Exodus 20
International Standard Version
The Ten Commandments(A)
20 Then God spoke all these words:
| א[a] | 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt— from the house of slavery. 3 You are to have no other gods as a substitute for me.[b] |
| ב | 4 “You are not to craft for yourselves an idol or anything resembling what is in the skies above, or on earth beneath, or in the water sources under the earth. 5 You are not to bow down to them in worship or serve them, because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the guilt of parents[c] on children, to the third and fourth generation[d] of those who hate me, 6 but showing gracious love to the thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. |
| ג | 7 “You are not to misuse the name of the Lord your God,[e] because the Lord will not leave unpunished the one who misuses his name.[f] |
| ד | 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, maintaining its holiness.[g] 9 Six days you are to labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You are not to do any work—neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your livestock, nor any foreigner who lives among you—[h] 11 because the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them in six days. Then he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. |
| ה | 12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. |
| ו | 13 “You are not to commit murder. |
| ז | 14 “You are not to commit adultery. |
| ח | 15 “You are not to steal. |
| ט | 16 “You are not to give false testimony against your neighbor. |
| י | 17 “You are not to desire[i] your neighbor’s house,[j] nor your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox, his donkey, nor anything else that pertains to your neighbor.” |
The People are Terrified in God’s Presence
18 All the people experienced the thunder and lightning, the sound of the ram’s horn, and the smoking mountain. And as the people experienced it, they trembled and stood at a distance. 19 They told Moses, “You speak to us and we will listen, but don’t let God speak with us, or we may die.
20 Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you may fear him in order that you don’t sin.” 21 Then the people stood at a distance, and Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.
Instruction about Idols and Altars
22 The Lord told Moses, “This is what you are to say to the Israelis, ‘You have seen for yourselves that I spoke to you from heaven. 23 You are not to make gods of silver alongside me, nor are you to make for yourselves gods of gold. 24 You are to make an altar of earth for me, and you are to sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep, and your cattle. Everywhere I cause my name to be remembered, I’ll come to you and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stone for me, you must not build it of cut stones, because if you strike it with your chisel, you will profane it. 26 You are not to ascend to my altar on steps, so that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.’”
Footnotes
- Exodus 20:1 The Heb. letters to the left denote numbers 1-10
- Exodus 20:3 Lit. gods besides me
- Exodus 20:5 Lit. fathers
- Exodus 20:5 So LXX. The Heb. lacks generation
- Exodus 20:7 Lit. to take in vain the name of the Lord your God; i.e. for a worthless purpose
- Exodus 20:7 Lit. who takes his name in vain i.e. for a worthless purpose
- Exodus 20:8 Lit. day as holy; i.e. to set apart the day as holy
- Exodus 20:10 Lit. lives within your gates
- Exodus 20:17 Lit. to covet; i.e. to set your heart on
- Exodus 20:17 Or neighbor’s family dynasty
Exodus 20
Lexham English Bible
Ten Commandments
20 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am Yahweh, your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves.
3 “There shall be for you no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a divine image with any form that is in the heavens above or that is in the earth below or that is in the water below the earth. 5 You will not bow down to them, and you will not serve them, because I am Yahweh your God, a jealous God, punishing the guilt of the parents on the children on the third and on the fourth generations[a] of those hating me, 6 and showing loyal love to thousands of generations[b] of those loving me and of those keeping my commandments.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your God,[c] because Yahweh will not leave unpunished anyone who misuses his name.[d]
8 “Remember the day of the Sabbath, to consecrate it. 9 Six days you will work, and you will do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a Sabbath for Yahweh your God; you will not do any work—you or your son or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your animal, or your alien who is in your gates— 11 because in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and on the seventh day he rested. Therefore Yahweh blessed the seventh day and consecrated it.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days can be long on the land that Yahweh your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not testify against your neighbor with a false witness.
17 “You shall not covet the house of your neighbor; you will not covet the wife of your neighbor or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
18 And all the people were seeing the thunder and the lightning and the sound of the ram’s horn and the mountain smoking, and the people saw, and they trembled, and they stood at a distance. 19 And they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will listen, but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” 20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you so that his fear will be before you so that you do not sin.” 21 And the people stood at a distance, and Moses approached the very thick cloud where God was.
Instructions for Building Altars
22 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Thus you will say to the Israelites,[e] ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from the heavens. 23 You will not make alongside me gods of silver, and gods of gold you will not make for yourselves. 24 An altar of earth you will make for me, and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered,[f] I will come to you, and I will bless you. 25 And if you make an altar of stones for me, you will not build them as hewn stone, because if you use your chisel on it, you have defiled it. 26 You will not go up with steps onto my altar, that your nakedness not be exposed on it.’
Footnotes
- Exodus 20:5 “Generations” is understood from comparison with parallel verses (compare Exod 34:6–7; Deut 7:9)
- Exodus 20:6 “Generations” is understood from comparison with parallel verses ( compare Exod 34:6–7; Deut 7:9)
- Exodus 20:7 Literally “take up/bear/carry the name of Yahweh your God for what is worthless/false/empty”
- Exodus 20:7 Literally “bears his name for what is false”
- Exodus 20:22 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 20:24 Or “proclaimed”
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