There you shall build an altar to Yahweh your God, an altar of stones. You shall not use any iron tool on them.
Parallel Translations
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There you shall build an altar to Yahweh your God, an altar of stones. You shall not use any iron tool on them.
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And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them.
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And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones; thou shalt lift up no iron tool upon them.
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to Deuteronomy 27:5 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Exodus 20:25 If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of cut stones; for if you lift up your tool on it, you have polluted it.
- Exodus 24:4 Moses wrote all Yahweh’s words, then rose up early in the morning and built an altar at the base of the mountain, with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
- 1 Kings 18:31-32 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom Yahweh’s word came, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” With the stones he built an altar in Yahweh’s name. He made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two seahs of seed.
- Joshua 8:30-31 Then Joshua built an altar to Yahweh, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses: an altar of uncut stones, on which no one had lifted up any iron. They offered burnt offerings on it to Yahweh and sacrificed peace offerings.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain The altar should not be curiously wrought, because it…
The altar should not be curiously wrought, because it should continue but for a time: for God would have but one altar in Judah.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Deu 27:5 And there shalt thou build an altar…
Deu 27:5 And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up [any] iron [tool] upon them.
Ver. 5. Thou shalt build an altar.] For burnt offerings, &c. {Deu 27:6-7} God teacheth them thereby, that righteousness, impossible to the law, was to be sought in Christ, figured by that altar and those sacrifices. Thus the moral law drove the Jews to the ceremonial, which was their gospel, as it doth now drive us to Christ, who is indeed "the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." {Rom 10:4}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And there shall thou build an altar to the…
And there shall thou build an altar to the Lord thy God,.... On the same mountain, though not of the same stones. Jarchi's note is,"after that (the setting up of the plastered stones) thou shalt bring from thence (from Jordan) others, and build of them an altar on Mount Ebal;''but Josephus (t) places this altar not on Mount Ebal, but between that and Gerizim. This altar, he says, was ordered to be built towards the rising sun, not far from the city of Shechem, between two mountains, Gerizim and Ebal; but the text is express, that it was to be built where the stones were set up, which was on Mount Ebal, and there it was built, Jos 8:30; an altar of stones; of whole stones, as in Deu 27:6, not broken, nor hewed, but rough as they were when taken out of the quarry:
thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them; to hew them, and make them smooth; See Gill on Exo 20:25;
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(t) Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 44.)
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Stones: the same as those which composed the monument,…
Stones: the same as those which composed the monument, (Calmet) or rather different from them, (Menochius) as those were polished, ver. 2.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain there shalt thou build an altar . . .…
there shalt thou build an altar . . . of whole stones--The stones were to be in their natural state, as if a chisel would communicate pollution to them. The stony pile was to be so large as to contain all the conditions of the covenant, so elevated as to be visible to the whole congregation of Israel; and the religious ceremonial performed on the occasion was to consist: first, of the elementary worship needed for sinful men; and secondly, of the peace offerings, or lively, social feasts, that were suited to the happy people whose God was the Lord. There were thus, the law which condemned, and the typical expiation--the two great principles of revealed religion.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 5. And there shalt thou build an altar —…
5. And there shalt thou build an altar — The altar was to be built upon Ebal, the mountain from which the curses were to be proclaimed.
Thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them — Comp. Exo_20:25.
Read full note →
As at the conclusion of the covenant on Sinai (see Exo_24:11) burnt offerings and peace offerings were presented to Jehovah, so on the establishment of the people in the land they are solemnly to ratify anew their covenant with their God.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 5. no iron] Exo_20:25, tool (ḥéreb), which would have…
5. no iron] Exo_20:25, tool (ḥéreb), which would have polluted the altar. The later D’s substitution of iron is striking. See on Deu_8:9.
5–7. Cp. E, Exo_20:24 f. with Driver’s notes.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (5) An altar of stones.—Rashi propounds the theory that…
(5) An altar of stones.—Rashi propounds the theory that these stones were taken from Jordan. But there is nothing to countenance this theory in the words of the text.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 5-7. Besides the monumental stones, an altar of…
Vers. 5-7. Besides the monumental stones, an altar of whole stones, on which no tool had passed (cf. Exo_20:22) was to be erected, and burnt offerings and peace offerings were to be presented as at the establishment of the covenant at Sinai, followed by the statutory festive entertainment. (cf. Exo_24:5)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 27:5 natural, uncut stones: Archaeological research has uncovered a…
27:5 natural, uncut stones: Archaeological research has uncovered a number of Canaanite altars, all built of hewn blocks. In contrast to this practice, the Israelites were to build their altars only of rough field stones (Exod 20:22-26; see “Altars” Theme Note).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.