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91 Bible Verses about Rejecting Images and False Gods
Thou shalt have no elohim acherim in My presence.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any pesel, or any temunah of any thing that is in Shomayim above, or that is in ha'aretz beneath, or that is in the mayim under ha'aretz.
Thou shalt not tishtacheveh to them, nor serve them; for I Hashem Eloheicha am an El kanna, visiting the avon Avot upon the Banim unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me;
And ye shall overthrow their mizbechot, and break their matzeivot, and burn their Asherim with eish; and ye shall hew down peselim of their elohim, and destroy the names of them out of that place.
And have cast eloheihem into the eish; for they were no elohim, but the ma'aseh yedei adam, etz and even (stone); therefore they have destroyed them.
The idols of the Goyim are kesef and zahav, the ma'aseh yedei adam.
They have mouths, but they speak not; einayim have they, but they see not;
They have oznayim, but they hear not; neither is there any ruach in their mouths.
They that oseihem (make them) will be like them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
Their atzabim (idols) are kesef and zahav, the ma'aseh (work) of the hands of adam.
Peh (mouth) they have, but they speak not; einayim (eyes) have they, but they see not;
Oznayim (ears) they have, but they hear not; af (nose) have they, but they smell not;
They have hands, but they handle not; raglayim (feet) have they, but they walk not; neither speak they through their garon (throat).
They are upright as the tomer (palm tree), but speak not; they must needs be carried, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do rah, neither also is it in them to do tov.
They that make a pesel are all of them tohu; and their chamudim (favorite [idols]) are worthless; and they are their own edim; they see not, nor know; so that they are put to shame.
I am Hashem, that is Shmi; and My kavod will I not give to another, neither My tehillah (praise) to pesilim.
Arur (cursed) be the ish that maketh any pesel (graven image) or massekhah (molten image), a to'evah (abomination) unto Hashem, the work of the hands of the charash (craftsman), and sets it up in a secret place. And kol HaAm shall answer and say, Omein.
The peselim of eloheihem shall ye burn with eish; thou shalt not desire the kesef or zahav that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein; for it is a to'evah (abomination) to Hashem Eloheicha.
Be shomer over yourselves, therefore; for ye saw no manner of temunah on the yom that Hashem spoke unto you in Chorev out of the midst of the eish;
Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a pesel, the temunah of any semel, the likeness of zachar or nekevah,
Turn ye not unto elilim, nor make to yourselves elohei massekhah (cast metal g-ds); I am Hashem Eloheichem.
But ye shall destroy their mizbechot, break their matzebot, and cut down their asherah (sacred trees, poles);
For thou shalt worship no el acher; for Hashem, Whose Shem is Jealous, is El Kanah;
Thou shalt not make unto thee any pesel, or any temunah of any thing that is in Shomayim above, or that is in ha'aretz beneath, or that is in the mayim under ha'aretz.
Thou shalt not tishtacheveh to them, nor serve them; for I Hashem Eloheicha am an El kanna, visiting the avon Avot upon the Banim unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me;
Thou shalt not make thee any pesel, or any temunah of anything that is in Shomayim above, or that is in Ha'Aretz beneath, or that is in the mayim beneath ha'aretz;
Lo tishtachaveh (thou shalt not bow down thyself) unto them, nor serve them; for I Hashem Eloheicha am an El Kannah, visiting the iniquity of the avot upon the banim unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me,
And they demolished the mizbechot of Ba'alim in his presence; and the incense stands erected above them he smashed; and the Asherim, and the pesilim, and the massekhot he demolished and made dust of them, and scattered upon the keverim (graves) of them that had sacrificed unto them.
Shamed be all they that serve pesel, that boast themselves of elilim; worship Him, kol elohim.
Kol adam is dull-hearted and without da'as; every goldsmith is shamed by the pesel; for his nesekh (molten image) is sheker, and there is no ruach in them.
What profiteth the pesel (graven image) that the maker thereof hath shaped it; the molten image, and moreh sheker, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb elilim (idols)?
When thou criest for help, let thy kibutzim (heaps, collections) save thee; but the ruach shall carry them all away; hevel shall take them; but he that putteth his trust in Me shall inherit eretz, and shall inherit My Har Kodesh;
Thou shalt not bow down to their elohim, nor serve them, nor follow after their works; but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and completely break down their matztzvot (memorial columns dedicated to idols).
