Lev 26:1 | NET2full | STEP | “‘You must not make for yourselves idols , so you must not set up for yourselves a carved image or a pillar , and you must not place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down before it, for I am the Lord your God .

‏ Leviticus 26:1

Exhortation to Obedience

1 “‘You must not make for yourselves idols, ^{▼▼sn For the literature regarding the difficult etymology and meaning of the term for “idols” (אֱלִילִם, ʾelilim), see the literature cited in the note on Lev 19:4. It appears to be a diminutive play on words with אֵל (ʾel, “god, God”) and, perhaps at the same time, recalls a common Semitic word for “worthless, weak, powerless, nothingness.” Snaith suggests a rendering of “worthless godlings.”} so you must not set up for yourselves a carved image or a pillar, and you must not place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down before ^{▼▼tn Heb “on.” The “sculpted stone” appears to be some sort of stone with images carved into (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 181, and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 449).} it, for I am the Lord your God.