20 Then God spoke all these words:
2 ‘I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt, the country where you were slaves.
3 You must not have any other gods except me.
4 You must not make any idol for yourself. Do not make a false god in the shape of anything that is in the sky above. Do not make one in the shape of anything on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bend down your head to any idol or worship it. I am the Lord your God and I want you to belong to me alone. I will punish children because of the bad things that their fathers have done. I will also punish their children and their grandchildren too. That is how I will punish everyone who turns against me. 6 But I will truly love all those who love me. They are the people who obey my laws. I will continue to love them and their families for ever.
7 You must not speak the name of the Lord your God in a wrong way. The Lord will punish anyone who speaks his name in a wrong way.
8 Remember the Sabbath day. Keep it as a special day for me. 9 You have six days every week to do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a Sabbath day. It is special for the Lord your God. You must not do any work on that day. Your son and your daughter must not work on that day. Your servants, male or female, must not work on that day. The foreign person who lives among you and even your animals must not work on that day. 11 In six days, the Lord made the heavens, the earth and the sea. He made everything that is in them. But on the seventh day, the Lord rested. So he blessed the Sabbath day and he made it special.
12 Always respect your father and your mother. Then you will live for many years in the land that the Lord your God will give to you.
13 You must not murder anyone.
14 You must not have sex with another person's husband or wife.
15 You must not take another person's things for yourself.
16 You must not say false things against your neighbour.
17 You must not want to take your neighbour's house for yourself. You must not want to take his wife, or his servants, male or female. You must not want to take his ox, or his donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbour.’
18 The people heard the loud thunder and they saw the bright lightning. They heard the noise of the trumpet. They saw the smoke on the mountain. They were so afraid that their bodies were shaking. They would not come near. 19 They said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself. We will listen to you. But do not let God speak to us. If he does, we will die.’
20 Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. God has come to test you. He wants you to respect him and to obey him. Then you will not do things that are wrong.’
21 So the people stayed away from the mountain. But Moses walked towards the thick, dark cloud, where God was.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell this to the Israelites: “You yourselves have heard me speak to you from heaven. 23 Do not make any idols to take my place. Do not use silver or gold to make an idol that you will worship.
24 Instead, use earth to make an altar for me. You must offer sacrifices to me on the altar. You may take your sheep, your goats or your cows to make burnt offerings or friendship offerings or other sacrifices to me. Make an altar like this in any place that I choose for you to worship me. In those places, I will come to you and I will bless you. 25 You may also use stones from the ground to make an altar for me. But do not use any tools to cut the stones. If you use a tool on the stones, the altar will not be right for you to worship me there.
26 Do not make an altar which has stairs going up to it. If you do that, someone may see under your clothes when you climb up the stairs. Then you would be ashamed.”
20 These are the things God told his people:
2 “I am the Lord your God. I am the one who freed you from the land of Egypt, where you were slaves.
3 “You must not worship any other gods except me.
4 “You must not make any idols. Don’t make any statues or pictures of anything up in the sky or of anything on the earth or of anything down in the water. 5 Don’t worship or serve idols of any kind, because I, the Lord , am your God. I hate my people worshiping other gods. [ a ] People who sin against me become my enemies, and I will punish them. And I will punish their children, their grandchildren, and even their great-grandchildren. 6 But I will be very kind to people who love me and obey my commands. I will be kind to their families for thousands of generations. [ b ]
7 “You must not use the name of the Lord your God to make empty promises. If you do, the Lord will not let you go unpunished.
8 “You must remember to keep the Sabbath a special day. 9 You may work six days a week to do your job. 10 But the seventh day is a day of rest in honor of the Lord your God. So on that day no one should work—not you, your sons and daughters, or your men and women slaves. Even your animals and the foreigners living in your cities must not work! 11 That is because the Lord worked six days and made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. And on the seventh day, he rested. In this way the Lord blessed the Sabbath—the day of rest. He made that a very special day.
12 “You must honor and respect your father and your mother. Do this so that you will have a full life in the land that the Lord your God gives you.
13 “You must not murder anyone.
14 “You must not commit adultery.
15 “You must not steal anything.
16 “You must not tell lies about other people. [ c ]
17 “You must not want to take your neighbor’s house. You must not want his wife. And you must not want his men and women servants or his cattle or his donkeys. You must not want to take anything that belongs to another person.”
