Beginning

The Ten Commandments^(A)

5 Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: Israel, listen to the laws and rules I’m telling you today. Learn them and faithfully obey them.

² Yahweh our Elohim made a promise^[a] to us at Mount Horeb. ³ Yahweh didn’t make this promise to our ancestors, but to all of us who are alive here today. ⁴ Yahweh spoke to you face to face from the fire on the mountain. ⁵ I stood between Yahweh and you to tell you the word of Yahweh, because you were afraid of the fire and didn’t go up on the mountain. The Lord said:

⁶ “I am Yahweh your Elohim, who brought you out of slavery in Egypt.

⁷ “Never have any other gods. ⁸ Never make your own carved idols or statues that represent any creature in the sky, on the earth, or in the water. ⁹ Never worship them or serve them, because I, Yahweh your Elohim, am El Kanna. I punish children for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. ¹⁰ But I show mercy to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my commandments.

¹¹ “Never use the name of Yahweh your Elohim carelessly. Yahweh will make sure that anyone who uses his name carelessly will be punished.

¹² “Observe the day of worship as a holy day. This is what Yahweh your Elohim has commanded you. ¹³ You have six days to do all your work. ¹⁴ The seventh day is the day of worship dedicated to Yahweh your Elohim. You, your sons, your daughters, your male and female slaves, your oxen, your donkeys—all of your animals—even the foreigners living in your city must never do any work on that day. In this way your male and female slaves can rest as you do. ¹⁵ Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that Yahweh your Elohim used his mighty hand and powerful arm to bring you out of there. This is why Yahweh your Elohim has commanded you to observe the day of worship.

¹⁶ “Honor your father and your mother as Yahweh your Elohim has commanded you. Then you will live for a long time, and things will go well for you in the land Yahweh your Elohim is giving you.

¹⁷ “Never murder.

¹⁸ “Never commit adultery.

¹⁹ “Never steal.

²⁰ “Never avoid the truth when you testify about your neighbor.^[b]

²¹ “Never desire to take your neighbor’s wife away from him.

“Never long for your neighbor’s household, his field, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey, or anything else that belongs to him.”

²² These are the commandments Yahweh spoke to your whole assembly on the mountain. He spoke in a loud voice from the fire, the cloud, and the gloomy darkness. Then he stopped speaking. He wrote the commandments on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

²³ But when you heard the voice coming from the darkness and saw the mountain blazing with fire, all the leaders and heads of your tribes came to me. ²⁴ You said, “Yahweh our Elohim has let us see how great and glorious he is. We’ve heard his voice come from the fire. Today we’ve seen that people can live even if Elohim speaks to them. ²⁵ Why should we die? This great fire will consume us! If we continue to hear the voice of Yahweh our Elohim, we’ll die! ²⁶ Who has ever heard the voice of Elohim Chay speak from a fire, as we did, and lived? ²⁷ Moses, go and listen to everything that Yahweh our Elohim says. Then tell us whatever Yahweh our Elohim tells you. We’ll listen and obey.”

²⁸ When Yahweh heard the words that you spoke to me, Yahweh said, “I have heard what these people said to you. Everything they said was good. ²⁹ If only they would fear me and obey all my commandments as long as they live! Then things would go well for them and their children forever.

³⁰ “Tell the people to go back to their tents. ³¹ But you stay here with me. I will give you all the commands, laws, and rules that you must teach them to obey in the land which I’m giving them to possess.”

³² So be careful to do what Yahweh your Elohim has commanded you. Never stop living this way. ³³ Follow all the directions Yahweh your Elohim has given you. Then you will continue to live, life will go well for you, and you will live for a long time in the land that you are going to possess.

Love the Lord

6 These are the commands, laws, and rules Yahweh your Elohim commanded me to teach you. Obey them after you enter the land and take possession of it. ² As long as you live, you, your children, and your grandchildren must fear Yahweh your Elohim. All of you must obey all his laws and commands that I’m giving you, and you will live a long time. ³ Listen, Israel, and be careful to obey these laws. Then things will go well for you and your population will increase in a land flowing with milk and honey, as Yahweh Elohim of your ancestors promised you.

⁴ Listen, Israel: Yahweh is our Elohim. Yahweh is the only God. ⁵ Love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. ⁶ Take to heart these words that I give you today. ⁷ Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you’re at home or away, when you lie down or get up. ⁸ Write them down, and tie them around your wrist, and wear them as headbands as a reminder. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

¹⁰ Yahweh your Elohim will bring you into the land and give it to you, as he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This land will have large, prosperous cities that you didn’t build. ¹¹ Your houses will be filled with all kinds of things that you didn’t put there. You will have cisterns that you didn’t dig and vineyards and olive trees that you didn’t plant. After you have eaten all that you want, ¹² be careful that you don’t forget Yahweh, who brought you out of slavery in Egypt. ¹³ You must fear Yahweh your Elohim, serve him, and take your oaths only in his name. ¹⁴ Never worship any of the gods worshiped by the people around you. ¹⁵ If you do, Yahweh your Elohim will become very angry with you and will wipe you off the face of the earth, because Yahweh your Elohim, who is with you, is El Kanna.

