The Ten Commandments

20 Then God spoke all these words, saying,

² “^(A)I am the Lord 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, the Lord 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 the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord 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 the Lord your God; in it ^(M)you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who ^[e]stays with you. ^11 (N)For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord 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 the Lord 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 servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

^18 (X)All the people perceived the ^[f]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 (Y)Then they said to Moses, “Speak ^[g]to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak ^[h]to us, or we will die.” ²⁰ 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 ^[i]remain with you, so that you may not sin.” ²¹ So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached ^(AC)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 ^(AD)I have spoken ^[j]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 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.’

Ordinances for the People

21 “Now these are the ^(AN)ordinances which you are to set before them:

² “If you buy ^(AO)a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment. ³ If he comes ^[k]alone, he shall go out ^[l]alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall go out with him. ⁴ If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out ^[m]alone. ⁵ But ^(AP)if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ ⁶ then his master shall bring him to ^[n]God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.

⁷ “^(AQ)If a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to ^[o]go free ^(AR)as the male slaves ^[p]do. ⁸ If she is ^[q]displeasing in the eyes of her master ^[r]who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people because of his ^[s]unfairness to her. ⁹ If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters. ¹⁰ If he takes to himself another woman, he may not reduce her ^[t]food, her clothing, or ^(AS)her conjugal rights. ¹¹ If he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.

Personal Injuries

¹² “^(AT)He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. ^13 (AU)But ^[u]if he did not lie in wait for him, but ^(AV)God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place to which he may flee. ^14 (AW)If, however, a man acts presumptuously toward his neighbor, so as to kill him craftily, you are to take him even from My altar, that he may die.

¹⁵ “He who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

¹⁶ “^(AX)He who ^[v]kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his ^[w]possession, shall surely be put to death.

¹⁷ “^(AY)He who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

¹⁸ “If men have a quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but ^[x]remains in bed, ¹⁹ if he gets up and walks around outside on his staff, then he who struck him shall go unpunished; he shall only pay for his ^[y]loss of time, and ^[z]shall take care of him until he is completely healed.

²⁰ “If a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod and he dies ^[aa]at his hand, he shall ^[ab]be punished. ²¹ If, however, he ^[ac]survives a day or two, no vengeance shall be taken; ^(AZ)for he is his ^[ad]property.

²² “If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that ^[ae]she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband ^[af]may demand of him, and he shall ^(BA)pay ^[ag]as the judges decide. ²³ But if there is any further injury, ^(BB)then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, ^24 (BC)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, wound for wound, ^[ah]bruise for bruise.

²⁶ “If a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave, and destroys it, he shall let him go free on account of his eye. ²⁷ And if he ^[ai]knocks out a tooth of his male or female slave, he shall let him go free on account of his tooth.

²⁸ “If an ox gores a man or a woman ^[aj]to death, ^(BD)the ox shall surely be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished. ²⁹ If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner has been warned, yet he does not confine it and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. ³⁰ If a ransom is ^[ak]demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is ^[al]demanded of him. ³¹ Whether it gores a son or ^[am]a daughter, it shall be done to him according to ^[an]the same rule. ³² If the ox gores a male or female slave, ^[ao]the owner shall give his or her master ^(BE)thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

³³ “If a man opens a pit, or ^[ap]digs a pit and does not cover it over, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, ³⁴ the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he shall ^[aq]give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall become his.

³⁵ “If one man’s ox hurts another’s so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide its price equally; and also they shall divide the dead ox. ³⁶ Or if it is known that the ox was previously in the habit of goring, yet its owner has not confined it, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall become his.

Property Rights

22 “^[ar]If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for the ox and ^(BF)four sheep for the sheep.

² “^[as]If the ^(BG)thief is ^[at]caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no bloodguiltiness on his account. ³ But if the sun has risen on him, there will be bloodguiltiness on his account. He shall surely make restitution; if he owns nothing, then he shall be ^(BH)sold for his theft. ⁴ If what he stole is actually found alive in his ^[au]possession, whether an ox or a donkey or a sheep, ^(BI)he shall pay double.

⁵ “If a man lets a field or vineyard be grazed bare and lets his animal loose so that it grazes in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.

⁶ “If a fire breaks out and spreads to thorn bushes, so that stacked grain or the standing grain or the field itself is consumed, he who started the fire shall surely make restitution.

⁷ “^(BJ)If a man gives his neighbor money or goods to keep for him and it is stolen from the man’s house, if the thief is ^[av]caught, he shall pay double. ⁸ If the thief is not ^[aw]caught, then the owner of the house shall ^[ax]appear before ^[ay](BK)the judges, to determine whether he ^[az]laid his hands on his neighbor’s property. ⁹ For every ^[ba]breach of trust, whether it is for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any lost thing about which one says, ‘This is it,’ the ^[bb]case of both parties shall come before ^[bc](BL)the judges; he whom ^[bd]the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor.

¹⁰ “If a man gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep for him, and it dies or is hurt or is driven away while no one is looking, ¹¹ an ^(BM)oath before the Lord shall be made by the two of them ^[be]that he has not ^[bf]laid hands on his neighbor’s property; and its owner shall accept it, and he shall not make restitution. ¹² But if it is actually stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. ¹³ If it is all torn to pieces, let him bring it as evidence; he shall not make restitution for what has been torn to pieces.

