Exodus 20
1 And the Lord spoke all these words:
God spoke all the following words:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who led you away from the land of Egypt, out of the house of servitude.
“I am the Lord your God, who led you out of Egypt, out of the land of your slavery.
3 You shall not have strange gods before me.
You must not have any other gods except me.
4 You shall not make for yourself a graven image, nor a likeness of anything that is in heaven above or on earth below, nor of those things which are in the waters under the earth.
You must not make for yourself any kind of idol, whether in the form of anything in the heavens above, or on the earth beneath, or in the waters below.
5 You shall not adore them, nor shall you worship them. I am the Lord your God: strong, zealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
You must not bow down before them or worship them; for I am the Lord your God and I am passionately exclusive. I lay the consequences of the sin of those who hate me on their sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons;
6 and showing mercy to thousands of those who love me and keep my precepts.
but I show trustworthy love to the thousands of generations 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 hold harmless one who takes the name of the Lord his God falsely.
You must not use the name of the Lord your God in a wrong way, for the Lord will not forgive anyone who uses his name in a wrong way.
8 Remember that you are to sanctify the day of the Sabbath.
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
9 For six days, you will work and accomplish all your tasks.
You have six days to work and earn your living,
10 But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. You shall not do any work in it: you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, your beast and the newcomer who is within your gates.
but the seventh day is the Sabbath to honor the Lord your God. On this day you must not do any work—not you, not your son or daughter, not your male slave or female slave or livestock, and not the foreigner who is staying with you.
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all the things that are in them, and so he rested on the seventh day. For this reason, the Lord has blessed the day of the Sabbath and sanctified it.
For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days, and then rested on the seventh day. That's why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 Honor your father and your mother, so that you may have a long life upon the land, which the Lord your God will give to you.
Honor your father and mother, so that you may live a long time in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
13 You shall not murder.
You must not murder.
14 You shall not commit adultery.
You must not commit adultery.
15 You shall not steal.
You must not steal.
16 You shall not speak false testimony against your neighbor.
You must not give false evidence against others.
17 You shall not covet the house of your neighbor; neither shall you desire his wife, nor male servant, nor female servant, nor ox, nor donkey, nor anything that is his.”
You must not desire to have anyone else's house. You must not desire to have their wife, or their male slave or female slave, or their ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to them.”
18 Then all the people considered the voices, and the lights, and the sound of the trumpet, and the smoking mountain. And being terrified and struck with fear, they stood at a distance,
When all the people heard the thunder and the sound of the trumpet, and saw the lightning and the smoke from the mountain, they trembled with fear and stood a long way off.
19 saying to Moses: “Speak to us, and we will listen. Let not the Lord speak to us, lest perhaps we may die.”
“You speak to us, and we'll listen,” they said to Moses. “But don't let God speak to us, or we'll die.”
20 And Moses said to the people: “Do not be afraid. For God came in order to test you, and so that the dread of him might be with you, and you would not sin.”
Moses told them, “Do not be afraid, for God has only come to test you. He wants you to be in awe of him so that you don't sin.”
21 And the people stood far away. But Moses approached toward the mist, in which was God.
The people stood a long way off as Moses went over to the thick, dark cloud where God was.
22 Thereafter, the Lord said to Moses: “This you shall say to the sons of Israel: You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.
The Lord told Moses, “This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘You saw for yourselves that I spoke with you from heaven.
23 You shall not make gods of silver, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.
You must not make any idols of silver or gold to worship in addition to me.
24 You shall make an altar from the earth for me, and you shall offer upon it your holocausts and peace-offerings, your sheep and oxen, in every place where the memory of my name shall be. I will come to you, and I will bless you.
Make me an altar of earth, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep, goats, and cattle. Wherever I decide to be worshiped, I will come to you and bless you.
25 And if you make an altar of stone for me, you shall not build it from cut stones; for if you lift up a tool over it, it will be defiled.
Now if you make an altar out of stones for me, you must not build it with cut stones, because if you use a chisel to cut the stone, you make it unholy.
26 You shall not ascend by steps to my altar, lest your nakedness be revealed.”
Also, you must not go up to my altar using steps, so your private parts are not seen.’”
