Deuteronomy 5
New King James Version
The Ten Commandments Reviewed(A)
5 And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them. 2 (B)The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 The Lord (C)did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive. 4 (D)The Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. 5 (E)I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord; for (F)you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain. He said:
6 (G)‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of [a]bondage.
7 (H)‘You shall have no other gods [b]before Me.
8 (I)‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 9 you shall not (J)bow[c] down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, [d]visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 10 (K)but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and [e]keep My commandments.
11 (L)‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him [f]guiltless who takes His name in vain.
12 (M)‘Observe the Sabbath day, to [g]keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 (N)Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is the (O)Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 (P)And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there (Q)by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
16 (R)‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, (S)that your days may be long, and that it may be well with (T)you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
17 (U)‘You shall not murder.
18 (V)‘You shall not commit adultery.
19 (W)‘You shall not steal.
20 (X)‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
21 (Y)‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife; and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’
22 “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And (Z)He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
The People Afraid of God’s Presence(AA)
23 (AB)“So it was, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. 24 And you said: ‘Surely the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and (AC)we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he (AD)still lives. 25 Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; (AE)if we hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore, then we shall die. 26 (AF)For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? 27 You go near and hear all that the Lord our God may say, and (AG)tell us all that the Lord our God says to you, and we will hear and do it.’
28 “Then the Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me: ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. (AH)They are right in all that they have spoken. 29 (AI)Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and (AJ)always keep all My commandments, (AK)that it might be well with them and with their children forever! 30 Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.” 31 But as for you, stand here by Me, (AL)and I will speak to you all the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which you shall teach them, that they may observe them in the land which I am giving them to possess.’
32 “Therefore you shall [h]be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; (AM)you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 You shall walk in (AN)all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live (AO)and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 5:6 slavery
- Deuteronomy 5:7 besides
- Deuteronomy 5:9 worship them
- Deuteronomy 5:9 punishing
- Deuteronomy 5:10 observe
- Deuteronomy 5:11 innocent
- Deuteronomy 5:12 sanctify it
- Deuteronomy 5:32 observe
Deuteronomy 5
Common English Bible
Ten Commandments
5 Moses called out to all Israel, saying to them: “Israel! Listen to the regulations and the case laws that I’m recounting in your hearing right now. Learn them and carefully do them. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Mount Horeb. 3 The Lord didn’t make this covenant with our ancestors but with us—all of us who are here and alive right now. 4 The Lord spoke with you face-to-face on the mountain from the very fire itself. 5 At that time, I was standing between the Lord and you, declaring to you the Lord’s word, because you were terrified of the fire and didn’t go up on the mountain.”
The Lord said:
6 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
7 You must have no other gods before[a] me. 8 Do not make an idol for yourself—no form whatsoever—of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 9 Do not bow down to them or worship them because I, the Lord your God, am a passionate God. I punish children for their parents’ sins—even to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. 10 But I am loyal and gracious to the thousandth generation[b] of those who love me and keep my commandments.
11 Do not use the Lord your God’s name as if it were of no significance; the Lord won’t forgive anyone who uses his name that way.
12 Keep the Sabbath day and treat it as holy, exactly as the Lord your God commanded: 13 Six days you may work and do all your tasks, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. Don’t do any work on it—not you, your sons or daughters, your male or female servants, your oxen or donkeys or any of your animals, or the immigrant who is living among you—so that your male and female servants can rest just like you. 15 Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, but the Lord your God brought you out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. That’s why the Lord your God commands you to keep the Sabbath day.
16 Honor your father and your mother, exactly as the Lord your God requires, so that your life will be long and so that things will go well for you on the fertile land that the Lord your God is giving you.
17 Do not kill.[c]
18 Do not commit adultery.
19 Do not steal.
20 Do not testify falsely against your neighbor.
21 Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s wife.
Do not crave your neighbor’s house, field, male or female servant, ox, donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.
22 Those are the words the Lord spoke to your entire assembly with a loud voice while on the mountain, from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick smoke. He added no more. God wrote them on two stone tablets, then gave them to me.
Moses’ intercessory role
23 Now once you heard the voice from the darkness while the mountain was blazing with fire, you came to me—more specifically, all the chiefs of your tribes and your elders came— 24 and you said: “Look here! The Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness. We’ve heard his voice come out of the very fire itself. We’ve seen firsthand that God can speak to a human being and they can survive! 25 But why should we die? Surely this massive fire will consume us! If we hear any more of the Lord our God’s voice, we will die. 26 Is there anyone who has heard the living God’s voice speaking out of the very fire itself, like we have, and survived? 27 You go and listen to all that the Lord our God says. Then tell us all that the Lord our God speaks to you. We’ll listen and we’ll do it.”
