Leviticus 19:4

Summary

The verse issues two parallel prohibitions: not to turn toward worthless idols and not to make molten gods for oneself, closing with a self-identification formula spoken by Yehovah as the God of the addressees.

Key words

• tif.Nu ("you turn", H6437G) — qal jussive/imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural, following the negation 'al (H0408); this construction expresses a prohibition of an action, addressed collectively to the group.
• 'e.li.Lim ("worthless idols", H0457) — masculine plural noun with the definite article ha (H9009), naming the object toward which one must not turn.
• lo.Hei ("gods of", H0430J) — masculine plural construct form of the same root used for "God" in verse-final 'e.lo.hei.Khem; here in construct with ma.se.Khah ("molten metal", H4541A), forming the phrase "gods of molten metal."
• ta.'a.Su ("you must make", H6213H) — qal imperfect, 2nd masculine plural, paired with the separate negation lo' (H3808) rather than 'al, marking a distinct grammatical construction from the first prohibition.
• 'a.Ni ("I", H0589) plus Yah.weh (H3068G) — independent personal pronoun followed by the divine name, forming a self-identification clause with no verb "to be" present in the Hebrew.

What the text says

The verse contains two prohibitions built with different negations. The first, 'al-tif.Nu ("may not you turn"), uses 'al (H0408) with a verb form glossed as jussive, a construction typically used for immediate or situational commands. The second, lo' ta.'a.Su ("not you must make"), uses lo' (H3808) with an imperfect verb, a form associated with general or standing prohibitions. Both address the same second-person masculine plural audience, but the shift in negation particle marks a grammatical distinction between the two commands even though both are rendered as simple prohibitions in translation.

The phrase 'e.lo.hei ma.se.Khah ("gods of molten metal") uses the construct form 'e.lo.hei (H0430J), the same consonantal root later used for "God" in 'e.lo.hei.Khem ("your God", combining H0430G and H9026). The construct links this plural noun to ma.se.Khah ("molten metal", H4541A), producing "gods of casting" — objects made by pouring metal into a mold, distinct from the 'e.li.Lim ("worthless idols", H0457) named in the first clause.

The closing formula 'a.Ni Yah.weh 'e.lo.hei.Khem ("I, Yehovah, God of you-plural") has no explicit copula "am" in the Hebrew; the pronoun 'a.Ni (H0589) stands directly before the name and title, a nominal sentence structure.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders 'e.li.Lim ("worthless idols") as eidōlois ("idols") and uses epakolouthēsete ("you will follow after"), a verb of pursuit rather than the Hebrew's tif.Nu ("you turn"). The Vulgate's converti ("to be turned/converted") stays closer to the directional sense of the Hebrew verb. For 'e.lo.hei ma.se.Khah ("gods of molten metal"), the LXX has theous chōneutous ("molten gods") and the Vulgate deos conflatiles ("gods cast in a mold"), both matching the Hebrew construct sense without a separate rendering of the construct relationship itself.