)“If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his (B)mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself (C)shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is (D)poured out full strength into (E)the cup of His indignation. (F)He shall be tormented with (G)fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And (H)the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
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Jeremiah 10:3-5
New King James Version
3 For the customs of the peoples are [a]futile;
For (A)one cuts a tree from the forest,
The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
4 They decorate it with silver and gold;
They (B)fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not topple.
5 They are upright, like a palm tree,
And (C)they cannot speak;
They must be (D)carried,
Because they cannot go by themselves.
Do not be afraid of them,
For (E)they cannot do evil,
Nor can they do any good.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 10:3 Lit. vanity
Isaiah 46:5-8
New King James Version
5 “To(A) whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal
And compare Me, that we should be alike?
6 (B)They lavish gold out of the bag,
And weigh silver on the scales;
They hire a (C)goldsmith, and he makes it a god;
They prostrate themselves, yes, they worship.
7 (D)They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it
And set it in its place, and it stands;
From its place it shall not move.
Though (E)one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer
Nor save him out of his trouble.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 46:8 be men, take courage
Isaiah 44:9-20
New King James Version
Idolatry Is Foolishness
9 (A)Those who make an image, all of them are useless,
And their precious things shall not profit;
They are their own witnesses;
(B)They neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed.
10 Who would form a god or mold an image
(C)That profits him nothing?
11 Surely all his companions would be (D)ashamed;
And the workmen, they are mere men.
Let them all be gathered together,
Let them stand up;
Yet they shall fear,
They shall be ashamed together.
12 (E)The blacksmith with the tongs works one in the coals,
Fashions it with hammers,
And works it with the strength of his arms.
Even so, he is hungry, and his strength fails;
He drinks no water and is faint.
13 The craftsman stretches out his rule,
He marks one out with chalk;
He fashions it with a plane,
He marks it out with the compass,
And makes it like the figure of a man,
According to the beauty of a man, that it may remain in the house.
14 He cuts down cedars for himself,
And takes the cypress and the oak;
He [a]secures it for himself among the trees of the forest.
He plants a pine, and the rain nourishes it.
15 Then it shall be for a man to burn,
For he will take some of it and warm himself;
Yes, he kindles it and bakes bread;
Indeed he makes a god and worships it;
He makes it a carved image, and falls down to it.
16 He burns half of it in the fire;
With this half he eats meat;
He roasts a roast, and is satisfied.
He even warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm,
I have seen the fire.”
17 And the rest of it he makes into a god,
His carved image.
He falls down before it and worships it,
Prays to it and says,
“Deliver me, for you are my god!”
18 (F)They do not know nor understand;
For (G)He has [b]shut their eyes, so that they cannot see,
And their hearts, so that they cannot (H)understand.
19 And no one (I)considers in his heart,
Nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say,
“I have burned half of it in the fire,
Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals;
I have roasted meat and eaten it;
And shall I make the rest of it an abomination?
Shall I fall down before a block of wood?”
20 He feeds on ashes;
(J)A deceived heart has turned him aside;
And he cannot deliver his soul,
Nor say, “Is there not a (K)lie in my right hand?”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 44:14 Lit. appropriates
- Isaiah 44:18 Lit. smeared over
Revelation 13:14-15
New King James Version
14 (A)And he deceives [a]those who dwell on the earth (B)by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword (C)and lived. 15 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak (D)and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
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- Revelation 13:14 M my own people
Revelation 9:20
New King James Version
20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, (A)did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship (B)demons, (C)and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.
Read full chapterScripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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