28 The Lord heard what you said, when you said this to me. The Lord then told me: I heard what the people said when they spoke with you. Everything they suggest is good. 29 If only their minds were like this: always fearing me and keeping all my commandments so that things would go well for them and their children forever! 30 Go and tell them: You may go back to your tents. 31 But you, Moses, must stay here with me. I will tell you all the commandments,[d] the regulations, and the case laws that you must teach the Israelites to do in the land that I am giving them to possess.
32 So you must carefully do exactly what the Lord your God commands you. Don’t deviate even a bit! 33 You must walk the precise path that the Lord your God indicates for you so that you will live, and so that things will go well for you, and so you will extend your time on the land that you will possess.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 5:7 Or besides
- Deuteronomy 5:10 Or to thousands
- Deuteronomy 5:17 Or murder
- Deuteronomy 5:31 Heb is singular, commandment (see 6:1).
Deuteronomy 5
International Children’s Bible
The Ten Commandments
5 Moses called all the people of Israel together and said: Listen, Israel, to the commands and laws I give you today. Learn them and obey them carefully. 2 The Lord our God made an agreement with us at Mount Sinai. 3 He did not make this agreement with our ancestors. He made it with us. He made it with all of us who are alive here today. 4 The Lord spoke to you face to face. He spoke from the fire on the mountain. 5 (At that time I stood between you and the Lord. I told you what the Lord said. You were afraid of the fire. So you would not go up on the mountain.) The Lord said:
6 “I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves.
7 “You must not have any other gods except me.
8 “You must not make for yourselves any idols. Don’t make something that looks like anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the water below the land. 9 You must not worship or serve any idol. This is because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. A person may sin against me and hate me. I will punish his children, even his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 10 But I will be very kind to thousands who love me and obey my commands.
11 “You must not use the name of the Lord your God thoughtlessly. The Lord will punish anyone who is guilty and misuses his name.
12 “Keep the Sabbath as a holy day. The Lord your God has commanded you to do this. 13 You may work and get everything done during six days each week. 14 But the seventh day is a day of rest to honor the Lord your God. On that day no one may do any work: not you, your son or daughter, or your men or women slaves. Neither your ox, your donkey nor any of your animals may work. The foreigners living in your cities may not work. That way your servants may rest as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. The Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by his great power and strength. So the Lord your God has commanded you to rest on the Sabbath day.
16 “Honor your father and your mother. The Lord your God has commanded you to do this. Then you will live a long time. And things will go well for you in the land. The Lord your God is going to give you this land.
17 “You must not murder anyone.
18 “You must not be guilty of adultery.
19 “You must not steal.
20 “You must not tell lies about your neighbor in court.
21 “You must not want to take your neighbor’s wife. You must not want to take your neighbor’s house or land. You must not want to take his men or women slaves. You must not want to take his ox or his donkey. You must not want to take anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
22 The Lord gave these commands to all of you on the mountain. He spoke them in a loud voice out of the fire. He spoke from the cloud and the deep darkness. He did not say anything else. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets. And he gave them to me.
23 You heard the voice from the darkness. The mountain was blazing with fire. Then all the leaders of your tribes and your elders came to me. 24 And you said, “The Lord our God has shown us his glory and majesty. We have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a person can live even if God speaks to him. 25 But now, we will die! This great fire will burn us up. And we will die if we hear the Lord our God speak anymore. 26 No human being has ever heard the living God speaking from a fire and still lived. But we have. 27 Moses, you go near and listen to everything the Lord our God says. Then you tell us what the Lord our God tells you. We will listen and obey.”
28 The Lord heard what you said to me. And he said to me, “I have heard what the people said to you. Everything they said was good. 29 I wish their hearts would always respect me. I wish they would always obey my commands. Then things would go well for them and their children forever!
30 “Go and tell the people to return to their tents. 31 But you stay here with me. I will give you all the commands, rules and laws. Teach the people to obey them in the land I am giving them to own.”
32 So be careful. Do what the Lord your God has commanded you. You must follow the commands exactly. 33 Live the way the Lord your God has commanded you. Then you will live and be successful. You will live a long time in the land you will own.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.