12 (A)“Honor your father and your mother, (B)that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

13 (C)“You shall not murder.[a]

14 (D)“You shall not commit adultery.

15 (E)“You shall not steal.

16 (F)“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

17 (G)“You shall not covet (H)your neighbor's house; (I)you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.”

18 Now when all the people saw (J)the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid[b] and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, (K)“You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” 20 (L)Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to (M)test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” 21 The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the (N)thick darkness where God was.

Laws About Altars

22 And the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have (O)talked with you from heaven. 23 (P)You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold. 24 An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. (Q)In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and (R)bless you. 25 (S)If you make me an altar of stone, (T)you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it. 26 And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.’

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 20:13 The Hebrew word also covers causing human death through carelessness or negligence
  2. Exodus 20:18 Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Masoretic Text the people saw

12 “Honor your father and your mother,(A) so that you may live long(B) in the land(C) the Lord your God is giving you.

13 “You shall not murder.(D)

14 “You shall not commit adultery.(E)

15 “You shall not steal.(F)

16 “You shall not give false testimony(G) against your neighbor.(H)

17 “You shall not covet(I) your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet(J) and saw the mountain in smoke,(K) they trembled with fear.(L) They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak(M) to us or we will die.”(N)

20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid.(O) God has come to test(P) you, so that the fear(Q) of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”(R)

21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness(S) where God was.

Idols and Altars

22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven:(T) 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me;(U) do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.(V)

24 “‘Make an altar(W) of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings(X) and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name(Y) to be honored, I will come to you and bless(Z) you. 25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool(AA) on it. 26 And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts(AB) may be exposed.’

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