And they shall bring your zimmah (lewdness) upon you, and ye shall bear sins of your gillulim (idols); and ye shall know that I am Adonoi Hashem.
They that make a pesel are all of them tohu; and their chamudim (favorite [idols]) are worthless; and they are their own edim; they see not, nor know; so that they are put to shame.
Who hath formed el (g-d), or molded a pesel to no profit?
Behold, all its chaverim shall be ashamed; and the charashim (craftsmen), they are only adam; let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together.
The charash barzel (ironsmith) with his ma'atzad (chizel) both worketh in the red-hot coals, and formeth it with hammers, and forgeth it with his zero'a ko'ach and also, he is hungry, and his ko'ach faileth; he drinketh no mayim, and grows faint.
The charash etzim (carpenter) stretcheth out his [measuring line]; he marketh it out with sered (red chalk); he worketh it with planes, and he marketh it out with a compass, and maketh it after the tavnit ish (pattern of a man), according to the tiferet adam; that it may stay inside the bais (idolatrous cult shrine).
He heweth down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he secureth for himself among the atzei ya'ar (trees of the forest); he planteth a pine, and geshem doth nourish it.
Then shall it be for an adam to burn; for he will take thereof, and warm himself; and also, he kindleth it, and baketh lechem; and also he maketh el (g-d), and boweth down in worship to it; he maketh it a pesel, and falleth down unto it.
He burneth half thereof in the eish; with the other half thereof he eateth basar; he roasteth roast meat, and is satisfied; and also, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I perceive ur (flame)!
And the shererit thereof he maketh el, even his pesel; he falleth down unto it, and boweth down in worship to it, and davens unto it, and saith, Save me; for thou art Eli!
They have no da'as nor binah; for their eyes are smeared over, that they cannot see; and their levavot, that they cannot understand.
And none considereth in his lev, neither is there da'as nor tevunah (understanding, intelligence) to say, I have burned half of it in the eish; and, also I have baked lechem upon the hot coals thereof; I have roasted basar, and eaten it; and shall I make the rest thereof to'evah? Shall I bow down to the bul etz (product of a tree, i.e., a block of wood)?
He feedeth on efer (ash); a lev hutal (a heart deceived, a deluded mind) hath led him astray, that he cannot save his nefesh, nor say: Is there not sheker (a lie, a fraud) in my yamin (right hand)?
Their atzabim (idols) are kesef and zahav, the ma'aseh (work) of the hands of adam.
Peh (mouth) they have, but they speak not; einayim (eyes) have they, but they see not;
Oznayim (ears) they have, but they hear not; af (nose) have they, but they smell not;
They have hands, but they handle not; raglayim (feet) have they, but they walk not; neither speak they through their garon (throat).
They that make them will be like them; so is kol asher bote'ach (every one that trusteth) in them.
Hashem said also unto me in the days of Yoshiyah HaMelech, Hast thou seen that which meshuvah Yisroel (backsliding Yisroel) hath done? She is gone up upon every high hill and under every green tree, and there hath played the zonah.
So I went in and saw; and, hinei, every form of remes (creeping things), and behemah sheketz (abominable beasts), and all the gillulim (idols) of the Bais Yisroel, portrayed upon the kir (wall) all around.
In that ye provoke Me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning ketoret unto elohim acherim in Eretz Mitzrayim, where ye be gone to dwell, that ye might cut yourselves off, and that ye might be a kelalah (curse) and a cherpah (reproach) among kol HaGoyim of ha'aretz?
But hast done rah more than all that were before thee; for thou hast gone and made for thee elohim acherim, and massekhot (metal idols), to provoke Me to anger, and hast thrust Me behind thy gav (back);
And he did away with hakemarim (the idol priests), whom the Melachim of Yehudah had ordained to burn ketoret in the high places in the towns of Yehudah, and in the places around Yerushalayim; them also that burned ketoret unto Ba'al, to the shemesh, and to the yarei'ach, and to the mazalot (constellations) and to all the Tzeva HaShomayim.
