Exodus 20
1 And God spake all these words saying: —
God spoke all the following words:
2 I, am Yahweh thy God, —who have brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of servants: —
“I am the Lord your God, who led you out of Egypt, out of the land of your slavery.
3 Thou shalt not have other gods besides me.
You must not have any other gods except me.
4 Thou shalt not make to thee an image, or any form, that is in the heavens above, —or that is in the earth beneath, —or that is in the waters beneath 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 thyself down to them nor be led to serve them—For, I, Yahweh, thy God, am a jealous GOD, visiting the iniquity of fathers upon sons, unto three [generations] and, unto four, 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 but shewing lovingkindness unto thousands [of generations], —of them who 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 utter the name of Yahweh thy God for falsehood, for Yahweh will not let him go unpunished who uttereth his name for falsehood.
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 hallow it:
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 Yahweh thy God, —thou shalt do no work, thou nor thy son nor thy daughter nor thy servant, nor thy handmaid, nor thy beast, nor thy sojourner who 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, did Yahweh make the heavens and the earth, [and] the sea—and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day, —for this cause, Yahweh 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 prolonged upon the soil, which Yahweh thy God is about to give unto 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 commit 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 testify against thy neighbour, with a witness of falsehood.
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 servant nor his handmaid nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything which belongeth unto thy neighbour.
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, were witnessing the voices and the torches, and the sound of the horn, and the mountain smoking, —so then the people were struck with awe and shrank back, 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—Do not fear, for to the end he may prove you, hath God come, —and to the end the reverence of him may be upon your faces 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 So then the people stood afar off, and, Moses, approached unto the thick gloom, where God was.
The people stood a long way off as Moses went over to the thick, dark cloud where God was.
22 Then said Yahweh unto Moses, Thus, shalt thou say, unto the sons of Israel, —Ye yourselves, have seen that out of the heavens, have I spoken with you.
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 [aught] beside me, —neither gods of silver, nor gods of gold, shall ye make to yourselves.
You must not make any idols of silver or gold to worship in addition to me.
24 An altar of earth, shalt thou make to me, then shalt thou offer thereupon thine ascending-sacrifices and thy peace-offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen. In every place where I may mention my name, will I come in unto thee and will 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 But if, an altar of stones, thou wilt make to me, thou shalt not build them hewn, —for as soon as thou hast lifted, thy sharp tool, thereupon, 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, —lest by any means thy shame be discovered thereupon.
Also, you must not go up to my altar using steps, so your private parts are not seen.’”
