Exodus 20
20
The Ten Commandments
1Then God spoke all these words:
2I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. # 20:2 Ex 13:3; Hs 13:4
3Do not have other gods besides me. # 20:3 Dt 6:14; Jr 35:15
4Do not make an idol # 20:4 Lv 26:1; Dt 27:15 for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, # 20:5 Ex 34:14; Dt 4:24; Is 44:15,19 bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations # 20:5 Nm 14:18; Ps 79:8; Jr 32:18 of those who hate me, 6but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands. # 20:6 Dt 7:9
7Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses his name. # 20:7 Lv 19:12; Mt 5:33
8Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: # 20:8 Ex 31:13–16; Lv 26:2 9You are to labor six days and do all your work, # 20:9 Ex 34:21; Lk 13:14 10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work — you, your son or daughter, your male or female servant, your livestock, or the resident alien who is within your city gates. # 20:10 Gn 2:2–3; Neh 13:16–19 11For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.
12Honor your father and your mother # 20:12 Lv 19:3; Mt 15:4; Mk 7:10; Lk 18:20; Eph 6:2 so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
13Do not murder. # 20:13 Mt 5:21; Rm 13:9
14Do not commit adultery. # 20:14 Dt 5:18; Mt 5:27
15Do not steal. # 20:15 Lv 19:11; Mt 19:18
16Do not give false testimony against your neighbor. # 20:16 Ex 23:1
17Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. # 20:17 Dt 5:21; Mt 5:28; Lk 12:15; Rm 7:7; 13:9; Eph 5:3,5; Heb 13:5
The People’s Reaction
18All the people witnessed # 20:18 Lit saw the thunder and lightning, the sound of the ram’s horn, and the mountain surrounded by smoke. When the people saw it # 20:18 Sam, LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg read smoke. The people (or they) were afraid, they trembled and stood at a distance. # 20:18 Ex 19:18; Heb 12:18 19“You speak to us, and we will listen,” they said to Moses, “but don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.” # 20:19 Dt 5:25,27; Gl 3:19
20Moses responded to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you will fear him and will not # 20:20 Lit that the fear of him may be in you, and you do not sin.” # 20:20 Dt 13:3; Pr 16:6; Is 8:13 21And the people remained standing at a distance as Moses approached the total darkness where God was. # 20:21 Ex 19:16; Dt 5:22
Moses Receives Additional Laws
22Then the Lord told Moses, “This is what you are to say to the Israelites: You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven. # 20:22 Dt 4:36; Neh 9:13 23Do not make gods of silver to rival me; do not make gods of gold for yourselves. # 20:23 Ex 20:3; 32:4
24“Make an earthen altar for me, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your flocks and herds. I will come to you and bless you in every place where I cause my name to be remembered. # 20:24 Gn 12:2; Dt 12:5; 16:6,11; 1Kg 9:3; 2Ch 6:6 25If you make a stone altar for me, do not build it out of cut stones. If you use your chisel on it, you will defile it. # 20:25 Dt 27:5–6; Jos 8:31 26Do not go up to my altar on steps, so that your nakedness is not exposed on it.
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Exodus 20
20
The Ten Commandments
(Deuteronomy 5.1-21)
1God said to the people of Israel:
2I am the LORD your God, the one who brought you out of Egypt where you were slaves.
3Do not worship any god except me.
4Do not make idols that look like anything in the sky or on earth or in the sea under the earth.#Ex 34.17; Lv 19.4; 26.1; Dt 4.15-18; 27.15. 5Don't bow down and worship idols. I am the LORD your God, and I demand all your love. If you reject me, I will punish your families for three or four generations.#Ex 34.6,7; Nu 14.18; Dt 7.9,10. 6But if you love me and obey my laws, I will be kind to your families for thousands of generations.
7Do not misuse my name.#20.7 misuse my name: Probably includes breaking promises, telling lies after swearing to tell the truth, using the LORD's name as a curse word or a magic formula, and trying to control the LORD by using his name. I am the LORD your God, and I will punish anyone who misuses my name.#Lv 19.12.
8Remember that the Sabbath Day belongs to me.#Ex 16.23-30; 31.12-14. 9You have six days when you can do your work,#Ex 23.12; 31.15; 34.21; 35.2; Lv 23.3. 10but the seventh day of each week belongs to me, your God. No one is to work on that day—not you, your children, your slaves, your animals, or the foreigners who live in your towns. 11In six days I made the sky, the earth, the seas, and everything in them, but on the seventh day I rested. That's why I made the Sabbath a special day that belongs to me.#Gn 2.1-3; Ex 31.17.
12Respect your father and your mother, and you will live a long time in the land I am giving you.#Dt 27.16; Mt 15.4; 19.19; Mk 7.10; 10.19; Lk 18.20; Eph 6.2; Eph 6.3.
13Do not murder.#Gn 9.6; Lv 24.17; Mt 5.21; 19.18; Mk 10.19; Lk 18.20; Ro 13.9; Jas 2.11.
14Be faithful in marriage.#Lv 20.10; Mt 5.27; 19.18; Mk 10.19; Lk 18.20; Ro 13.9; Jas 2.11.
15Do not steal.#Lv 19.11; Mt 19.18; Mk 10.19; Lk 18.20; Ro 13.9.
16Do not tell lies about others.#Ex 23.1; Mt 19.18; Mk 10.19; Lk 18.20.
17Do not want to take anything that belongs to someone else. Don't want to take anyone's house, wife or husband, slaves, oxen, donkeys or anything else.#Ro 7.7; 13.9.
The people are afraid
(Deuteronomy 5.23-33)
18The people trembled with fear when they heard the thunder and the trumpet and saw the lightning and the smoke coming from the mountain. They stood a long way off#He 12.18,19. 19and said to Moses, “If you speak to us, we will listen. But don't let God speak to us, or we will die!”
20“Don't be afraid!” Moses replied. “God has come only to test you, so that by obeying him you won't sin.” 21But when Moses went near the thick cloud where God was, the people stayed a long way off.
Idols and altars
22The LORD told Moses to say to the people of Israel:
With your own eyes, you saw me speak to you from heaven. 23So you must never make idols of silver or gold to worship in place of me.#20.23 in place of me: Or “together with me”.
24Build an altar out of earth, and offer on it your sacrifices#20.24 sacrifices: The Hebrew text mentions two types of sacrifices: sacrifices to please the LORD (traditionally called “whole burnt offerings”) and sacrifices to ask the LORD's blessing (traditionally called “peace offerings”). of sheep, goats, and cattle. Wherever I choose to be worshipped, I will come down to bless you. 25If you ever build an altar for me out of stones, do not use any tools to chisel the stones, because that would make the altar unfit.#Dt 27.5-7; Js 8.31. 26And don't build an altar that requires steps; you might expose yourself when you climb up.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012