Introduction to the Law

44 This is the law that Moses set before the people of Israel. 45 These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the rules, which Moses spoke to the people of Israel when they came out of Egypt, 46 beyond the Jordan qin the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, rwhom Moses and the people of Israel defeated when they came out of Egypt. 47 And they took possession of his land and the land sof Og, the king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who lived to the east beyond the Jordan; 48 tfrom Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, as far as Mount uSirion4 (that is, vHermon), 49 together with all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as wthe Sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.

The Ten Commandments

5 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. 2 xThe Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 yNot with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. 4 The Lord spoke with you zface to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, 5 awhile I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For byou were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said:

6 c“ ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

7 “ ‘You shall have no other gods before1 me.

8 “ ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 9 You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing steadfast love to dthousands2 of those who love me and keep my commandments.

11 “ ‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

12 “ ‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but ethe seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, fthat your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 gYou shall remember that you were a slave3 in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there hwith a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

16 “ ‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, ithat your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

17 j“ ‘You shall not murder.4

18 j“ ‘And you shall not commit adultery.

19 “ ‘And you shall not steal.

20 “ ‘And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

21 “ ‘And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’

22 “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly kat the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And lhe wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. 23 And mas soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders. 24 And you said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and ngreatness, and owe have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man pstill live. 25 Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. qIf we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, we shall die. 26 pFor who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived? 27 Go near and hear all that the Lord our God will say, and rspeak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.’

28 “And the Lord heard your words, when you spoke to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. sThey are right in all that they have spoken. 29 tOh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, uthat it might go well with them and with their descendants5 forever! 30 Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.” 31 But you, stand here by me, and vI will tell you the whole commandment and the statutes and the rules that you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess.’ 32 You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. wYou shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 xYou shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and ythat it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.

The Greatest Commandment

6 “Now this is zthe commandment—the statutes and the rules1—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, 2 that ayou may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and bthat your days may be long. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, cas the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.