The Ten Commandments

20:1–17pp—Dt 5:6–21

20 And God spokeb all these words:c

2 “I am the Lord your God,d who brought you oute of Egypt,f out of the land of slavery.g

3 “You shall have no other gods beforea me.h

4 “You shall not make for yourself an imagei in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worshipj them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,k punishing the children for the sin of the parentsl to the third and fourth generationm of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousandn generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

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

8 “Remember the Sabbathp day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,q 10 but the seventh day is a sabbathr 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, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,s the sea, and all that is in them, but he restedt on the seventh day.u Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 “Honor your father and your mother,v so that you may live longw in the landx the Lord your God is giving you.

13 “You shall not murder.y

14 “You shall not commit adultery.z

15 “You shall not steal.a

16 “You shall not give false testimonyb against your neighbor.c

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

18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpete and saw the mountain in smoke,f they trembled with fear.g They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speakh to us or we will die.”i

20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid.j God has come to testk you, so that the fearl of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”m

21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darknessn where God was.

Idols and Altars

22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven:o 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me;p do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.q

24 “ ‘Make an altarr of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offeringss and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my namet to be honored, I will come to you and blessu you. 25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a toolv on it. 26 And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private partsw may be exposed.’