Deuteronomy 5

1 And Moses called all Israel, and said to them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that you may learn them, and keep, and do them.

Moses/I summoned all the people of Israel and said to them, “You Israeli people, listen to all the rules and regulations that I am giving to you today. Learn them and be sure to obey them.

2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.

When we were at Sinai [Mountain], Yahweh our God made an agreement with us.

3 The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.

But this agreement was not only for our ancestors. He made it also for us who are alive now.

4 The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the middle of the fire,

Yahweh spoke with us face-to-face on that mountain, from the middle of the fire.

5 (I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to show you the word of the LORD: for you were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount; ) saying,

On that day, I stood between your ancestors and Yahweh to tell them what he said, because they were afraid of the fire, and they did not climb up the mountain. This is what Yahweh said:

6 I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

‘I am Yahweh your God, the one you [worship]. I am the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt. I am the one who freed you from being slaves [there].

7 You shall have none other gods before me.

[You must worship only] me; you must not worship any other god.

8 You shall not make you 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 waters beneath the earth:

You must not carve/make for yourselves any idol that represents anything in the sky or anything that is on the ground or anything that swims in the water.

9 You shall not bow down yourself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,

You must not bow down to any idol and worship it, because I am Yahweh God, and I (am very jealous/want you to worship me only). I punish those who sin and hate me. I punish not only them, but I will punish (their descendants, down to the third and fourth generation/their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren).

10 And showing mercy to thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

But I will steadfastly love (thousands of generations/all the descendants) of those who love me and obey my commandments (OR, I will love for thousands of generations).

11 You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain.

Do not use/speak my name carelessly (OR, for wrong/evil purposes), because I am Yahweh God, the one whom you [should worship], and I will certainly punish those who use/speak my name for wrong/evil purposes [LIT].

12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD your God has commanded you.

Do not forget that the seventh day [of every week] is mine. Dedicate those days to me just like I, Yahweh your God, am commanding you.

13 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work:

There are six days each week for you to do all your work,

14 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD your God: in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your ox, nor your ass, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates; that your manservant and your maidservant may rest as well as you.

but the seventh day is a rest day, a day dedicated to me, Yahweh your God. On that day you must not do any work. You and your sons and daughters and your male and female slaves must not work. You must not even force your livestock to work, and you must not tell foreigners to work, those who are living in your country. You must allow your slaves to rest on that day just like you do.

15 And remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out there through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day.

Do not forget that you were slaves in Egypt, and that I, Yahweh your God, brought you out from there by my very great power. [DOU, MTY] That is the reason that I am commanding that [all of] you must rest on the seventh/Sabbath day [each week].

16 Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you; that your days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with you, in the land which the LORD your God gives you.

Honor/Respect your fathers and your mothers, just like I, Yahweh your God, am commanding you, in order that you may live a long time in the land that I, Yahweh your God, will give you, and in order that things will go well for you there.

17 You shall not kill.

Do not murder anyone.

18 Neither shall you commit adultery.

Do not (commit adultery/have sex with anyone other than your spouse).

19 Neither shall you steal.

Do not steal anything.

20 Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor.

Do not tell lies about anyone [when you are speaking in a court].

21 Neither shall you desire your neighbor’s wife, neither shall you covet your neighbor’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is your neighbor’s.

Do not (covet/desire to have) someone else’s wife, someone else’s house, someone else’s fields, someone else’s male slave or female slave, someone else’s livestock, someone else’s donkeys, or anything else that another person owns.’

22 These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly in the mount out of the middle of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them to me.

Those are the commandments that Yahweh spoke to your ancestors. When they were gathered there at [the bottom of] the mountain, he spoke with a very loud voice from the middle of the fire, and there were dark clouds surrounding the mountain. He spoke only those [ten] commandments, no more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

23 And it came to pass, when you heard the voice out of the middle of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire, ) that you came near to me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;

After your ancestors heard [Yahweh’s] voice when he spoke to them out of the darkness, while there was a big fire burning on the mountain, their leaders and elders came to me,

24 And you said, Behold, the LORD our God has showed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the middle of the fire: we have seen this day that God does talk with man, and he lives.

and [one of] them said, ‘Listen to us! Yahweh our God showed us that he is very great and glorious when we heard him speak [MTY] from the fire. Today we have realized that it is possible for us humans to continue to live even though God has spoken to us.

25 Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die.

But we are afraid that we will die [RHQ] if we hear Yahweh our God speak [MTY] to us again; his terrible fire will destroy/kill us.

26 For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the middle of the fire, as we have, and lived?

(Who has/Certainly no human has) remained alive after hearing the all-powerful God speak [MTY] to them from a fire.

27 Go you near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak you to us all that the LORD our God shall speak to you; and we will hear it, and do it.

[So Moses], you go [up the mountain] and listen to everything that Yahweh our God will say. Then [come back and] tell us everything that he has said, and we will listen to what he has said and obey it.’

28 And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when you spoke to me; and the LORD said to me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken to you: they have well said all that they have spoken.

Yahweh heard your leaders say that, so [when I went back up the mountain], Yahweh said to me, ‘I have heard what your leaders have said, and what they have said is right/correct.

29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

I surely wish that they would always think like that and revere me and obey all my commandments, in order that things may go well for them and for their descendants forever.

30 Go say to them, Get you into your tents again.

So go [down] and tell them to return to their tents.

31 But as for you, stand you here by me, and I will speak to you all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.

But [then] you [come back up here and] stand near me, and I will give to you all the rules and regulations that I [want them to obey]. Then you can teach them to the people, in order that they will obey them when they are in the land that I am giving to them.’

32 You shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God has commanded you: you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

[So I went back down to the people, and I said to them], ‘Be sure that you do everything that Yahweh our God has commanded us to do. Do not disobey any of his laws.

33 You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.

Conduct your lives as Yahweh our God has commanded us to do, in order that you may live a long time, and in order that things will go well for you [when you are living] in the land that you will occupy.’”