¹⁴ “If a man ^[bg]borrows anything from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while its owner is not with it, he shall make full restitution. ¹⁵ If its owner is with it, he shall not make restitution; if it is hired, it came for its hire.

Sundry Laws

¹⁶ “^(BN)If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged, and lies with her, he must pay a dowry for her to be his wife. ¹⁷ If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he shall ^[bh]pay money equal to the ^(BO)dowry for virgins.

¹⁸ “You shall not allow a ^(BP)sorceress to live.

¹⁹ “^(BQ)Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.

²⁰ “^(BR)He who sacrifices to ^[bi]any god, other than to the Lord alone, shall be ^[bj]utterly destroyed.

²¹ “^(BS)You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. ^22 (BT)You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. ²³ If you afflict him at all, and ^(BU)if he does cry out to Me, ^(BV)I will surely hear his cry; ²⁴ and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, ^(BW)and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

²⁵ “^(BX)If you lend money to My people, to the poor ^[bk]among you, you are not to ^[bl]act as a creditor to him; you shall not ^[bm]charge him ^(BY)interest. ²⁶ If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak ^(BZ)as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets, ²⁷ for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his ^[bn]body. What else shall he sleep in? And it shall come about that ^(CA)when he cries out to Me, I will hear him, for ^(CB)I am gracious.

²⁸ “You shall not ^[bo](CC)curse God, ^(CD)nor curse a ruler of your people.

²⁹ “^(CE)You shall not delay the offering from ^[bp]your harvest and your vintage. ^(CF)The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. ^30 (CG)You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; ^(CH)on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.

³¹ “^(CI)You shall be holy men to Me, therefore ^(CJ)you shall not eat any flesh torn to pieces in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

Signs of Christ’s Return

24 ^(A)Jesus ^(B)came out from the temple and was going away ^[a]when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. ² And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, ^(C)not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

³ As He was sitting on ^(D)the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of ^(E)Your coming, and of the ^[b]end of the age?”

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them, “^(F)See to it that no one misleads you. ⁵ For ^(G)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the ^[c]Christ,’ and will mislead many. ⁶ You will be hearing of ^(H)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. ⁷ For ^(I)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be ^(J)famines and earthquakes. ^8 (K)But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

⁹ “^(L)Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and ^(M)you will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰ At that time many will ^[d](N)fall away and will ^[e]betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ Many ^(O)false prophets will arise and will mislead many. ¹² Because lawlessness is increased, ^[f]most people’s love will grow cold. ^13 (P)But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. ¹⁴ This ^(Q)gospel of the kingdom ^(R)shall be preached in the whole ^[g](S)world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Perilous Times

¹⁵ “Therefore when you see the ^(T)abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in ^(U)the holy place (^(V)let the reader understand), ¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^17 [h]Whoever is on ^(W)the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. ^18 [i]Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. ¹⁹ But ^(X)woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be a ^(Y)great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. ²² Unless those days had been cut short, no ^[j]life would have been saved; but for ^(Z)the sake of the ^[k]elect those days will be cut short. ^23 (AA)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[l]Christ,’ or ‘^[m]There He is,’ do not believe him. ²⁴ For false Christs and ^(AB)false prophets will arise and will ^[n]show great ^[o](AC)signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even ^(AD)the ^[p]elect. ²⁵ Behold, I have told you in advance. ²⁶ So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. ^27 (AE)For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the ^(AF)coming of the ^(AG)Son of Man be. ^28 (AH)Wherever the corpse is, there the ^[q]vultures will gather.

The Glorious Return

²⁹ “But immediately after the ^(AI)tribulation of those days ^(AJ)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^(AK)the stars will fall from ^[r]the sky, and the powers of ^[s]the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ And then ^(AL)the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ^(AM)the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ³¹ And ^(AN)He will send forth His angels with ^(AO)a great trumpet and they will gather together His ^[t](AP)elect from ^(AQ)the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

Parable of the Fig Tree

³² “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; ³³ so, you too, when you see all these things, ^[u]recognize that ^[v]He is near, right ^(AR)at the ^[w]door. ³⁴ Truly I say to you, ^(AS)this ^[x]generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ^35 (AT)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³⁶ “But ^(AU)of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. ³⁷ For ^[y]the ^(AV)coming of the Son of Man will be ^(AW)just like the days of Noah. ³⁸ For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^(AX)marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that ^(AY)Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they did not ^[z]understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the ^(AZ)coming of the Son of Man be. ⁴⁰ Then there will be two men in the field; one ^[aa]will be taken and one ^[ab]will be left. ^41 (BA)Two women will be grinding at the ^[ac](BB)mill; one ^[ad]will be taken and one ^[ae]will be left.

Be Ready for His Coming

⁴² “Therefore ^(BC)be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But ^[af]be sure of this, that ^(BD)if the head of the house had known ^(BE)at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be ^[ag]broken into. ⁴⁴ For this reason ^(BF)you also must be ready; for ^(BG)the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

⁴⁵ “^(BH)Who then is the ^(BI)faithful and ^(BJ)sensible slave whom his ^[ah]master ^(BK)put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that slave whom his ^[ai]master finds so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly I say to you that ^(BL)he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My ^[aj]master ^[ak]is not coming for a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; ⁵⁰ the ^[al]master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, ⁵¹ and will ^[am]cut him in pieces and ^[an]assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be ^(BM)weeping and gnashing of teeth.