Deuteronomy 5:17–30

^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.