Chronological
The Ten Commandments(A)
5 Moses called all of Israel together and told them: “Listen, Israel! Today I’m going to announce God’s laws and regulations so that you will learn them and take care to obey them. 2 When the Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb, 3 it was not with our ancestors that the Lord made this covenant, but with us—we who are here today—all of us who are now living. 4 The Lord spoke to you face to face on the mountain from the fire. 5 I stood at that time as mediator[a] between the Lord and you to declare his[b] message to you, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain. He said:
| א[c] | 6 “‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt—from the house of slavery. 7 You are to have no other gods as a substitute for me.[d] |
| ב | 8 “‘You are not to craft for yourselves an idol resembling what is in the skies above, or on earth beneath, or in the water sources under the earth. 9 You are not to bow down to them in worship or serve them, because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the guilt of parents[e] on children, to the third and fourth generation[f] of those who hate me, 10 but showing gracious love to the thousands of those who love me and keep my[g] commandments. |
| ג | 11 “‘You are not to misuse the name of the Lord your God,[h] because the Lord will not leave unpunished the one who misuses his name.[i] |
| ד | 12 “‘Observe the Sabbath day, maintaining its holiness,[j] just as the Lord your God commanded. 13 Six days you are to labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You are not to do any work—neither you, your son, nor your daughter,[k] your male and female servants, your oxen and donkeys, nor any of your livestock, nor any foreigner who lives among you—[l] so that your male and female servants may rest as you do. 15 You are to remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, but the Lord your God brought you out from there with great power and a show of force.[m] Therefore, the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. |
| ה | 16 “‘Honor your father and your mother, just as the Lord your God commanded you, so that you will live long and things will go well for you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. |
| ו | 17 “‘You are not to commit murder. |
| ז | 18 “‘You are not to commit adultery. |
| ח | 19 “‘You are not to steal. |
| ט | 20 “‘You are not to give false testimony against your neighbor. |
| י | 21 “‘You are not to desire[n] your neighbor’s wife nor crave your neighbor’s house,[o] his fields, his male and female servants, his ox, his donkey, nor anything else that pertains to your neighbor.’” |
Moses Recalls God’s Warnings
22 “The Lord declared these commands in a loud voice to your entire assembly on the mountain from out of the fire[p] and dark clouds,[q] and nothing more was added. He inscribed them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. 23 When you heard the voice from the darkness while the mountain was blazing, all the leaders and elders of your tribes came to me and said: 24 ‘The Lord our God truly has displayed his glory and power, for we heard him[r] from out of the fire today. We have witnessed how God spoke to human beings, yet they lived. 25 Now therefore, why should we die? This great fire will consume us. If we continue to listen to the voice of the Lord our God any longer, we’ll die. 26 For what mortal man[s] has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the fire like we did, and lived? 27 As for you, go near and listen to everything that the Lord our God will say to you, then repeat it[t] to us, and we’ll listen and obey.’
28 “The Lord heard what you said. He told me: ‘I’ve heard what this people said. Everything they said was good. 29 If only they would commit[u] to fear me and keep all my commands, then it will go well with them and their children forever. 30 Go and tell them to return to their tents, 31 but you stand here with me and I’ll speak to you all the commands, decrees, and laws that you must teach them to observe in the land that I’m giving you to possess. 32 You must be careful to do what the Lord your God commanded you, turning neither to the left nor to the right. 33 You are to walk in every pathway that the Lord your God commanded you, so that life[v] may go well for you, and so that you will prolong your days in the land that you will possess.’”
The Covenant of Love
6 “Now these are the commands, decrees, and ordinances that the Lord commanded me[w] to teach you. Obey them in the land you are entering to possess, 2 so that you, your children, and your grandchildren may fear the Lord your God. Keep all his decrees and commandments that I’m giving you every day of your life, so you may live a long time. 3 Listen, Israel! Be careful to obey, so that life[x] may go well for you and that you may increase greatly. Just as the Lord God of your ancestors told you, you’ll have a land flowing with milk and honey.
4 “Listen, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.[y] 5 You are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 Let these words that I’m commanding you today be always[z] on your heart. 7 Teach them repeatedly to your children. Talk about them while sitting in your house or walking on the road, and as you lie down or get up. 8 Tie them as reminders[aa] on your forearm, bind them on your forehead,[ab] 9 and write them on the door frames of your house and on your gates.”