Now concerning the eating of the okhel (food) at the mizbe'ach of avodah zarah which is sacrificed to an elil (idol), we have da'as that an elil is nothing in the world, and that there is no G-d but ECHAD.
To whom then will ye liken El? Or what demut (likeness) will ye compare unto Him?
The charash (workman, craftsman) melteth a pesel (idol, image), and the goldsmith overlayeth it with zahav, and casteth for it chains of kesef.
He that is so impoverished that He hath no terumah chooseth an etz that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a charash chacham (skilled craftsman) to prepare a pesel, that shall not topple.
They have turned aside quickly from HaDerech which I commanded them; they have made them an Egel Masekhah, and have bowed down to it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy elohim, O Yisroel, which have brought thee up out of the Eretz Mitzrayim.
And it came to pass the same night, that Hashem said unto him, Take thy fatherʼs young bull, even the second bull of sheva shanim, and tear down the mizbe'ach of Ba'al that thy av hath, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it;
And he acted monstrously in going after gillulim (idols), according to all things as did HaEmori, whom Hashem drove out before the Bnei Yisroel.
And they forsook all the mitzvot of Hashem Eloheihem, and made them massekhah, even two agalim, and made Asheirah, and worshiped all the Tzava HaShomayim, and served Ba'al.
Then shall the towns of Yehudah and inhabitants of Yerushalayim go, and cry out unto the elohim unto whom they offer ketoret; but they shall not save them at all in the time of their ra'ah (disaster).
They have set up melachim, but not from Me; they have made sarim (princes), and I knew it not; of their kesef and their zahav have they made them atzabim (idols), that they may be cut off.
I have even from long ago preached it to thee; before it came to pass I caused thee to hear it; lest thou shouldest say: Mine atzav (idol) hath done them, and my pesel, and my nesech (molten idol, metal image) hath commanded them.
They made an egel (a calf) in Chorev, and worshiped a massekhah (molden image).
Thus they exchanged their kavod for a tavnit shor (likeness of an ox) that eateth esev (grass).
And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect; and make no mention of the shem elohim acherim, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
And now they sin more and more, and have made for themselves massekhah (idol) of their kesef, and atzabim according to their faculty of binah (understanding), all of it the work of the craftsmen; they say of them: Let adam that sacrifice kiss calf-idols.
Therefore say unto Bais Yisroel, Thus saith Adonoi Hashem: Make teshuvah, and turn yourselves away from your gillulim (idols); and turn away your faces from all your to'avot (abominations).
In all your moshevot (dwellings) the towns shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your mizbechot will be laid waste and made desolate, and your gillulim (idols) will be broken and cease, and your incense altars will be cut down, and your ma'asim will be abolished.
They have moved Me to jealousy with that which is lo El (not G-d), they have provoked Me to anger with their vanities; and I will move them to jealousy with those which are lo Am (a non-people); I will provoke them to anger with a goy naval (foolish, senseless nation).
And Shmuel spoke unto kol Bais Yisroel, saying, If ye do return unto Hashem with all your hearts, put away the elohei hanekhar and Ashtarot from among you, commit your hearts unto Hashem, serve Him only; and He will deliver you out of the yad Pelishtim.
Now the ma'asei habasar are manifest, dehainu (being): zenut (fornication), tum'ah (impurity), zimmah (licentiousness),
Avodah zarah (idolatry), kashefanut (sorcery, witchcraft), eivot (enmities), merivah (strife), kinah (jealousy), rogez (anger), anochiyut (selfishness), machalokot (dissensions), kitot (sects),
Tzarut ayin (envyings), shichrut (drunkenness), holelut (carousing) and things like these, of which I tell you beforehand, as I said previously, that the ones practicing such things will not receive the nachalah (inheritance) of the Malchut Hashem.
Take heed to yourselves, that your lev be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve elohim acherim, and worship them;
They bear him upon the katef (shoulder), they carry him, and set him up in his place, and he standeth, from his makom shall he not move; yes, though one shall cry out unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his tzoros.
Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are fugitives escaped of the Goyim; they have no da'as (knowledge, rationality) that burden themselves with their etz pesel (wooden idol), the ones davening to an el lo yoshia (g-d who cannot save).
