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Exodus 20:17-24
King James Version
Exodus 20:17-24
King James Version
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
22 And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
23 Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.
24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
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Exodus 20:17-24
New International Version
Exodus 20:17-24
New International Version
17 “You shall not covet(A) 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(B) and saw the mountain in smoke,(C) they trembled with fear.(D) They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak(E) to us or we will die.”(F)
20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid.(G) God has come to test(H) you, so that the fear(I) of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”(J)
21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness(K) 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:(L) 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me;(M) do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.(N)
24 “‘Make an altar(O) of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings(P) and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name(Q) to be honored, I will come to you and bless(R) you.
Exodus 20:17-24
English Standard Version
Exodus 20:17-24
English Standard Version
17 (A)“You shall not covet (B)your neighbor's house; (C)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 (D)the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid[a] and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, (E)“You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” 20 (F)Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to (G)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 (H)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 (I)talked with you from heaven. 23 (J)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. (K)In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and (L)bless you.
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- Exodus 20:18 Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Masoretic Text the people saw
Exodus 20:17-24
Christian Standard Bible
Exodus 20:17-24
Christian Standard Bible
17 Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.(A)
The People’s Reaction
18 All the people witnessed[a] the thunder and lightning, the sound of the ram’s horn, and the mountain surrounded by smoke. When the people saw it[b] they trembled and stood at a distance.(B) 19 “You speak to us, and we will listen,” they said to Moses, “but don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.”(C)
20 Moses responded to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you will fear him and will not[c] sin.”(D) 21 And the people remained standing at a distance as Moses approached the total darkness where God was.(E)
Moses Receives Additional Laws
22 Then the Lord told Moses, “This is what you are to say to the Israelites: You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.(F) 23 Do not make gods of silver to rival me; do not make gods of gold for yourselves.(G)
24 “Make an earthen altar for me, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your flocks and herds. I will come to you and bless you in every place where I cause my name to be remembered.(H)
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Exodus 20:17-24
New American Standard Bible 1995
Exodus 20:17-24
New American Standard Bible 1995
17 “(A)You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; (B)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 belongs to your neighbor.”
18 (C)All the people perceived the [a]thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. 19 (D)Then they said to Moses, “Speak [b]to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak [c]to us, or we will die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “(E)Do not be afraid; for God has come in order (F)to test you, and in order that (G)the fear of Him may [d]remain with you, so that you may not sin.” 21 So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached (H)the thick cloud where God was.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen that (I)I have spoken [e]to you from heaven. 23 (J)You shall not make other gods besides Me; (K)gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves. 24 You shall make (L)an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your (M)burnt offerings and your (N)peace offerings, (O)your sheep and your oxen; in every place (P)where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 20:18 Lit sounds
- Exodus 20:19 Lit with
- Exodus 20:19 Lit with
- Exodus 20:20 Lit be before
- Exodus 20:22 Lit with
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.