Serve the Lord Only
10 “When the Lord your God brings you to the land that he promised to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he will give you large and beautiful cities that you didn’t build, 11 houses filled with every good thing that you didn’t supply, wells that you didn’t dig, and vineyards and olive groves that you didn’t plant. When you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful not to forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and slavery.[ac] 13 Fear the Lord your God, serve him, and make your oaths in his name. 14 Do not follow other gods from the gods of the nations[ad] around you, 15 because the Lord your God who is among you is a jealous God. He will turn his anger against you and destroy you from the surface of the land.”
Do What is Right
16 “Don’t test the Lord your God like you did in Massah. 17 Be sure to observe the commands of the Lord your God, his testimonies, and his decrees that he gave you. 18 Do what is good and right in the Lord’s sight so it may go well with you. Then you’ll enter and possess the good land that the Lord your God promised to your ancestors, 19 expelling all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.”
Remember What the Lord has Done
20 “When your son asks you in the future, ‘What is the meaning of the instructions, decrees, and ordinances that the Lord our God commanded you?’ 21 tell him, ‘We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with great power. 22 Before our very eyes, the Lord did great and terrible signs and wonders in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to his entire household. 23 But as for us, he brought us out from there to bring us into the land and give it to us, as he promised our ancestors. 24 Then the Lord commanded us to observe all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God for our own good, so that he may keep us alive as we are today. 25 It will be credited as[ae] righteousness for us if we’re careful to obey the entire Law in the presence of the Lord our God, as he commanded.’”
Instructions Regarding the Tribal Nations
7 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, he will drive out many nations before you: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites— seven nations who are more numerous and stronger than you. 2 So when the Lord your God delivers them to you and you have defeated them, then utterly destroy them. You are not to make any covenant with them nor be gracious to them. 3 You are not to intermarry with them. You are not to give your daughters to their sons nor take their daughters for your sons, 4 because they will turn your children from me to serve other gods so that the Lord’s anger blazes against you and swiftly destroys you by fire. 5 This is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, break their pillars, cut down their ritual pillars, and burn their carved idols in fire, 6 because you are a holy people to the Lord your God. The Lord your God chose you to be his people, his treasured possession from all the nations[af] on the face of the earth.”
The Lord Keeps His Covenant
7 “It wasn’t because you were more numerous than other nations[ag] of the earth that the Lord committed himself to you and chose you. In fact, you were the least numerous of all the nations.[ah] 8 But the Lord loved you and kept his oath that he made to your ancestors. The Lord brought you out with great power from slavery,[ai] from the control of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. 9 Know that the Lord your God is God, the trusted God who faithfully keeps his covenant to the thousandth generation of those who love him and obey his commands. 10 But for the one who hates him, he will repay him by destroying him. He will not delay dealing with someone who hates him. 11 Therefore, keep the commands, decrees, and ordinances that I am instructing you to obey today.”
The Lord Blesses Obedience
12 “If you pay attention to these laws and obey them, then the Lord your God will continue his covenant of gracious love with you that he promised with an oath to your ancestors. 13 He’ll love you and increase your numbers. He’ll bless the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your land (the grain, new wine, and oil), the offspring of your herds, and the lambs of your flock in the land that the Lord promised your ancestors he would give you. 14 You’ll be blessed among all the nations. There’ll be no infertility among you, not even[aj] among your herds. 15 The Lord will turn aside every disease from you. He won’t inflict on you the terrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but will inflict them instead on all who hate you. 16 You are to utterly destroy everyone whom the Lord your God will deliver to you. Don’t have pity on them nor serve their gods. Otherwise, they will become a snare for you.”
The Lord will Fight for You
17 “You may say to yourselves, ‘These nations are more numerous than we are. How can we dispossess them?’ 18 But you mustn’t fear them. Be sure to remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all of Egypt. 19 Your eyes saw the great trials, the signs and wonders, and the awesome power with which[ak] the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the people whom you fear. 20 He’ll[al] send plagues against them until the survivors who hide from you have perished. 21 Don’t tremble before them, because the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God. 22 He[am] slowly will dislodge these nations before you, but he won’t destroy them quickly, so the wild animals[an] won’t multiply around you. 23 But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion, until they are destroyed. 24 He will deliver kings into your control and you are to wipe out the memory of them[ao] from under heaven. No one will be able to stand before you. You are utterly to destroy them. 25 Burn the images of their gods in the fire. Desire neither the silver nor the gold that adorns them, nor take them for yourselves, so you won’t be ensnared by them, because the gold and silver[ap] are detestable to the Lord your God. 26 Don’t bring any detestable thing to your house, because you yourself will be utterly destroyed along with these detestable things. You must absolutely abhor and detest all of[aq] it, because it has been devoted to destruction.”
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.