¹⁶ Never test Yahweh your Elohim as you did at Massah. ¹⁷ Be sure to obey the commands of Yahweh your Elohim and the regulations and laws he has given you. ¹⁸ Do what Yahweh considers right and good. Then things will go well for you, and you will enter and take possession of that good land which Yahweh promised to your ancestors with an oath. ¹⁹ You will see Yahweh expel your enemies as he said he would.

²⁰ In the future your children will ask you, “What do these regulations, laws, and rules which Yahweh our Elohim commanded you mean to you?” ²¹ Tell them, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but Yahweh used his mighty hand to bring us out of there. ²² Right before our eyes Yahweh did miraculous signs and amazing things that were spectacular but terrible for Egypt, Pharaoh, and his whole family. ²³ Yahweh led us out of there to bring us here and give us this land he promised to our ancestors with an oath. ²⁴ Yahweh our Elohim commanded us to obey all these laws and to fear Yahweh. These laws are for our own good as long as we live so that he will preserve our lives. It’s still true today. ²⁵ This is how we’ll have the Lord’s approval: If we faithfully obey all these laws in the presence of Yahweh our Elohim, as he has commanded us.”

Israel Is Commanded to Destroy the Canaanites and Their Idols

7 Yahweh your Elohim will bring you to the land you’re about to enter and take possession of. He will force many nations out of your way: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—seven nations larger and more powerful than you. ² When Yahweh your Elohim gives them to you and you defeat them, destroy every one of them because they have been claimed by the Lord. Don’t make any treaties with them or show them any mercy. ³ Never marry any of them. Never let your daughters marry their sons or your sons marry their daughters. ⁴ These people will turn your children away from me to worship other gods. Then Yahweh will get very angry with you and will quickly destroy you.

⁵ But this is what you must do to these people: Tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah, and burn their idols. ⁶ You are a holy people, who belong to Yahweh your Elohim. Yahweh your Elohim chose you to be his own special possession out of all the nations on earth.

⁷ Yahweh set his heart on you and chose you, even though you didn’t outnumber all the other people. You were the smallest of all nations. ⁸ You were chosen because Yahweh loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors. So Yahweh used his mighty hand to bring you out. He freed you from slavery under Pharaoh (the king of Egypt). ⁹ Keep in mind that Yahweh your Elohim is the only Elohim. He is a faithful El, who keeps his promise^[c] and is merciful to thousands of generations of those who love him and obey his commands. ¹⁰ But he sends destruction to pay back everyone who hates him. He never takes long to pay back anyone who hates him.

¹¹ So obey the commands, laws, and rules I’m giving you today.

¹² If you listen to these rules and faithfully obey them, Yahweh your Elohim will keep his promise to you and be merciful to you, as he swore to your ancestors. ¹³ He will love you, bless you, and increase the number of your descendants. He will bless you with children. He will bless your land with produce: grain, new wine, and olive oil. He will bless your herds with calves, and your flocks with lambs and kids. This will all happen in the land Yahweh will give you, as he swore to your ancestors. ¹⁴ You will be blessed more than any other people. Your men and women will be able to have children, and your animals will be able to have offspring. ¹⁵ Yahweh will keep you from having any kind of illness. He will not strike you with any of the terrible diseases you experienced in Egypt. Instead, he will strike all those who hate you. ¹⁶ You must destroy all the people Yahweh your Elohim hands over to you. Have no pity on them, and never worship their gods, because they will be a trap for you.

¹⁷ You may say to yourselves, “These nations outnumber us. How can we force them out?” ¹⁸ Don’t be afraid of them. Remember what Yahweh your Elohim did to Pharaoh and all of Egypt. ¹⁹ You saw with your own eyes the terrible plagues, the miraculous signs, and the amazing things Yahweh your Elohim did. He used his mighty hand and powerful arm to bring you out. Yahweh your Elohim will do the same thing to all the people you’re afraid of. ²⁰ Yahweh your Elohim will spread panic among them until they all die. There will be no one left—not even those who were hiding from you. ²¹ Don’t be afraid of them, because Yahweh your Elohim is with you. He is a great and awe-inspiring El. ²² Little by little Yahweh your Elohim will force these nations out of your way. You won’t be able to wipe them out quickly. Otherwise, you would be overrun with wild animals. ²³ Yahweh your Elohim will hand these people over to you and will throw them into a great panic until they’re destroyed. ²⁴ He will hand their kings over to you, and no one on earth will even remember their names. No one will be able to stop you. You will destroy them all. ²⁵ Burn their idols. Don’t ever long for the silver and gold on these idols or take any of it for yourselves. It might be a trap for you. Besides, these idols are disgusting to Yahweh your Elohim. ²⁶ Never bring a disgusting idol into your house. If you do, you and the idol will be destroyed. Consider it detestable and disgusting. It must be destroyed.”