Exodus 20

1 And God spake all these words, saying,2 I am Jehovah thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

4 Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them, for I Jehovah thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me,6 and showing lovingkindness unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

7 Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.9 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work;10 but the seventh day is a sabbath unto Jehovah thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:11 for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Jehovah blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

12 Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.

13 Thou shalt not kill.

14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

15 Thou shalt not steal.

16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.

18 And all the people perceived the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the voice of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they trembled, and stood afar off.19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before you, that ye sin not.21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

22 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.23 Ye shall not make other gods with me; gods of silver, or gods of gold, ye shall not make unto you.24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in every place where I record my name I will come unto thee and I will bless thee.25 And if thou make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stones; for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not uncovered thereon.

EXODUS 20

The Ten Commandments

(Deuteronomy 5.1-21)

1 God said to the people of Israel:

2 I am the [Lord] your God, the one who brought you out of Egypt where you were slaves.

3 Do not worship any god except me.
4  t Do not make idols that look like anything in the sky or on earth or in the ocean under the earth. 5 t Don'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.

6 But if you love me and obey my laws, I will be kind to your families for thousands of generations.

7  t Do not misuse my name.t I am the [Lord] your God, and I will punish anyone who misuses my name.
8  t Remember that the Sabbath Day belongs to me. 9 t You have six days when you can do your work, 10 but 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.

11 t In six days I made the sky, the earth, the oceans, 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.

12  t Respect your father and your mother, and you will live a long time in the land I am giving you.

13  t Do not murder.

14  t Be faithful in marriage.

15  t Do not steal.

16  t Do not tell lies about others.

17  t Do not desire to possess anything that belongs to another person—not a house, a wife, a husband, a slave, an ox, a donkey, or anything else.

The People Are Afraid

(Deuteronomy 5.23-33)

19 and 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.”

21 But when Moses went near the thick cloud where God was, the people stayed a long way off.

Idols and Altars

22 The [Lord] told Moses to say to the people of Israel:
With your own eyes you saw me speak to you from heaven.

23 So you must never make idols of silver or gold to worship in place of me.t
24 Build an altar out of earth, and offer on it your sacrificest of sheep, goats, and cattle. Wherever I choose to be worshiped, I will come down to bless you. 25 t If 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 for use in worship. 26 And don't build an altar that requires steps; you might expose yourself when you climb up.