Exodus 20
1 And God spoke all these words, saying,
God spoke all the following words:
2 I am the LORD your God, which have brought you 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 You shall have no other gods before me.
You must not have any other gods except me.
4 You shall not make to 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 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 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 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 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 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.
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 shall you labor, and do all your work:
You have six days to work and earn your living,
10 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, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that 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, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: why 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 Honor your father and your mother: that your days may be long on the land which the LORD your God gives 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 kill.
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 bear false witness against your neighbor.
You must not give false evidence against others.
17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is your neighbor’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 saw the thunder, and the lightning, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, 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 to Moses, Speak you 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 to the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that you 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, and Moses drew near to 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 to Moses, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, You 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 You shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall you make to you gods of gold.
You must not make any idols of silver or gold to worship in addition to me.
24 An altar of earth you shall make to me, and shall sacrifice thereon your burnt offerings, and your peace offerings, your sheep, and your oxen: in all places where I record my name 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 will make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone: for if you lift up your tool on it, you have polluted 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 shall you go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not discovered thereon.
Also, you must not go up to my altar using steps, so your private parts are not seen.’”
