The Ten Commandments Reviewed(A)

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. (B)The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 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. (D)The Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. (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:

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

(H)‘You shall have no other gods [b]before Me.

(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; 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

  1. Deuteronomy 5:6 slavery
  2. Deuteronomy 5:7 besides
  3. Deuteronomy 5:9 worship them
  4. Deuteronomy 5:9 punishing
  5. Deuteronomy 5:10 observe
  6. Deuteronomy 5:11 innocent
  7. Deuteronomy 5:12 sanctify it
  8. Deuteronomy 5:32 observe

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

Chapter 5

The Ten Commandments.[a] Moses then summoned all of the Israelites and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the decrees that I proclaim in your hearing today. Learn them and carefully observe them. The Lord, our God, made a covenant with us at Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with those of us who are still alive and present today. The Lord spoke with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the flame.

“I stood between you and the Lord at that time, declaring the word of the Lord to you, for you were afraid and did not go up the mountain because of the fire. He said, ‘I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out from the land of slavery. You shall have no god other than me. You shall not make any idols in the form of anything that dwells in the heavens above or on the earth below or even in the waters below the land. You shall not prostrate yourself to them nor worship them. I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God. I visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, 10 but I will show mercy to the thousandth generation on those who love me and observe my commandments.

11 “ ‘You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain, for the Lord will not consider blameless those who take his name in vain.

12 “ ‘You shall observe the Sabbath by keeping it holy, as the Lord, your God, has commanded you. 13 You are to labor on six days, doing all of your work then. 14 The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, your God. You shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your ox, nor your ass, nor your cattle, nor even the foreigner living in your town. Thus your manservant and maidservant can rest as well. 15 Remember that you were once a slave in the land of Egypt. The Lord, your God, brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord, your God, has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.[b]

16 “ ‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord, your God, has commanded you,[c] so that you might have a long life and things might go well with you in the land that the Lord, your God, has given you.

17 “ ‘You shall not murder. 18 You shall not commit adultery. 19 You shall not steal. 20 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 21 You shall not desire your neighbor’s wife. Nor shall you desire your neighbor’s house or land, or his manservant or his maidservant, or his ox or ass or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’ ”

22 Moses at Sinai. These are the things that the Lord proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly on the mountain from the midst of the flame, out of the cloud and the deep darkness, this and nothing more. He then wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me. 23 When you heard the voice coming out of the darkness, while the mountain was blazing with fire,[d] all of the leaders of your tribes and your elders drew near to me.

24 You said, “The Lord, our God, has shown us his glory and his majesty. We have heard his voice coming forth from out of the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God were to speak to him. 25 But now, why should we die, for this great fire will consume us if we listen anymore to the voice of the Lord, our God? We will surely die. 26 For what mortal has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out from the midst of the flames, as we have, and continued to live? 27 You approach him and listen to all that the Lord, our God, will say to you. Then you can tell us all that the Lord, our God, said to you. We will listen and obey.”

28 The Lord heard what you said to me, and the Lord said to me, “I have heard what this people has said to you. Everything that they said is acceptable. 29 Oh, that they would have fear of me in their hearts and they would observe all of my commandments always. Then things would go well with them and their children forever. 30 Go tell them, ‘Go back to your tents.’ 31 But you, stay here with me, so that I can pass on to you all of the commandments and statutes and decrees that you are to teach them so that they might observe them in the land that I am giving to them to possess. 32 Therefore, be careful to observe what the Lord, your God, has commanded of you. Do not turn away from it to the right nor the left. 33 Continue in all of the ways that the Lord, your God, has commanded you. Continue in them so that you may live and prosper and that you may long dwell on the land of your inheritance.”

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 5:1 These covenant statutes, which we have already met in Ex 20:1-16, were recited by the Israelites during liturgical assemblies. They contain the word of God and show the people the way they must follow at all times; they are the basis of the morality of both the Old Testament and the gospel and represent fundamental norms of a human ethics. Comparable lists are found in 27:15-26; Ex 34:11-26; Lev 19:1-4, 11-18; but these are less general than the Decalogue.
  2. Deuteronomy 5:15 Like Passover (Deut 16:1-8), the Sabbath celebrates the deliverance of the people. In like manner, for Christians, Sunday commemorates the resurrection of Christ and their deliverance from sin. The day is a testimony to freedom.
  3. Deuteronomy 5:16 As the Lord, your God, has commanded you: this phrase is worth repeating to give credence to what is expected of the Israelites and occurs many times throughout Deuteronomy.
  4. Deuteronomy 5:23 The mountain was blazing with fire: whether the fire was symbolic or real, the association of fire with God’s presence confirms for the Israelites the Lord’s power to destroy.

The Ten Commandments(A)

Moses summoned all Israel and said:

Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws(B) I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. The Lord our God made a covenant(C) with us at Horeb.(D) It was not with our ancestors[a] that the Lord made this covenant, but with us,(E) with all of us who are alive here today.(F) The Lord spoke(G) to you face to face(H) out of the fire(I) on the mountain. (At that time I stood between(J) the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord, because you were afraid(K) of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt,(L) out of the land of slavery.(M)

“You shall have no other gods before[b] me.

“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.(N) You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents(O) to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,(P) 10 but showing love to a thousand(Q) generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.(R)

11 “You shall not misuse the name(S) of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.(T)

12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy,(U) as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day(V) is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant,(W) nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do.(X) 15 Remember that you were slaves(Y) in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand(Z) and an outstretched arm.(AA) Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

16 “Honor your father(AB) and your mother,(AC) as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long(AD) and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

17 “You shall not murder.(AE)

18 “You shall not commit adultery.(AF)

19 “You shall not steal.(AG)

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

21 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”(AI)

22 These are the commandments the Lord proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness;(AJ) and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets(AK) and gave them to me.

23 When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leaders of your tribes and your elders(AL) came to me. 24 And you said, “The Lord our God has shown us(AM) his glory and his majesty,(AN) and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a person can live even if God speaks with them.(AO) 25 But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer.(AP) 26 For what mortal has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived?(AQ) 27 Go near and listen to all that the Lord our God says.(AR) Then tell us whatever the Lord our God tells you. We will listen and obey.”(AS)

28 The Lord heard you when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me, “I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good.(AT) 29 Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me(AU) and keep all my commands(AV) always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!(AW)

30 “Go, tell them to return to their tents. 31 But you stay here(AX) with me so that I may give you all the commands, decrees and laws you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to possess.”

32 So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you;(AY) do not turn aside to the right or to the left.(AZ) 33 Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you,(BA) so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days(BB) in the land that you will possess.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 5:3 Or not only with our parents
  2. Deuteronomy 5:7 Or besides