Deuteronomy 5–6

The Ten Commandments

5Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Israel, listen to the statutes and ordinances I am proclaiming as you hear them today. Learn and follow them carefully. ²The Lord our God made a covenant ^hwith us at Horeb. ³He did not make this covenant with our fathers, ⁱbut with all of us who are alive here today. ⁴The Lord spoke to you face to face from the fire on the mountain. ⁵At that time I was standing between the Lord and you to report the word ^jof the Lord to you, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain. And He said:

⁶I am the Lord your God, ^kwho brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. ^l

⁷Do not have other gods besides Me.

⁸Do not make an idol for yourself in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. ⁹You must not bow down to them or worship them, because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ sin to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, ^m10but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commands.

¹¹Do not misuse the name ⁿof the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses His name.

¹²Be careful to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy as the Lord your God has commanded you. ¹³You are to labor six days and do all your work, ¹⁴but 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 slave, your ox or donkey, any of your livestock, or the foreigner who lives within your gates, so that your male and female slaves may rest as you do. ¹⁵Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

¹⁶Honor your father and your mother, ^oas the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and so that you may prosper in the land the Lord your God is giving you. ^p

¹⁷Do not murder. ^q

¹⁸Do not commit adultery. ^r

¹⁹Do not steal.

²⁰Do not give dishonest testimony against your neighbor. ^s

²¹Do not covet your neighbor’s wife or desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male or female slave, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. ^t

The People’s Response

²²“The Lord spoke these commands in a loud voice to your entire assembly from the fire, cloud, and thick darkness on the mountain; He added nothing more. He wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me. ²³All of you approached me with your tribal leaders and elders when you heard the voice from the darkness and while the mountain was blazing with fire. ²⁴You said, ‘Look, the Lord our God has shown us His glory and greatness, and we have heard His voice from the fire. Today we have seen that God speaks with a person, yet he still lives. ²⁵But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us and we will die if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer. ²⁶For who out of all mankind has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the fire, as we have, and lived? ²⁷Go near and listen to everything the Lord our God says. Then you can tell us everything the Lord our God tells you; we will listen and obey.’ ^u

²⁸“The Lord heard your ^vwords when you spoke to me. He said to me, ‘I have heard the words that these people have spoken to you. Everything they have said is right. ²⁹If only they had such a heart to fear Me and keep all My commands always, so that they and their children will prosper forever. ³⁰Go and tell them: Return to your tents. ³¹But you stand here with Me, and I will tell you every command—the statutes and ordinances—you are to teach them, so that they may follow them in the land I am giving them to possess.’

³²“Be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or the left. ³³Follow the whole instruction the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live, prosper, and have a long life in the land you will possess.

The Greatest Commandment

6“This is the command—the statutes and ordinances—the Lord your God has instructed me to teach you, so that you may follow them in the land you are about to enter and possess. ^w2Do this so that you may fear ^xthe Lord your God ^yall the days of your life ^zby keeping all His statutes and commands I am giving you, your son, and your grandson, and so that you may have a long life. ^a3Listen, Israel, and be careful to follow them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly, because Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey. ^b

⁴“Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. ^cd5Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. ^e6These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. ^f7Repeat them to your children. ^gTalk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol ^hon your forehead. ^ij9Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Remembering God through Obedience

¹⁰“When the Lord your God brings you into the land He swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He would give you—a land with large and beautiful cities that you did not build, ¹¹houses full of every good thing that you did not fill them with, wells dug that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant ^k—and when you eat and are satisfied, ^l12be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. ^m13Fear Yahweh your God, worship Him, and take your oaths in His name. ⁿ¹⁴Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you, ¹⁵for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. ^oOtherwise, the Lord your God will become angry with you and wipe you off the face of the earth. ¹⁶Do not test ^pthe Lord your God as you tested Him at Massah. ^q17Carefully observe the commands of the Lord your God, the decrees and statutes He has commanded you. ¹⁸Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that you may prosper and so that you may enter and possess the good land ^rthe Lord your God swore to give your fathers, ^s19by driving out all your enemies before you, as the Lord has said. ^t

²⁰“When your son asks you in the future, ‘What is the meaning ^uof the decrees, statutes, and ordinances, which the Lord our God has commanded you?’ ²¹tell him, ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand. ^v22Before our eyes the Lord inflicted great and devastating signs and wonders on Egypt, ^won Pharaoh, and on all his household, ²³but He brought us from there in order to lead us in and give us the land that He swore to our fathers. ²⁴The Lord commanded us to follow all these statutes and to fear the Lord our God for our prosperity always and for our preservation, as it is today. ²⁵Righteousness will be ours if we are careful to follow every one of these commands before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.’