The Ten Commandments

5:6–21pp—Ex 20:1–17

5 Moses summoned all Israel and said:

Hear, Israel, the decrees and lawsp I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. 2 The Lord our God made a covenantq with us at Horeb.r 3 It was not with our ancestorsa that the Lord made this covenant, but with us,s with all of us who are alive here today.t 4 The Lord spokeu to you face to facev out of the firew on the mountain. 5 (At that time I stood betweenx the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord, because you were afraidy of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:

6 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt,z out of the land of slavery.a

7 “You shall have no other gods beforeb me.

8 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.b 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parentsc to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,d 10 but showing love to a thousande generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.f

11 “You shall not misuse the nameg of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.h

12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy,i as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh dayj is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant,k nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do.l 15 Remember that you were slavesm in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty handn and an outstretched arm.o Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

16 “Honor your fatherp and your mother,q as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live longr and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

17 “You shall not murder.s

18 “You shall not commit adultery.t

19 “You shall not steal.u

20 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.v

21 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”w

22 These are the commandments the Lord proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness;x and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tabletsy and gave them to me.

23 When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leaders of your tribes and your eldersz came to me. 24 And you said, “The Lord our God has shown usa his glory and his majesty,b and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a person can live even if God speaks with them.c 25 But 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.d 26 For what mortal has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived?e 27 Go near and listen to all that the Lord our God says.f Then tell us whatever the Lord our God tells you. We will listen and obey.”g

28 The Lord heard you when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me, “I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good.h 29 Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear mei and keep all my commandsj always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!k

30 “Go, tell them to return to their tents. 31 But you stay herel with me so that I may give you all the commands, decrees and laws you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to possess.”

32 So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you;m do not turn aside to the right or to the left.n 33 Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you,o so that you may live and prosper and prolong your daysp in the land that you will possess.

Love the Lord Your God

6 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fearq the Lord your God as long as you liver by keeping all his decrees and commandss that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.t 3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obeyu so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatlyv in a land flowing with milk and honey,w just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promisedx you.

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.a y 5 Lovez the Lord your God with all your hearta and with all your soul and with all your strength.b 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.c 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.d 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.e 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.f

10 When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build,g 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig,h and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied,i 12 be careful that you do not forgetj the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

13 Fear the Lordk your God, serve him onlyl and take your oathsm in his name.n 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the Lord your Godo, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. 16 Do not put the Lord your God to the testp as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to keepq the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you.r 18 Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight,s so that it may go wellt with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, 19 thrusting out all your enemiesu before you, as the Lord said.

20 In the future, when your son asks you,v “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?” 21 tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.w 22 Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders—great and terrible—on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. 23 But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors. 24 The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God,x so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today.y 25 And if we are careful to obey all this lawz before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.a”

Driving Out the Nations

7 When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possessb and drives out before you many nationsc—the Hittites,d Girgashites,e Amorites,f Canaanites, Perizzites,g Hivitesh and Jebusites,i seven nations larger and stronger than you—2 and when the Lord your God has deliveredj them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroyk them totally.a l Make no treatym with them, and show them no mercy.n 3 Do not intermarry with them.o Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods,p and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroyq you. 5 This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah polesb r and burn their idols in the fire.s 6 For you are a people holyt to the Lord your God.u The Lord your God has chosenv you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.w

7 The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerousx than other peoples, for you were the fewesty of all peoples.z 8 But it was because the Lord loveda you and kept the oath he sworeb to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty handc and redeemedd you from the land of slavery,e from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God;f he is the faithful God,g keeping his covenant of loveh to a thousand generationsi of those who love him and keep his commandments.j 10 But

those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction;

he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.k

11 Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.

12 If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your ancestors.l 13 He will love you and bless youm and increase your numbers.n He will bless the fruit of your womb,o the crops of your land—your grain, new winep and olive oilq—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.r 14 You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor will any of your livestock be without young.s 15 The Lord will keep you free from every disease.t He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt,u but he will inflict them on all who hate you.v 16 You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God gives over to you.w Do not look on them with pityx and do not serve their gods,y for that