The Ten Commandments(A)

20 And God spoke(B) all these words:(C)

“I am the Lord your God,(D) who brought you out(E) of Egypt,(F) out of the land of slavery.(G)

“You shall have no other gods before[a] me.(H)

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

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

“Remember the Sabbath(P) day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work,(Q) 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath(R) 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, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,(S) the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested(T) on the seventh day.(U) Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

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

13 “You shall not murder.(Y)

14 “You shall not commit adultery.(Z)

15 “You shall not steal.(AA)

16 “You shall not give false testimony(AB) against your neighbor.(AC)

17 “You shall not covet(AD) 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(AE) and saw the mountain in smoke,(AF) they trembled with fear.(AG) They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak(AH) to us or we will die.”(AI)

20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid.(AJ) God has come to test(AK) you, so that the fear(AL) of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”(AM)

21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness(AN) 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:(AO) 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me;(AP) do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.(AQ)

24 “‘Make an altar(AR) of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings(AS) and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name(AT) to be honored, I will come to you and bless(AU) 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(AV) on it. 26 And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts(AW) may be exposed.’

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 20:3 Or besides

20 God[a] spoke all these words, saying, “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

“You shall have no other gods before me.

“You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me, and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

“You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your God,[b] for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who misuses his name.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. You shall labor six days, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; 11 for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.

13 “You shall not 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, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

18 All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance. 19 They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.”

20 Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won’t sin.” 21 The people stayed at a distance, and Moses came near to the thick darkness where God was.

22 Yahweh said to Moses, “This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 23 You shall most certainly not make gods of silver or gods of gold for yourselves to be alongside me. 24 You shall make an altar of earth for me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I record my name I will come to you and I will bless you. 25 If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of cut stones; for if you lift up your tool on it, you have polluted it. 26 You shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed to it.’

Footnotes

  1. 20:1 After “God”, the Hebrew has the two letters “Aleph Tav” (the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet), not as a word, but as a grammatical marker.
  2. 20:7 or, You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain