• The Ten Commandments

  • 1 Then God spoke all these words, saying,
  • 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
  • 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
  • 4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth.
  • 5 You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, inflicting the punishment of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,
  • 6 but showing favor to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
  • 7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
  • 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
  • 9 For six days you shall labor and do all your work,
  • 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your resident who stays with you.
  • 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
  • 12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged on the land which the Lord your God gives you.
  • 13 “You shall not murder.
  • 14 “You shall not commit adultery.
  • 15 “You shall not steal.
  • 16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
  • 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male slave, or his female slave, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
  • 18 And all the people were watching and hearing the thunder and the lightning flashes, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it all, they trembled and stood at a distance.
  • 19 Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but do not have God speak to us, or we will die!”
  • 20 However, Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you will not sin.”
  • 21 So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
  • 22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.
  • 23 You shall not make other gods besides Me; gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves.
  • 24 You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.
  • 25 And if you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your chisel on it, you will profane it.
  • 26 And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that your nakedness will not be exposed on it.’