Exodus 20
1 And God spoke all these words, saying:
God spoke all the following words:
2 I am the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
“I am the Lord your God, who led you out of Egypt, out of the land of your slavery.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
You must not have any other gods except me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any manner of 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;
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 thou shalt not bow down unto 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;
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 unto the thousandth generation of them that love Me and keep My commandments.
but I show trustworthy love to the thousands of generations who 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.
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 the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work;
You have six days to work and earn your living,
10 but the seventh day is a sabbath unto the LORD thy God, in it thou shalt not do any manner of work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy 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, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed 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 Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
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 Thou shalt not murder.
You must not murder.
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
You must not commit adultery.
15 Thou shalt not steal.
You must not steal.
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
You must not give false evidence against others.
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
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 And all the people perceived the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the voice of the horn, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled, and stood afar off.
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 And they said unto Moses: 'Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we 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 unto the people: 'Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that His fear may be before you, that ye sin not.'
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 afar off; but Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
The people stood a long way off as Moses went over to the thick, dark cloud where God was.
22 And the LORD said unto Moses: Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel: Ye yourselves have seen that I have talked with 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 Ye shall not make with Me — gods of silver, or gods of gold, ye shall not make unto you.
You must not make any idols of silver or gold to worship in addition to me.
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 every place where I cause My name to be mentioned I will come unto thee and bless thee.
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 thou make Me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stones; for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast profaned it.
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 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto Mine altar, that thy nakedness be not uncovered thereon.
Also, you must not go up to my altar using steps, so your private parts are not seen.’”
