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Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the Lord thy God, which thou shalt make thee. Neither shalt thou set thee up any image, which the Lord thy God hateth.

Deuteronomy 16:21-22

Context

Other Translations

Other Verses

• Exodus 20:1-5
  • And God spake all these words, saying,
  • I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
  • Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
  • Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
  • Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
• Exodus 20:23
  • Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.
• Exodus 34:14
  • For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
• Leviticus 26:1
  • Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the Lord your God.
• Deuteronomy 5:7-9
  • Thou shalt have none other gods before me.
  • Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:
  • Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,
• 1 John 5:21
  • Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
• Galatians 5:19-21
  • Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
  • Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
  • Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
    • Idolatry is the worship of idols
• Revelations 9:20
  • And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
    

What does it say ?

It says that God doesn’t Want a grove of any trees near his altar. It says that God hates it. It also says that God doesn’t like us Worship any other images [gods].

Word Meanings

• Plant= H5193
  • נָטַע nâṭaʻ, naw-tah’; a primitive root; properly, to strike in, i.e. fix; specifically, to plant (literally or figuratively):—fastened, plant(-er).
• Grove =H842
  • אֲשֵׁרָה ʼăshêrâh, ash-ay-raw’; or אֲשֵׁירָה ʼăshêyrâh; from H833; happy; Asherah (or Astarte) a Phoenician goddess; also an image of the same:—grove. Compare H6253.
• Image = H4676
  • מַצֵּבָה matstsêbâh, mats-tsay-baw’; feminine (causatively) participle of H5324; something stationed, i.e. a column or (memorial stone); by analogy, an idol:—garrison, (standing) image, pillar.
• Hateth =H8130
  • שָׂנֵא sânêʼ, saw-nay’; a primitive root; to hate (personally):—enemy, foe, (be) hate(-ful, -r), odious, × utterly.
• Alter = H4196
  • מִזְבֵּחַ mizbêach, miz-bay’-akh; from H2076; an altar:—altar.
• Alter= H2076
  • זָבַח zâbach, zaw-bakh’; a primitive root; to slaughter an animal (usually in sacrifice):—kill, offer, (do) sacrifice, slay.

What does it mean to me?

It means that we should not put up any Kind of tree near the God of heaven & Earth’s altar. It means the church Should not put up Christmas trees. The verse says any grove of trees, a Christmas tree is a tree, real or not real Christmas trees are trees.

How this verse  makes me feel

This verse makes me feel sad because the churches are not obeying it. God told Moses to write it down, he wrote it down, but we are not listening to it.

Thought Provoking Questions:

• What do you do when you Worship?
  • You Sing, dance, and bow down.
  • God said not to Worship any other gods, See Exodus 34:14, Leviticus 26:1, Exodus 20:15 & 23, Deuteronomy 5:7-9.
• What is going on in the churches near Christmas time?
  • They are putting up tree near the altar but Deuteronomy 16:21-22, Said No! that is what they are doing near Christmas time.
• Do you think the Song, “Oh Christmas Tree” is Worshiping the Christmas tree?
  • I know what I think but What do you think?