Deuteronomy 5
EasyEnglish Bible
God's 10 special commands
5 Moses called all the Israelites to come together. He said to them:
Listen, Israelites, to the rules and commands that I am teaching to you today. Learn them. Be careful to obey them. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Sinai. 3 He did not make this agreement with our ancestors. He made it with all of us who are alive here today. 4 The Lord spoke clearly to you from the middle of the fire on the mountain. 5 (At that time, I stood between the Lord and you. I repeated the Lord's message to you. You were afraid of the fire, so you did not go up the mountain.)
God said this:
6 ‘I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt, the country where you were slaves.
7 You must not have any other gods except me.
8 You must not make any idol for yourself. Do not make a false god in the shape of anything that is in the sky above. Do not make one in the shape of anything on the earth or in the sea. 9 You must not bend down your head to any idol or worship it. I am the Lord your God and I want you to belong to me alone. I will punish children because of the bad things that their fathers have done. I will also punish their grandchildren and their children too. That is how I will punish everyone who hates me. 10 But I will truly love all those who love me. They are the people who obey my laws. I will continue to love them and their families for ever.
11 You must not speak the name of the Lord your God in a wrong way. The Lord will punish anyone who speaks his name in a wrong way.
12 Always make the Sabbath day a special day for God, as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 You have six days every week to do all your work. 14 But the seventh day is a Sabbath day. It is special for the Lord your God. You must not do any work on that day. Your son and your daughter must not work on that day. Your servants, male or female, must not work on that day. Your ox or your donkey or any of your animals must not work on that day, nor any foreign person who lives among you. Then your servants can rest in the same way as you rest. 15 You must remember that you were slaves in Egypt. But I, the Lord your God, brought you out by my powerful authority. So the Lord your God has told you to make the Sabbath day a special day.
16 Always respect your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Then you will live for many years in the land that the Lord your God will give to you. And you will be happy.
17 You must not murder anyone.
18 You must not have sex with another person's wife or husband.
19 You must not take another person's things for yourself.
20 You must not say false things against your neighbour.
21 You must not want to take your neighbour's wife for yourself. You must not want his house or his land, or his servants, male or female. You must not want his ox or his donkey or anything else that belongs to your neighbour.’
22 These are the commands that the Lord spoke to you. You were all there together at the mountain. He spoke with a loud voice from the middle of a great fire. There was a cloud and it was very dark. He gave only those commands. Then he wrote them on two flat stones and he gave them to me.
23 The mountain was burning with fire and you heard God's voice speak from the darkness. Then the leaders and older men of your tribes came to speak to me. 24 They said, ‘The Lord our God has shown us how great and how powerful he is. We have heard his voice from the middle of the fire. We have learned this: People can continue to live, even after God has spoken to them. 25 But now we think that this great fire will kill us. We do not want to die! If we continue to hear the voice of the Lord our God, we will surely die. 26 The God who lives for ever has spoken to us from the middle of the fire. Has anyone ever heard him speak like that and then continued to live? 27 We ask you to go near to the Lord our God. Listen to everything that he says. Then you should tell us what he says to you. We will listen carefully and we will obey him.’
28 The Lord heard what you said to me. He said to me, ‘I have heard what these people have said to you. What they said is right. 29 I really want them to respect me with fear. I want them to obey my commands in the future! If they do that, everything will be well for them and for their descendants for ever. 30 Now tell them to return to their tents. 31 But you should stay here with me. I will tell you all the commands, rules and laws that you must teach to the people. Then they can obey them in the land that I will give them to live in.’
32 So you must be careful to do everything that the Lord your God has commanded you to do. You must not refuse to obey any of his laws. 33 Live in the way that he has commanded you. If you do that, you will be happy in the land where you are going. You will live for a long time in the land that will be your home.
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
English Standard Version
The Ten Commandments
5 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. 2 (A)The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 (B)Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. 4 The Lord spoke with you (C)face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, 5 (D)while I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For (E)you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said:
6 (F)“‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
7 “‘You shall have no other gods before[a] me.
8 “‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 9 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing steadfast love to (G)thousands[b] of those who love me and keep my commandments.
11 “‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
12 “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but (H)the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, (I)that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 (J)You shall remember that you were a slave[c] in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there (K)with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
16 “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, (L)that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
17 (M)“‘You shall not murder.[d]
18 (N)“‘And you shall not commit adultery.
19 “‘And you shall not steal.
20 “‘And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
21 “‘And you shall not covet your neighbor's wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.’
22 “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly (O)at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And (P)he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. 23 And (Q)as soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders. 24 And you said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and (R)greatness, and (S)we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man (T)still live. 25 Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. (U)If we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, we shall die. 26 (V)For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived? 27 Go near and hear all that the Lord our God will say, and (W)speak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.’
28 “And the Lord heard your words, when you spoke to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. (X)They are right in all that they have spoken. 29 (Y)Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, (Z)that it might go well with them and with their descendants[e] forever! 30 Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.” 31 But you, stand here by me, and (AA)I will tell you the whole commandment and the statutes and the rules that you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess.’ 32 You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. (AB)You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 (AC)You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and (AD)that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 5:7 Or besides
- Deuteronomy 5:10 Or to the thousandth generation
- Deuteronomy 5:15 Or servant
- Deuteronomy 5:17 The Hebrew word also covers causing human death through carelessness or negligence
- Deuteronomy 5:29 Or sons
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
