What Does Exodus 23:33 Mean in the King James?
They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The snare enters through who dwells in the land, then takes hold through what you serve.
THE MEANING
The warning speaks now: the presence of those who serve other gods can draw your service toward their gods. If you serve them, that service becomes a snare; the danger runs from dwelling, to allegiance, to capture.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie this undoes is that another allegiance can remain a harmless presence while your own service stays untouched; the verse says serving those gods can become your trap.
THE ROOT
מוֹקֵשׁ
moqesh
GROWS FROM
יקש
y-q-sh
To ensnare or catch in a trap.
“snare” in this verse is moqesh. The noun carries the root’s catching action into the image of a trap. The danger is more than something nearby: the allegiance described here becomes a means of capture.
ALSO GROWS
yaqosh: To lay a snare or ensnare.
יָקֹשׁ
The verb names the catching action contained in the noun “snare.”
yaqush: Fowler; one who catches birds.
יָקוּשׁ
This branch shows the snare as part of a process of capture, not a vague obstacle.
תַּעֲבֹד
ta'avod
GROWS FROM
עבד
ʿ-b-d
To work or serve; to be in service to.
“serve” in this verse is ta'avod. The same root joins service with the language of servants and labor. Serving the gods carries the deeper shape of becoming bound to the one served.
ALSO GROWS
eved: Servant or slave.
עֶבֶד
This branch reveals the bond implied by service: the one who serves can become a servant of the power served.
avodah: Labor or service.
עֲבֹדָה
This branch connects the act of serving the gods with sustained work and allegiance, not merely a passing gesture.
יַחֲטִיאוּ
yachati'u
GROWS FROM
חטא
ḥ-ṭ-ʾ
To miss or go wrong.
“make thee sin” in this verse is yachati'u. The verb is causative: the dwellers can make you miss, turning their presence into an influence on your actions. The verse names the direction of that missing plainly: it is against God.
ALSO GROWS
chet: Missing; sin.
חֵטְא
This noun preserves the sense of missing in the verse’s warning about being led against God.
chatta't: Missing; an offering for the missing.
חַטָּאת
This branch connects the act of missing with the offering associated with it, showing the root’s reach beyond a single act.
THE PATTERN
What receives your service can command the path and bind the one who serves.
And thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee.No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?THE THREAD
And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.Psalm 106 uses the same Hebrew noun מוֹקֵשׁ (moqesh), meaning “snare,” as Exodus 23:33. The shared root makes the mechanism plain: what is served becomes the trap itself.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us