Exodus 20:24
You shall make an altar of earth unto me, and you shall offer upon it your holocausts and peace offerings, your sheep and oxen, in every place where the memory of my name shall be: I will come to thee, and will bless thee.
Open Exodus 20:24 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Altare de terra facietis mihi, et offeretis super eo holocausta et pacifica vestra, oves vestras et boves in omni loco in quo memoria fuerit nominis mei : veniam ad te, et benedicam tibi.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- Θυσιαστήριον ἐκ γῆς ποιήσετέ μοι, καὶ θύσετε ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῦ τὰ ὁλοκαυτώματα ὑμῶν καὶ τὰ σωτήρια ὑμῶν καὶ τὰ πρόβατα καὶ τοὺς μόσχους ὑμῶν ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ οὗ ἐὰν ἐπονομάσω τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐκεῖ· καὶ ἥξω πρὸς σὲ καὶ εὐλογήσω σε.
- Hebrew (WLC)
- מִזְבַּ֣ח אֲדָמָה֮ תַּעֲשֶׂה לִּי֒ וְזָבַחְתָּ֣ עָלָ֗יו אֶת עֹלֹתֶ֨יךָ֙ וְאֶת שְׁלָמֶ֔יךָ אֶת צֹֽאנְךָ֖ וְאֶת בְּקָרֶ֑ךָ בְּכָל הַמָּקוֹם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אַזְכִּ֣יר אֶת שְׁמִ֔י אָב֥וֹא אֵלֶ֖יךָ וּבֵרַכְתִּֽיךָ
Haydock's commentary
Earth, which may be destroyed with ease, to prevent any profanation.
Place. Where the tabernacle shall be fixed, you shall offer sacrifice, and I will hear you. The ark was afterwards deposited in the temple, where alone the Jews were, consequently, allowed to sacrifice. (Haydock)
Samuel offered victims at Mespha and Ramatha, by the dispensation of God, 1 Kings vii. 9, 17. (Menochius)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
The Apostolic Constitutions Book VI, Sec. IV. Of the Law
XX . Now the law is the decalogue, which the Lord promulgated to them with an audible voice, before the people made that calf which represented the Egyptian Apis. And the law is righteous, and therefore is it called the law, because judgments are thence made according to the law of nature, which the followers of Simon abuse, supposing they shall not be judged thereby, and so shall escape punishment. This law is good, holy, and such as lays no compulsion in things positive. For He says: “If thou wilt make me an altar, thou shalt make it of earth.” It does not say, “Make one,” but, “If thou wilt make.” It does not impose a necessity, but gives leave to their own free liberty. For God does not stand in need of sacrifices, being by nature above all want. …