Exodus 20

20:11 And God spoke all these words:2

20:2 I,3 the Lord, am your God,4 who brought you5 from the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.6

20:3 You shall have no7 other gods before me.8

20:4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image9 or any likeness10 of anything11 that is in heaven above, or that is on earth under it, or that is in the water below.12 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them,13 for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous14 God, who visits15 the iniquity of fathers on children, even to the third and fourth generations16 of those who hate me,17 20:6 but who extends faithful love18 to a thousand generations19 of those who love me and keep my commandments.

20:7 You shall not take20 the name of the Lord your God in vain,21 for the Lord will not hold guiltless22 anyone who takes his name in vain.

20:8 Remember23 the Sabbath24 day to sanctify it.25 20:9 For six days26 you may labor27 and do all your work,28 20:10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it29 you shall not do any work, you,30 or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or your resident foreigner who is in your gates.31 20:11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.

20:12 Honor32 your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land33 the Lord your God is giving to you.

20:13 You shall not murder.34

20:14 You shall not commit adultery.35

20:15 You shall not steal.36

20:16 You shall not give37 false testimony38 against your neighbor.

20:17 You shall not covet39 your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that belongs to your neighbor.40

20:18 And all the people were seeing41 the thunderings and the lightning, and heard42 the sound of the horn, and the mountain smoking—and when43 the people saw it they trembled with fear44 and kept their distance.45 20:19 And they said to Moses, “You speak46 to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, lest we die.” 20:20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you,47 that the fear of him48 may be before you so that you do not49 sin.” 20:21 The people kept50 their distance, but Moses drew near the thick darkness51 where God was.52

The Altar

20:2253 The Lord said54 to Moses: “Thus you will say to the Israelites: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken with you from heaven. 20:23 You must not make alongside me55 gods of silver, nor make gods of gold for yourselves.56

20:24 You must make for me an altar made of earth,57 and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings,58 your sheep and your cattle. In every place59 where I cause my name to be honored60 I will come to you and I will bless you. 20:25 And if you make me an altar of stone, you must not build it61 of hewn stone,62 for if you use your tool on it you will have defiled it.63 20:26 And you must not go up by steps to my altar, so that your nakedness is not exposed.’64

The Decisions

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