Hath ever a nation changed elohim, and these no elohim at all? But My people have exchanged their kavod for that which is worthless.
In Yom Hahu a man shall cast his elilei kesef, and his elilei zahav, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
And the shererit thereof he maketh el, even his pesel; he falleth down unto it, and boweth down in worship to it, and davens unto it, and saith, Save me; for thou art Eli!
Neither shalt thou go up by stairs unto Mine Mizbe'ach, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.
Moreover the mediums with familiar spirits, and the yidonim (spiritists), and the terafim, and the gillulim (idols), and all the shikkutzim that were seen in Eretz Yehudah and in Yerushalayim, did Yoshiyah put away, that he might confirm the Divrei HaTorah which were written in the Sefer that Chilkiyah HaKohen found in the Beis Hashem.
Because of their ra'ah (evil) which they have committed to provoke Me to anger, in that they went to burn ketoret, and to serve elohim acherim, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor avoteichem.
As for you, O Bais Yisroel, thus saith Adonoi Hashem: Go ye, serve ye every one his gillulim, and hereafter since ye will not pay heed unto Me; and do not profane Shem Kodshi anymore with your gifts, and with your gillulim.
For every one of Bais Yisroel, or of the ger that sojourneth in Yisroel, which separateth himself from Me, and setteth up his gillulim (idols) in his lev (heart), and putteth the michshol (stumbling block) of his avon (iniquity) before his face, and cometh to a navi (prophet) to inquire of him concerning Me; I Hashem will answer him by Myself;
For the [religious] chukkot (customs, statutes) of the nations are vain delusions; for one cutteth etz out of the ya'ar (forest), the ma'aseh (handiwork) of the hands of the charash (workman, artisan), with the axe.
They deck it with kesef and with zahav; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it topple not.
They are upright as the tomer (palm tree), but speak not; they must needs be carried, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do rah, neither also is it in them to do tov.
But for those of morech lev (cowardliness) and those without emunah (faith) and the ones having become vile and ratzchaniyot (murderers) and zonim (fornicators) and mekhashfim (sorcerers) and ovdei haelilim (idolaters) and all the shakranit (liars), their chelek will be in the Agam (Lake) burning with Eish (fire) and Gofrit (sulfur), which is HaMavet HaSheyni (the Second Death).”
Outside are the kelevim (dogs) and the mekhashfim (sorcerers, abusers of drugs); and the zonim (sexually immoral) and the rotzkhim (murderers) and the ovdei haelilim (idolaters) and everyone loving and practicing sheker.
When Hashem Eloheicha shall cut off the Goyim from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou displace them, and dwellest in their land;
Be shomer to thyself that thou be not ensnared to follow them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their elohim, saying, How did these Goyim serve their elohim? Even so will I do likewise.
Thou shalt not do so unto Hashem Eloheicha; for kol to'avat Hashem (every abomination to Hashem), which He hateth, have they done unto their elohim; for even their banim and their banot they have burned in the eish to their elohim.
Bel boweth down, Nevo stoopeth low, their atzabim (idols) were upon the beasts, and upon the behemah; your litters were heavy laden; they are a massa (burden) to the weary beast.
They stoop, they bow down together; they could not save the massa (burden), but their own selves are gone into shevi (captivity, Golus).
Therefore, being offspring of Hashem, we ought not to think that Hashemʼs essence is like gold or silver or stone, a tzelem (image) made by the skill and thought of Bnei Adam.
Claiming to be chachamim (wise ones), they became kesilim (fools),
And traded in the kavod (glory) of the incorruptible G-d for the mere likeness of the demut (image, icon) of corruptible man, birds, beasts, and reptiles.
Then Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach says to him, Depart, HaSatan! For katuv (it is written), ES HASHEM ELOHEICHA TIRA VOTO TAAVOD (The L-rd your G-d you shall fear and Him you shall worship).
Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after other g-ds; their nesakhim (drink offerings) of dahm will I not offer, nor take up their shmot (names) on my lips.
Therefore, put to death your evarim (members) in the Olam Hazeh: zenut (fornication), debauchery, sensuality, zimmah (licentiousness), and chamdanut (covetousness), which is avodah zarah (idolatry).
