Chapter 20

1 ‘And God speaketh all these words, saying, 2I am Jehovah thy God, who hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of servants.

3 ‘Thou hast no other Gods before Me.

4 ‘Thou dost not make to thyself a graven image, or any likeness which is in the heavens above, or which is in the earth beneath, or which is in the waters under the earth. 5Thou dost not bow thyself to them, nor serve them: for I, Jehovah thy God, am a zealous God, charging iniquity of fathers on sons, on the third generation, and on the fourth, of those hating Me, 6and doing kindness to thousands, of those loving Me and keeping My commands.

7 ‘Thou dost not take up the name of Jehovah thy God for a vain thing, for Jehovah acquitteth not him who taketh up His name for a vain thing.

8 ‘Remember the Sabbath-day to sanctify it; 9six days thou dost labour, and hast done all thy work, 10and the seventh day is a Sabbath to Jehovah thy God; thou dost not do any work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and thy cattle, and thy sojourner who is within thy gates,— 11for six days hath Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and resteth in the seventh day; therefore hath Jehovah blessed the Sabbath-day, and doth sanctify it.

12 ‘Honour thy father and thy mother, so that thy days are prolonged on the ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee.

13 ‘Thou dost not murder.

14 ‘Thou dost not commit adultery.

15 ‘Thou dost not steal.

16 ‘Thou dost not answer against thy neighbour a false testimony.

17 ‘Thou dost not desire the house of thy neighbour, thou dost not desire the wife of thy neighbour, or his man-servant, or his handmaid, or his ox, or his ass, or anything which is thy neighbour’s.’

18 And all the people are seeing the voices, and the flames, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mount smoking; and the people see, and move, and stand afar off, 19and say unto Moses, ‘Speak thou with us, and we hear, and let not God speak with us, lest we die.’ 20And Moses saith unto the people, ‘Fear not, for to try you hath God come, and in order that His fear may be before your faces—that ye sin not.’ 21And the people stand afar off, and Moses hath drawn nigh unto the thick darkness where God is.

22 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, ‘Thus dost thou say unto the sons of Israel: Ye—ye have seen that from the heavens I have spoken with you; 23ye do not make with Me gods of silver, even gods of gold ye do not make to yourselves.

24 ‘An altar of earth thou dost make for Me, and thou hast sacrificed on it thy burnt-offerings and thy peace-offerings, thy flock and thy herd; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered I come in unto thee, and have blessed thee.

25 ‘And if an altar of stones thou dost make to Me, thou dost not build them of hewn work; when thy tool thou hast waved over it, then thou dost pollute it; 26neither dost thou go up by steps on Mine altar, that thy nakedness be not revealed upon it.