---
title: Deuteronomy 5:7
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/deuteronomy-5-7/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/deuteronomy-5-7.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Deuteronomy 5:7
testament: OT
section: Law
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Deuteronomy 5:7

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> You shall have no other gods before Me.

## JW Usage

JWs honour Deuteronomy 5:7 ("you must never have any other gods besides me") as foundational monotheism. The commandment is read as a hedge around exclusive devotion to Jehovah — any tolerance of "other gods" is spiritual adultery. Jesus is "a god" (John 1:1 NWT) but subordinate and honoured, not worshipped as Jehovah.

## Protestant Usage

The commandment is uncompromising: no other gods. It does not say "no other *almighty* gods." Read with the NWT's John 1:1 — "the Word was a god" — the Watchtower faces a trilemma. If Jesus is "a god" in an ontological sense, then either he is a true god (which the first commandment forbids), or he is a false god (which Christians should reject), or he is the one true God identified in eternal communion with the Father (the Trinitarian position). Isaiah 43:10 — "before me no God was formed, and after me there has continued to be none" — seals the exclusive claim. At the door, hold Deuteronomy 5:7 beside the NWT's John 1:1 and ask the JW which of the three options their translation leaves open.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- ['A God' = Polytheism](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/john1-polytheism.md) — John 1:1 + Exodus 20:3 + Isaiah 43:10 [Deity of Christ]