18 During all this time, the people in the valley heard the thundering and saw the lightning on the mountain. They saw smoke rising from the mountain and heard the sound of the trumpet. They were afraid and shook with fear. They stood away from the mountain and watched. 19 Then the people said to Moses, “If you want to speak to us, then we will listen. But please don’t let God speak to us. If this happens, we will die.”
20 Then Moses said to them, “Don’t be afraid! God has come to test you. He wants you to respect him so that you will not sin.”
21 The people stood far away from the mountain while Moses went to the dark cloud where God was. 22 Then the Lord told Moses to say this to the Israelites: “You people have seen that I talked with you from heaven. 23 So you must not make idols using gold or silver to compete with me. You must not make these false gods.
24 “Make a special altar for me. You should use dirt to make this altar. Offer sheep and cattle as burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on this altar. Do this in every place where I tell you to remember me. Then I will come and bless you. 25 But if you use stones to make an altar, then don’t use stones that were cut with an iron tool. [ d ] If you do that, it will make the altar unacceptable. 26 And you must not make steps leading up to the altar. If there are steps, when people look up to the altar, they will be able to see under your clothes.”
20 And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
13 Thou shalt not kill.
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15 Thou shalt not steal.
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
22 And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
23 Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.
24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.
20 Then God spoke all these words, saying,
2 “ ( A ) I am the Lord your God, ( B ) who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of [ a ] slavery.
3 “ ( C ) You shall have no other ( D ) gods [ b ] before Me.
4 “ ( E ) You shall not make for yourself [ c ] an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. 5 ( F ) You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a ( G ) jealous God, ( H ) inflicting the [ d ] punishment of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing [ e ] favor to ( I ) thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 “ ( J ) You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not [ f ] leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
8 “Remember ( K ) the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 ( L ) 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 ( M ) 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 [ g ] resident who [ h ] stays with you. 11 ( N ) 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 “ ( O ) Honor your father and your mother, so that your ( P ) days may be prolonged on the land which the Lord your God gives you.
13 “ ( Q ) You shall not murder.
14 “ ( R ) You shall not commit adultery.
15 “ ( S ) You shall not steal.
16 “ ( T ) You shall not [ i ] give false testimony against your ( U ) neighbor.
17 “ ( V ) You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; ( W ) 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 ( X ) all the people were watching and hearing the [ j ] 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 ( Y ) Then they said to Moses, “Speak [ k ] to us yourself and we will listen; but do not have God speak [ l ] to us, or we will die!” 20 However, Moses said to the people, “ ( Z ) Do not be afraid; for God has come in order ( AA ) to test you, and in order that ( AB ) the fear of Him may [ m ] remain with you, so that you will not sin.” 21 So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached ( AC ) 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 ( AD ) I have spoken [ n ] to you from heaven. 23 ( AE ) You shall not make other gods besides Me; ( AF ) gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves. 24 You shall make ( AG ) an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your ( AH ) burnt offerings and your ( AI ) peace offerings, ( AJ ) your sheep and your oxen; in every place ( AK ) 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, ( AL ) 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 ( AM ) your nakedness will not be exposed on it.’
20 And God spoke ( B ) all these words: ( C )
2 “I am the Lord your God, ( D ) who brought you out ( E ) of Egypt, ( F ) out of the land of slavery. ( G )
3 “You shall have no other gods before [ a ] me. ( H )
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image ( I ) 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 worship ( J ) them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, ( K ) punishing the children for the sin of the parents ( L ) to the third and fourth generation ( M ) of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand ( N ) 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 Sabbath ( P ) day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ( Q ) 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath ( R ) 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 rested ( T ) 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 long ( W ) in the land ( X ) 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. ( AA )
16 “You shall not give false testimony ( AB ) against your neighbor. ( AC )
17 “You shall not covet ( AD ) 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 trumpet ( AE ) and saw the mountain in smoke, ( AF ) they trembled with fear. ( AG ) They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak ( AH ) to us or we will die.” ( AI )
20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. ( AJ ) God has come to test ( AK ) you, so that the fear ( AL ) of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” ( AM )
21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness ( AN ) where God was.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: ( AO ) 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me; ( AP ) do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold. ( AQ )
24 “‘Make an altar ( AR ) of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings ( AS ) and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name ( AT ) to be honored, I will come to you and bless ( AU ) 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 tool ( AV ) on it. 26 And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts ( AW ) may be exposed.’
