The Ten Commandments Repeated

Now Moses summoned all Israel and said to them:

“Listen, Israel, to the statutes and ordinances which I am speaking today [a]for you to hear, so that you may learn them and be careful to do them. The Lord our God made (A)a covenant with us at Horeb. (B)The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, all [b]of us who are alive here today. The Lord spoke with you (C)face to face at the mountain (D)from the midst of the fire, while (E)I was standing between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord; (F)for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up on the mountain. [c]He said,

(G)I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of [d]slavery.

(H)You shall have no other gods besides Me.

(I)You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any [e]likeness of what is in heaven above [f]or on the earth beneath [g]or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, (J)inflicting the [h]punishment of the fathers on the children, [i]even on the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 10 but (K)showing [j]favor to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

11 (L)You shall not take the name of the Lord your God [k]in vain, for the Lord will not [l]leave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain.

12 (M)Keep the Sabbath day to treat it as holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 For six days you [m]shall labor and do all your work, 14 but (N)the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; you shall not do any work that day, you or your son or your daughter, or your male slave or your female slave, or your ox, your donkey, or any of your cattle, or your [n]resident who [o]stays with you, so that your male slave and your female slave may rest as well as you. 15 (O)And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to [p]celebrate the Sabbath day.

16 (P)Honor your father and your mother, just as the Lord your God has commanded you, (Q)so that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well for you on the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

17 (R)You shall not murder.

18 (S)You shall not commit adultery.

19 (T)You shall not steal.

20 (U)You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

21 (V)You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male slave or his female slave, his ox, his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’

Moses Interceded

22 “These words the Lord spoke to your whole assembly at the mountain from the midst of the fire, from the cloud, and from the thick darkness, with a great voice, and He added nothing more. (W)He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. 23 And when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you approached me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. 24 You said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with mankind, yet he lives. 25 (X)Now then, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer, then we will die! 26 For (Y)who is there of [q]humanity who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? 27 [r]Go near and listen to everything that the Lord our God says; then speak to us everything that the Lord our God speaks to you, and we will listen and do it.’

28 “Now the Lord heard the sound of your words when you spoke to me, (Z)and the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the sound of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken. 29 (AA)If only they had such a heart in them, to fear Me and (AB)keep all My commandments always, so that (AC)it would go well with them and with their sons forever! 30 Go, say to them, “Return to your tents.” 31 (AD)But as for you, stand here by Me, that I may speak to you all the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which you shall teach them, so that they may [s]follow them in the land which I am giving them to possess.’ 32 So you shall be careful to do just as the Lord your God has commanded you; (AE)you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left. 33 (AF)You shall walk [t]entirely in the way which the Lord your God has commanded you, (AG)so that you may live and that it may be well for you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you will possess.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 5:1 Lit in your ears
  2. Deuteronomy 5:3 Lit these of us ourselves
  3. Deuteronomy 5:5 Lit saying
  4. Deuteronomy 5:6 Lit slaves
  5. Deuteronomy 5:8 Or manifestation
  6. Deuteronomy 5:8 Lit or what is on
  7. Deuteronomy 5:8 Lit or what is on
  8. Deuteronomy 5:9 I.e., punishment for the wrongdoing
  9. Deuteronomy 5:9 Or and on
  10. Deuteronomy 5:10 Or faithfulness
  11. Deuteronomy 5:11 I.e., uselessly or abusively
  12. Deuteronomy 5:11 Or hold guiltless
  13. Deuteronomy 5:13 Or may
  14. Deuteronomy 5:14 Lit stranger
  15. Deuteronomy 5:14 Lit is in your gates
  16. Deuteronomy 5:15 Lit perform
  17. Deuteronomy 5:26 Lit all flesh
  18. Deuteronomy 5:27 Lit Go yourself
  19. Deuteronomy 5:31 Lit perform
  20. Deuteronomy 5:33 Lit in all the way of

The Ten Commandments

(Exodus 20.1-17)

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. The Lord our God made an agreement with our nation at Mount Sinai.[a] That agreement wasn't only with[b] our ancestors but with us, who are here today. The Lord himself spoke to you out of the fire, but 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:

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

Do not worship any god except me.

(A) Do not make idols that look like anything in the sky or on earth or in the ocean under the earth. (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. 10 But 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, 14 but 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. 15 This 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.

22 (L) When we were gathered at the mountain, the Lord spoke to us in a loud voice from the dark fiery cloud. The Lord gave us these commands, and only these. Then he wrote them on two flat stones and gave them to me.

The People Were Afraid

(Exodus 20.18-21)

Moses said to Israel:

23 When fire blazed from the mountain, and you heard the voice coming from the darkness, your tribal leaders came to me 24 and said:

Today the Lord our God has shown us how powerful and glorious he is. He spoke to us from the fire, and we learned that people can live, even though God speaks to them. 25 But we don't want to take a chance on being killed by that terrible fire, and if we keep on hearing the Lord's voice, we will die. 26 Has anyone else ever heard the only true God speaking from fire, as we have? And even if they have, would they live to tell about it? 27 Moses, go up close and listen to the Lord. Then come back and tell us, and we will do everything he says.

28 The Lord heard you and said:

Moses, I heard what the people said to you, and I approve. 29 I wish they would always worship me with fear and trembling and be this willing to obey me! Then they and their children would always enjoy a successful life.

30 Now, tell them to return to their tents, 31 but you come back here to me. After I tell you my laws and teachings, you will repeat them to the people, so they can obey these laws in the land I am giving them.

Moses said:

32 Israel, you must carefully obey the Lord's commands. 33 Follow them, because they make a path that will lead to a long successful life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Footnotes

  1. 5.2 Mount Sinai: See the note at 1.1-5.
  2. 5.3 wasn't only with: Hebrew “wasn't with.”
  3. 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.