Deuteronomy 5:7
Deuteronomy 5:77You shall have no other gods before Me.
JWs honour ("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" ( NWT) but subordinate and honoured, not worshipped as Jehovah.
The commandment is uncompromising: no other gods. It does not say "no other almighty gods." Read with the NWT's — "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). — "before me no God was formed, and after me there has continued to be none" — seals the exclusive claim. At the door, hold beside the NWT's and ask the JW which of the three options their translation leaves open.