Exodus 20
Legacy Standard Bible
The Commandments of Yahweh
20 Then God spoke all these words, saying,
2 “(A)I am Yahweh your God, (B)who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of [a]slavery.
3 “(C)You shall have no other (D)gods [b]before Me.
4 “(E)You shall not make for yourself [c]an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
5 (F)You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, Yahweh your God, am a (G)jealous God, (H)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,
6 but showing lovingkindness to (I)thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 “(J)You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not [d]leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
8 “Remember (K)the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 (L)Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of Yahweh your God; in it (M)you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female slave or your cattle or your sojourner who is within your gates.
11 (N)For in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “(O)Honor your father and your mother, that your (P)days may be prolonged in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.
13 “(Q)You shall not murder.
14 “(R)You shall not commit adultery.
15 “(S)You shall not steal.
16 “(T)You shall not bear false witness against your (U)neighbor.
17 “(V)You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; (W)you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male slave or his female slave or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18 (X)And all the people perceived the [e]thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and the people perceived it, and they shook and stood at a distance. 19 (Y)Then they said to Moses, “Speak [f]to us yourself, and we will listen; but let not God speak [g]to us, lest we die.” 20 And Moses said to the people, “(Z)Do not be afraid; for God has come in order (AA)to test you, and in order that (AB)the fear of Him may [h]be with you, so that you may not sin.” 21 So the people stood at a distance, but Moses came near (AC)the dense gloom where God was.
22 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen that (AD)I have spoken [i]to you from heaven. 23 (AE)You shall not make other gods besides Me; (AF)gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves. 24 You shall make (AG)an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your (AH)burnt offerings and your (AI)peace offerings, (AJ)your sheep and your oxen; in every place (AK)where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. 25 And if you make an altar of stone for Me, (AL)you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it. 26 And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that (AM)your nakedness will not be exposed on it.’
Footnotes
- Exodus 20:2 Lit slaves
- Exodus 20:3 Or besides Me
- Exodus 20:4 Or a graven image
- Exodus 20:7 Or hold him guiltless
- 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
Exodus 20
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Ten Commandments
20 Then God spoke all these words:
2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, where you were slaves.[a]
3 You shall have no other gods beside me.[b] 4 You shall not make any carved image for yourself or a likeness of anything in heaven above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth. 5 Do not bow down to them or be subservient to them,[c] for I the Lord your God am a jealous God.[d] I follow up on[e] the guilt of the fathers with their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren, if they also hate me. 6 But I show mercy to thousands who love me and keep my commandments.
7 You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not permit anyone who misuses his name to escape unpunished.
8 Remember the Sabbath day[f] by setting it apart as holy. 9 Six days you are to serve and do all your regular work, 10 but the seventh day shall be a sabbath rest to the Lord your God. Do not do any regular work, neither you, nor your sons or daughters, nor your male or female servants, nor your cattle, nor the alien who is residing inside your gates, 11 for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. In this way the Lord blessed the seventh day and made it holy.
12 Honor your father and your mother so that you may spend many days on the land that the Lord your God is giving to you.
13 You shall not commit murder.
14 You shall not commit adultery.
15 You shall not steal.
16 You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.[g]
18 All the people saw and heard the thunder and the lightning and the sound of the ram’s horn and the mountain smoking. The people saw,[h] and they trembled and stood far away. 19 Then they said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, or we will die.”
20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you may always fear him, so that you do not sin.”
21 The people stayed at a distance, but Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
22 Then the Lord told Moses to tell the people of Israel the following things:
You yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 23 You shall not make gods of silver or gods of gold and place them beside me. You shall not make them for yourselves.
24 You are to make an altar of earth for me and to sacrifice your whole burnt offerings on it, as well as your fellowship offerings, your sheep, and your cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you and I will bless you.
25 If you make a stone altar for me, you are not to build it out of cut stones, because by applying a tool to it you would pollute it.
26 You are not to go up to my altar by steps, so that your nakedness will not be uncovered upon it.
Footnotes
- Exodus 20:2 Literally the house of slaves
- Exodus 20:3 Literally against my face or besides me or before me or in my presence or because of my presence
- Exodus 20:5 The verb is not the normal form for serve but a special form that implies subservience.
- Exodus 20:5 That is, I am a God who demands exclusive loyalty
- Exodus 20:5 Or demand an accounting for. The Hebrew verb pachad has traditionally been translated visit, but in present-day English visit usually has a social connotation. The term, however, refers to an official visit to bring punishment or reward to someone.
- Exodus 20:8 That is, the day of rest
- Exodus 20:17 Another version of the Ten Commandments appears in Deuteronomy 5:1-21.
- Exodus 20:18 A variant in some ancient versions is feared.
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