Exodus 20:25
ESV
If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it.
NIV
If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.
NASB
And if you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your chisel on it, you will profane it.
CSB
If you make a stone altar for me, do not build it out of cut stones. If you use your chisel on it, you will defile it.
NLT
If you use stones to build my altar, use only natural, uncut stones. Do not shape the stones with a tool, for that would make the altar unfit for holy use.
KJV
And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
NKJV
And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it.
What does Exodus 20:25 mean?
Israelites were allowed to construct altars for sacrifice out of natural materials (Exodus 20:24). In practice, this meant dirt and stone. However, these stones could not be carved. The Lord prohibited making sculpted objects for worship (Exodus 20:3–6, 23). In parallel, sacrificial altars were not to be made by human design. Instead, they were to be made of stones kept in their natural shape. They were also to avoid being so large that they became excessive or risked exposing a worshipper (Exodus 20:26).God will soon instruct Israel to build a single simple altar of wood and bronze for use in the tabernacle (Exodus 27:1–8). This is part of focusing Israel's corporate worship in a single place. Israel needs to know how to construct proper altars until that central location is established.
