Deuteronomy 5–6

The Ten Commandments

5Moses called together all the people of Israel and said to them, “People of Israel, listen to all the laws that I am giving you today. Learn them and be sure that you obey them. ²At Mount Sinai the Lord our God made a covenant, ³not only with our fathers, but with all of us who are living today. ⁴There on the mountain the Lord spoke to you face-to-face from the fire. ⁵I stood between you and the Lord at that time to tell you what he said, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain.

“The Lord said, ⁶‘I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from Egypt, where you were slaves.

⁷“ ‘Worship no god but me.

^8*“ ‘Do not make for yourselves images of anything in heaven or on earth or in the water under the earth. ^9*Do not bow down to any idol or worship it, for I am the Lord your God and I tolerate no rivals. I bring punishment on those who hate me and on their descendants down to the third and fourth generation. ^10*But I show my love to thousands of generations^f of those who love me and obey my laws.

^11*“ ‘Do not use my name for evil purposes, for I, the Lord your God, will punish anyone who misuses my name.

^12*“ ‘Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy, as I, the Lord your God, have commanded you. ^13*You have six days in which to do your work, ^14*but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me. On that day no one is to work—neither you, your children, your slaves, your animals, nor the foreigners who live in your country. Your slaves must rest just as you do. ¹⁵Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and that I, the Lord your God, rescued you by my great power and strength. That is why I command you to observe the Sabbath.

^16*“ ‘Respect your father and your mother, as I, the Lord your God, command you, so that all may go well with you and so that you may live a long time in the land that I am giving you.

^17*“ ‘Do not commit murder.

^18*“ ‘Do not commit adultery.

^19*“ ‘Do not steal.

^20*“ ‘Do not accuse anyone falsely.

^21*“ ‘Do not desire another man’s wife; do not desire his house, his land, his slaves, his cattle, his donkeys, or anything else that he owns.’

^22*“These are the commandments the Lord gave to all of you when you were gathered at the mountain. When he spoke with a mighty voice from the fire and from the thick clouds, he gave these commandments and no others. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

The People’s Fear

^23*“When the whole mountain was on fire and you heard the voice from the darkness, your leaders and the chiefs of your tribes came to me ^24*and said, ‘The Lord our God showed us his greatness and his glory when we heard him speak from the fire! Today we have seen that it is possible for a human being to continue to live, even though God has spoken to him. ^25*But why should we risk death again? That terrible fire will destroy us. We are sure to die if we hear the Lord our God speak again. ^26*Has any human being ever lived after hearing the living God speak from a fire? ^27*Go back, Moses, and listen to everything that the Lord our God says. Then return and tell us what he said to you. We will listen and obey.’

²⁸“When the Lord heard this, he said to me, ‘I have heard what these people said, and they are right. ²⁹If only they would always feel like this! If only they would always honour me and obey all my commands, so that everything would go well with them and their descendants for ever. ³⁰Go and tell them to return to their tents. ³¹But you, Moses, stay here with me, and I will give you all my laws and commands. Teach them to the people, so that they will obey them in the land that I am giving them.’

³²“People of Israel, be sure that you do everything that the Lord your God has commanded you. Do not disobey any of his laws. ³³Obey them all, so that everything will go well with you and so that you will continue to live in the land that you are going to occupy.

The Great Commandment

6“These are all the laws that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. Obey them in the land that you are about to enter and occupy. ²As long as you live, you and your descendants are to honour the Lord your God and obey all his laws that I am giving you, so that you may live in that land a long time. ³Listen to them, people of Israel, and obey them! Then all will go well with you, and you will become a mighty nation and live in that rich and fertile land, just as the Lord, the God of our ancestors, has promised.

^4*“Israel, remember this! The Lord—and the Lord alone—is our God.^{g 5*}Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. ^6*Never forget these commands that I am giving you today. ^7*Teach them to your children. Repeat them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working. ^8*Tie them on your arms and wear them on your foreheads as a reminder. ^9*Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

Warning against Disobedience

^10*“Just as the Lord your God promised your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he will give you a land with large and prosperous cities which you did not build. ¹¹The houses will be full of good things which you did not put in them, and there will be wells that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant. When the Lord brings you into this land and you have all you want to eat, ¹²make certain that you do not forget the Lord who rescued you from Egypt, where you were slaves. ^13*Honour the Lord your God, worship only him, and make your promises in his name alone. ¹⁴Do not worship other gods, any of the gods of the peoples around you. ¹⁵If you do worship other gods, the Lord’s anger will come against you like fire and will destroy you completely, because the Lord your God, who is present with you, tolerates no rivals.

^16*“Do not put the Lord your God to the test, as you did at Massah. ¹⁷Be sure that you obey all the laws that he has given you. ¹⁸Do what the Lord says is right and good, and all will go well with you. You will be able to take possession of the fertile land that the Lord promised your ancestors, ¹⁹and you will drive out your enemies, as he promised.

²⁰“In time to come your children will ask you, ‘Why did the Lord our God command us to obey all these laws?’ ²¹Then tell them, ‘We were slaves of the king of Egypt, and the Lord rescued us by his great power. ²²With our own eyes we saw him work miracles and do terrifying things to the Egyptians and to their king and to all his officials. ²³He freed us from Egypt to bring us here and give us this land, as he had promised our ancestors he would. ²⁴Then the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these laws and to honour him. If we do, he will always watch over our nation and keep it prosperous. ²⁵If we faithfully obey everything that God has commanded us, he will be pleased with us.’^h