Deuteronomy 5:1-21

Contemporary English Version

The Ten Commandments

(Exodus 20.1-17)

5 Moses called together the people of Israel and said:

Today I am telling you the laws and teachings that you must follow, so listen carefully. ²The Lord our God made an agreement with our nation at Mount Sinai.^[a] ³That agreement wasn't only with^[b] our ancestors but with us, who are here today. ⁴The Lord himself spoke to you out of the fire, ⁵but you were afraid of the fire and refused to go up the mountain. So I spoke with the Lord for you, then I told you that he had said:

⁶I am the Lord your God, the one who brought you out of Egypt where you were slaves.

⁷Do not worship any god except me.

⁸^(A) Do not make idols that look like anything in the sky or on earth or in the ocean under the earth. ⁹^(B) Don't bow down and worship idols. I am the Lord your God, and I demand all your love. If you reject me and worship idols, I will punish your families for three or four generations. ¹⁰But if you love me and obey my laws, I will be kind to your families for thousands of generations.

¹¹^(C) Do not misuse my name.^[c] I am the Lord your God, and I will punish anyone who misuses my name.

¹²^(D) Show respect for the Sabbath Day—it belongs to me. ¹³^(E) You have six days when you can do your work, ¹⁴but the seventh day of the week belongs to me, your God. No one is to work on that day—not you, your children, your oxen or donkeys or any other animal, not even those foreigners who live in your towns. And don't make your slaves do any work. ¹⁵This special day of rest will remind you that I reached out my mighty arm and rescued you from slavery in Egypt.

¹⁶^(F) Respect your father and mother, and you will live a long and successful life in the land I am giving you.

¹⁷^(G) Do not murder.

¹⁸^(H) Be faithful in marriage.

¹⁹^(I) Do not steal.

²⁰^(J) Do not tell lies about others.

²¹^(K) Do not desire to possess anything that belongs to another person—not a house, a wife, a husband, a slave, an ox, a donkey, or anything else.

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Footnotes

5.2 Mount Sinai: See the note at 1.1-5.
5.3 wasn't only with: Hebrew “wasn't with.”
5.11 misuse my name: Probably includes breaking promises, telling lies after swearing to tell the truth, using the Lord's name as a curse word or a magic formula, and trying to control the Lord by using his name.