Exodus 20:1-17

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The Ten Commandments

20 Then God spoke all these words:

²“I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

³“You shall have no other gods before Me.

⁴“You shall not make for yourself any idol, or any likeness (form, manifestation) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth [as an object to worship]. ⁵You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous (impassioned) God [^[a]demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine], visiting (avenging) the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers on the children [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers], to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,^(A) ⁶but showing graciousness and steadfast lovingkindness to thousands [of generations] of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

⁷“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, irreverently, in false affirmations or in ways that impugn the character of God]; for the Lord will not hold guiltless nor leave unpunished the one who ^[b]takes His name in vain [disregarding its reverence and its power].

⁸“Remember the Sabbath (seventh) day to keep it holy (set apart, dedicated to God). ⁹Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath [a day of rest dedicated] to the Lord your God; on that day you shall not do any work, you or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock or the temporary resident (foreigner) who stays within your [city] gates. ¹¹For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested (ceased) on the seventh day. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy [that is, set it apart for His purposes].

¹²“Honor (respect, obey, care for) your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged in the land the Lord your God gives you.

¹³“You shall not commit murder (unjustified, deliberate homicide).^(B)

¹⁴“You shall not commit ^[c]adultery.^(C)

¹⁵“You shall not steal [secretly, openly, fraudulently, or through carelessness].^(D)

¹⁶“You shall not testify falsely [that is, lie, withhold, or manipulate the truth] against your neighbor (any person).^(E)

¹⁷“You shall not covet [that is, selfishly desire and attempt to acquire] your neighbor’s house; 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.”^(F)

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Footnotes

Exodus 20:5 God does not tolerate the transfer of the honor and worship that is due Him to any other being or object.
Exodus 20:7 Using the name of God in a casual, frivolous way establishes a mindset that diminishes and dishonors the omnipotent God. Using the name of God to abuse, manipulate, or deceive invites judgment.
Exodus 20:14 Jesus amplified this commandment in Matt 5:27, 28. Not only is adultery forbidden, but also any act of sexual impurity or unchastity, and any form of pornography or other obscenity.

Deuteronomy 6:1-9

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Obey God and Prosper

6 “Now this is the command; the statutes and the judgments (precepts) which the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you, so that you might do (follow, obey) them in the land which you are crossing over [the Jordan] to possess, ²so that you and your son and your grandson may fear and worship the Lord your God [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect], to keep [and actively do] all His statutes and His commandments which I am commanding you, all the days of your life, so that your days may be prolonged. ³Therefore listen, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly [in numbers], as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land ^[a]flowing with milk and honey.

⁴“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one [the only God]! ⁵You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and with all your soul and with all your strength [your entire being]. ⁶These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be [written] on your heart and mind. ⁷You shall teach them diligently to your ^[b]children [impressing God’s precepts on their minds and penetrating their hearts with His truths] and shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand (forearm), and they shall be used as ^[c]bands (frontals, frontlets) on your forehead. ⁹You shall write them on the ^[d]doorposts of your house and on your gates.

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Footnotes

Deuteronomy 6:3 This phrase referred to the abundant fertility of the land of Canaan. Milk (typically that of goats and sheep) was associated with abundance; “honey” referred mainly to syrups made from dates or grapes and was the epitome of sweetness. Bees’ honey was very rare and was considered the choicest of foods.
Deuteronomy 6:7 Lit sons.
Deuteronomy 6:8 Or phylacteries. This is originally a Greek word meaning “safeguard.” In Jewish tradition these are also called tefillin, and are understood to be small leather boxes tied to the forearm and to the top of the head with leather straps. The boxes contain small parchment copies of the passage found here and three others.
Deuteronomy 6:9 Heb mezuzoth, which—like tefillin (v 8)—also have special significance in Jewish tradition. The (singular) mezuzah is a piece of parchment on which is written this passage (6:4-9) and 11:13-21. The parchment is encased to protect it, and is attached to the right doorpost. By Jewish law, all rooms where people live or sleep (excluding bathrooms) are required to have mezuzoth on the doorposts.

Leviticus 19:15-18

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¹⁵‘You shall not do injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor show a preference for the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. ¹⁶You shall not go around as a gossip among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor [with slander or false testimony]; I am the Lord.

¹⁷‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart; you may most certainly rebuke your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him.^(A) ¹⁸You shall not take revenge nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor (acquaintance, associate, companion) as yourself; I am the Lord.^(B)

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Matthew 22:34-40

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³⁴Now when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced (muzzled) the Sadducees, they gathered together.^(A) ³⁵One of them, a lawyer [an expert in Mosaic Law], asked Jesus a question, to test Him: ³⁶“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”^(B) ³⁷And Jesus replied to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’^(C) ³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].’^(D) ⁴⁰The whole Law and the [writings of the] Prophets depend on these two commandments.”