Chapter 20

The Ten Commandments

1 Then God spoke all these words, saying,

2 “aI am the Lord your God, bwho brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of 1slavery.

3 “aYou shall have no other bgods 1before Me.

4 “aYou shall not make for yourself 1an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.

5 “aYou shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a bjealous God, cvisiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,

6 but showing lovingkindness to athousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

7 “aYou shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not 1leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

8 “Remember athe sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 “aSix days you shall labor and do all your work,

10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it ayou shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who 1stays with you.

11 “aFor in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

12 “aHonor your father and your mother, that your bdays may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

13 “aYou shall not murder.

14 “aYou shall not commit adultery.

15 “aYou shall not steal.

16 “aYou shall not bear false witness against your bneighbor.

17 “aYou shall not covet your neighbor’s house; byou shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

18 aAll the people perceived the 1thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance.

19 aThen they said to Moses, “Speak 1to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak 1to us, or we will die.”

20 Moses said to the people, “aDo not be afraid; for God has come in order bto test you, and in order that cthe fear of Him may 1remain with you, so that you may not sin.”

21 So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached athe thick cloud where God was.

22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen that aI have spoken 1to you from heaven.

23 ‘aYou shall not make other gods besides Me; bgods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves.

24 ‘You shall make aan altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your bburnt offerings and your cpeace offerings, dyour sheep and your oxen; in every place ewhere I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.

25 ‘If you make an altar of stone for Me, ayou shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it.

26 ‘And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that ayour nakedness will not be exposed on it.’