21 Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the Lord thy God, which thou shalt make thee.
21 Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the Lord your God,
21 "You shall not plant any tree as an Asherah beside the altar of the Lord your God that you shall make.
21 Don't plant fertility Asherah trees alongside the Altar of God, your God, that you build.
21 "You shall not plant for yourself any tree, as a wooden image, near the altar which you build for yourself to the Lord your God.
21 "You must never set up a wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build for the Lord your God.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Deuteronomy 16:21
Commentary on Deuteronomy 16:18-22
(Read Deuteronomy 16:18-22)
Care is taken for the due administration of justice. All personal regards must be laid aside, so that right is done to all, and wrong to none. Care is taken to prevent following the idolatrous customs of the heathen. Nothing belies God more, or tends more to corrupt the minds of men, than representing and worshipping, by an image, that God, who is an almighty and eternal Spirit, present every where. Alas! even in gospel days, and under a better dispensation, established upon better promises, there is a tendency to set up idols, under one form or another, in the human heart.