Exodus 20
1 And God speaks all these words, saying,
God spoke all the following words:
2 “I [am] your God YHWH, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of servants.
“I am the Lord your God, who led you out of Egypt, out of the land of your slavery.
3 You have no other Gods before Me.
You must not have any other gods except me.
4 You do not make a carved image for yourself, or any likeness which [is] in the heavens above, or which [is] in the earth beneath, or which [is] 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 do not bow yourself to them, nor serve them: for I, your God YHWH, [am] a zealous God, charging iniquity of fathers on sons, on a third and on a fourth [generation] of those hating 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 doing kindness to thousands, of those loving Me and keeping My commands.
but I show trustworthy love to the thousands of generations who love me and keep my commandments.
7 You do not take up the Name of your God YHWH for a vain thing, for YHWH does not acquit him who takes up His Name for a vain thing.
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 sanctify it;
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
9 six days you labor and have done all your work,
You have six days to work and earn your living,
10 and the seventh day [is] a Sabbath to your God YHWH; you do not do any work, you, and your son, and your daughter, your manservant, and your handmaid, and your livestock, and your sojourner 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 YHWH has made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that [is] in them, and rests in the seventh day; therefore YHWH has blessed the Sabbath day and sanctifies 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 your days are prolonged on the ground which your God YHWH is giving 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 do not murder.
You must not murder.
14 You do not commit adultery.
You must not commit adultery.
15 You do not steal.
You must not steal.
16 You do not answer [with] a false testimony against your neighbor.
You must not give false evidence against others.
17 You do not desire the house of your neighbor, you do not desire the wife of your neighbor, or his manservant, or his handmaid, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything which [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 are seeing the voices, and the flames, and the sound of the horn, and the mountain smoking; and the people see, and move, and stand far 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 say to Moses, “Speak with us, and we hear, and do not let 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 says to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to try you, and in order that His fear may be before your faces—that you do 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 stand far off, and Moses has drawn near to the thick darkness where God [is].
The people stood a long way off as Moses went over to the thick, dark cloud where God was.
22 And YHWH says to Moses, “Thus you say to the sons of Israel: You have seen that I have spoken with you from the heavens;
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 do not make gods of silver and gods of gold [to be] with Me—you do not make [any idol] for yourselves.
You must not make any idols of silver or gold to worship in addition to me.
24 You make an altar of earth for Me, and you have sacrificed on it your burnt-offerings and your peace-offerings, your flock and your herd; in every place where I cause My Name to be remembered I come to you, and have blessed 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 stones for Me, you do not build them of hewn work; when you have waved your tool over it, then you defile 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 do you go up by steps on My altar, that your nakedness is not revealed on it.
Also, you must not go up to my altar using steps, so your private parts are not seen.’”