And what agreement has the Heikhal of Hashem with elilim? For we are a Heikhal of the Elohim Chayyim as G-d said, V'HITHALLACHTI B'TOCHCHEM (And I will walk in the midst of you), IT WILL BE MISHKANI ALEHEM (dwelling place of me with them), V'HAYU LI L'AM VAANI EHEYEH LAHEM LELOHIM (And they will be to me as people and I will be to them as G-d).
Therefore, SURU (Depart!), come out from the midst of them and be separated, says Adoneinu, and a TAMEH AL TIGAU (unclean thing do not touch); ERTZEH ETCHEM (and I will receive you),
No'efot (adulterers)! Do you not have da'as that to have shaichus (closeness, friendship, intimacy) with the Olam Hazeh is eyvah im Hashem (enmity with G-d)? Therefore, whoever chooses to make the Olam Hazeh his Oihev is made an Oyev (Enemy) of Hashem.
Trust in Hashem with all thine lev, and lean not unto thine own binah (understanding).
In all thy drakhim acknowledge Him, and He shall make yosher thy orkhot (paths).
Their destined end is churban (destruction, Gehinnom). Their g-d is their appetite, and their kavod, what they glory in, is their bushah (shame). Their machshavot are set on the Olam Hazeh.
For they themselves [the ma'aminim b'Moshiach in Macedonia and Achaia] are reporting about us, what sort of initial reception we had with you, and how you made teshuva, turning to Hashem from elilim (idols), from avodah zarah (idol worship), turning to worship the Elohim Chayyim and Elohei Emes (the Living G-d and the True G-d),
For they shall be ashamed of the sacred oaks which ye have delighted in, and ye shall blush for the gannot (gardens) that ye have chosen.
For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no mayim.
And the strong shall be as tinder, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.
No one is able to serve two adonim (masters). For either he will have sinah (hatred) for the one and ahavah (love) for the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve Hashem and Mammon (Money).
And they served their atzabim (idols); which were a mokesh (snare) unto them.
And they sacrificed their banim and their banot unto shedim (demons),
And they shed dahm naki (innocent blood), even the dahm of their banim and of their banot, whom they sacrificed unto the atzabei Kena'an (idols of Canaan); and HaAretz was polluted with blood-guilt.
Are there any among the havalim (vanities, false g-ds) of the Goyim that can cause geshem? Or can HaShomayim give showers? Art not Thou He, Hashem Eloheinu? Therefore we will hope in and wait upon Thee; for Thou hast made all these things.
And he received them at their yad, and fashioned it with a cheret, after he had made it an Egel Masekhah (Molten Calf); and they said, These be thy elohim, O Yisroel, which brought thee up out of Eretz Mitzrayim.
And when Aharon saw it, he built a Mizbe'ach before it; and Aharon made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a chag (feast) to Hashem.
Be shomer over yourselves, therefore; for ye saw no manner of temunah on the yom that Hashem spoke unto you in Chorev out of the midst of the eish;
Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a pesel, the temunah of any semel, the likeness of zachar or nekevah,
The likeness of any behemah that is on ha'aretz, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,
The likeness of anything that creepeth on the adamah, the likeness of any dag (fish) that is in the waters below;
And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto Shomayim, and when thou seest the shemesh, and the yarei'ach, and the kokhavim, even all the tz'va HaShomayim, shouldest be driven to hishtachaveh (bow down, worship) them, and serve them which Hashem Eloheicha hath divided unto kol Amim under kol HaShomayim.
Anashim, why are you doing these things? We also are of the same nature as you, mere men, preaching to you to turn in teshuva from these worthless things to the Elohim Chayyim who made HASHOMAYIM V'ES HAARETZ V'ES HAYAM and all the things in them;
You who say, LO TINAF (Do not commit adultery!), do you commit adultery? You who abhor elilim (idols), do you rob pagan temples?
But, formerly, when you did not have da'as (knowledge) of Hashem, you were avadim serving that which is by nature not HaEl Ha'Amiti (the true G-d).
But, now, having known Hashem, or rather having been known by Hashem, how is it that you are returning to the weak and beggarly yesodot (rudiments) of the Olam Hazeh to which again you want to renew your service as avadim?