Exodus 20
20
Ten Commandments for the Covenant Community
1Then God gave the people all these instructions#20:1 Hebrew all these words.:
2“I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
3“You must not have any other god but me.
4“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 6But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those#20:6 Hebrew for thousands of those. who love me and obey my commands.
7“You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.
8“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 10but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
12“Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13“You must not murder.
14“You must not commit adultery.
15“You must not steal.
16“You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
17“You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”
18When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear.
19And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”
20“Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!”
21As the people stood in the distance, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was.
Proper Use of Altars
22And the Lord said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: You saw for yourselves that I spoke to you from heaven. 23Remember, you must not make any idols of silver or gold to rival me.
24“Build for me an altar made of earth, and offer your sacrifices to me—your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats, and your cattle. Build my altar wherever I cause my name to be remembered, and I will come to you and bless you. 25If you use stones to build my altar, use only natural, uncut stones. Do not shape the stones with a tool, for that would make the altar unfit for holy use. 26And do not approach my altar by going up steps. If you do, someone might look up under your clothing and see your nakedness.
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Exodus 20: NLT
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Exodus 20
20
The Ten Commandments
1And God spoke #Deut. 5:22all these words, saying:
2#Hos. 13:4“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, #Ex. 13:3; Deut. 7:8out of the house of bondage.
3#Deut. 6:14; 2 Kin. 17:35; Jer. 25:6; 35:15“You shall have no other gods before Me.
4#Lev. 19:4; 26:1; Deut. 4:15–19; 27:15“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5#Is. 44:15, 19you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. #Ex. 34:14; Deut. 4:24; Josh. 24:19; Nah. 1:2For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, #Num. 14:18, 33; Deut. 5:9, 10; 1 Kin. 21:29; Ps. 79:8; Jer. 32:18visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6but #Deut. 7:9; Rom. 11:28showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7#Lev. 19:12; Deut. 6:13; 10:20; (Matt. 5:33–37)“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord #Mic. 6:11will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
8#Ex. 23:12; 31:13–16; Lev. 26:2; Deut. 5:12“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9#Ex. 34:21; 35:2, 3; Lev. 23:3; Deut. 5:13; Luke 13:14Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but the #Gen. 2:2, 3seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, #Neh. 13:16–19nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11For #Gen. 2:2, 3; Ex. 31:17in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
12#Lev. 19:3; Deut. 27:16; Matt. 15:4; 19:19; Mark 7:10; 10:19; Luke 18:20; Eph. 6:2“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be #Deut. 5:16, 33; 6:2; 11:8, 9long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
13#(Matt. 5:21, 22); 19:18; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20; Rom. 13:9; (1 John 3:15)“You shall not murder.
14#Matt. 5:27; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20; Rom. 13:9; James 2:11“You shall not commit #Lev. 20:10; Deut. 5:18adultery.
15#Ex. 21:16; Lev. 19:11, 13; Matt. 19:18; Rom. 13:9“You shall not steal.
16#Ex. 23:1, 7; Deut. 5:20; Matt. 19:18“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17#(Luke 12:15); Rom. 7:7; 13:9; (Eph. 5:3, 5); Heb. 13:5“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; #2 Sam. 11:2; (Matt. 5:28)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.”
The People Afraid of God’s Presence
18Now #Heb. 12:18, 19all the people #Rev. 1:10, 12witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain #Ex. 19:16, 18smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. 19Then they said to Moses, #Gal. 3:19; Heb. 12:19“You speak with us, and we will hear; but #Deut. 5:5, 23–27let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
20And Moses said to the people, #Ex. 14:13; (Is. 41:10, 13)“Do not fear; #Ex. 15:25; (Deut. 13:3)for God has come to test you, and #Deut. 4:10; 6:24; Prov. 3:7; 16:6; Is. 8:13that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” 21So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near #Ex. 19:16; Deut. 5:22the thick darkness where God was.
The Law of the Altar
22Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have talked with you #Deut. 4:36; 5:24, 26; Neh. 9:13from heaven. 23You shall not make anything to be #Ex. 32:1, 2, 4; Deut. 29:17with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves. 24An altar of #Ex. 20:25; 27:1–8earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, #Ex. 24:5; Lev. 1:2your sheep and your oxen. In every #Deut. 12:5; 16:6, 11; 1 Kin. 9:3; 2 Chr. 6:6place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will #Gen. 12:2bless you. 25And #Deut. 27:5if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you #Josh. 8:30, 31use your tool on it, you have profaned it. 26Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your #Ex. 28:42, 43nakedness may not be exposed on it.’
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.