Deuteronomy 5

1 Moses called to all Israel and said to them, “Listen, Israel, to the statutes and the decrees that I will speak in your ears today, that you may learn them and keep them.

And Moses sent for all Israel, and said to them, Give ear, O Israel, to the laws and the decisions which I give you today, and give attention to them so that you may keep and do them.

2 Yahweh our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.

The Lord our God made an agreement with us in Horeb.

3 Yahweh did not make this covenant with our ancestors, but with us, all of us alive here today.

The Lord did not make this agreement with our fathers but with us, who are all living and present here today.

4 Yahweh spoke with you face to face on the mount out of the middle of the fire

The word of the Lord came to you face to face on the mountain, out of the heart of the fire,

5 (I stood between Yahweh and you at that time, to reveal to you his word; for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain). Yahweh said,

(I was between the Lord and you at that time, to make clear to you the word of the Lord: because, through fear of the fire, you did not go up the mountain; ) saying,

6 'I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

I am the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the prison-house.

7 You will have no other gods before me.

You are to have no other gods but me.

8 You will not make for yourself a carved figure nor any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water below.

You may not make for yourselves an image in the form of anything in heaven or on earth or in the waters under the earth:

9 You will not bow down to them or serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God. I punish the ancestors' wickedness by bringing punishment on the children, to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

You may not go down on your faces before them or give them worship: for I, the Lord your God, am a God who will not give his honour to another; and I will send punishment on the children for the wrongdoing of their fathers, to the third and fourth generation of my haters;

10 and showing covenant faithfulness to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments.

And I will have mercy through a thousand generations on those who have love for me and keep my laws.

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

You are not to make use of the name of the Lord your God for an evil purpose; whoever takes the Lord's name on his lips for an evil purpose will be judged as a sinner by the Lord.

12 Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as Yahweh your God commanded you.

Keep the Sabbath day as a holy day, as you have been ordered by the Lord your God.

13 For six days you will labor and do all your work;

On six days do all your work:

14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. On it you will not do any work—not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor any foreigner who is within your gates. This is so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.

But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on that day do no work, you or your son or your daughter, or your man-servant or your woman-servant, or your ox or your ass or any of your cattle, or the man from a strange country who is living among you; so that your man-servant and your woman-servant may have rest as well as you.

15 You will call to mind that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore Yahweh your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

And keep in mind that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord your God took you out of that land by his strong hand and his stretched-out arm: for this reason the Lord has given you orders to keep the Sabbath day.

16 Honor your father and your mother, as Yahweh your God has commanded you to do, that you may live a long time in the land that Yahweh your God gives you, and so that it may go well with you.

Give honour to your father and your mother, as you have been ordered by the Lord your God; so that your life may be long and all may be well for you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

17 You will not murder.

Do not put anyone to death without cause.

18 You will not commit adultery.

Do not be false to the married relation.

19 You will not steal.

Do not take the property of another.

20 You will not give false witness against your neighbor.

Do not give false witness against your neighbour;

21 You will not covet your neighbor's wife, you will not covet your neighbor's house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.'

Or let your desire be turned to your neighbour's wife, or his house or his field or his man-servant or his woman-servant or his ox or his ass or anything which is your neighbour's.

22 These words Yahweh spoke in a loud voice to all your assembly on the mountain out of the middle of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness; he did not add any more words. He wrote them down on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.

These words the Lord said to all of you together on the mountain, out of the heart of the fire, out of the cloud and the dark, with a great voice: and he said no more; he put them in writing on the two stones of the law and gave them to me.

23 It came about, when you heard the voice out of the middle of the darkness, while the mountain was burning, that you came near to me—all your elders and the heads of your tribes.

And after hearing the voice which came out of the dark while the mountain was burning with fire, all the heads of your tribes and your chiefs came to me,

24 You said, 'Look, Yahweh our God has shown us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the middle of the fire; we have seen today that when God speaks with people, they can live.

And said, The Lord has let us see his glory and his power, and his voice has come to us out of the fire: today we have seen that a man may go on living even after hearing the voice of God.

25 But why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of Yahweh our God any longer, we will die.

Why then is death to be our fate? For if the voice of the Lord our God comes to us any more, death will overtake us, and we will be burned up in this great fire.

26 For who besides us is there among all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speak out of the middle of the fire and lived, as we have done?

For what man is there in all the earth, who, hearing the voice of the living God as we have, out of the heart of the fire, has been kept from death?

27 As for you, you should go and listen to everything that Yahweh our God says; repeat to us everything that Yahweh our God says to you; we will listen to it and obey it.'

Do you go near: and after hearing everything which the Lord our God has to say, give us an account of all he has said to you, and we will give ear, and do it.

28 Yahweh heard your words when you spoke to me. He said to me, 'I have heard the words of this people, what they said to you. What they said was good.

Then the Lord, hearing your words to me, said to me, The words which this people have said to you have come to my ears: what they have said is well said.

29 Oh, that there were such a heart in them, that they would honor me and always keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their children forever!

If only they had such a heart in them at all times, so that they might go in fear of me and keep my orders and that it might be well for them and for their children for ever!

30 Go say to them, “Return to your tents.”

Now say to them, Go back to your tents.

31 But as for you, stand here by me, and I will tell you all the commandments, the statutes, and the decrees that you will teach them, so that they may keep them in the land that I will give them to possess.'

But as for you, keep your place here by me, and I will give you all the orders and the laws and the decisions which you are to make clear to them, so that they may do them in the land which I am giving them for their heritage.

32 You will keep, therefore, what Yahweh your God has commanded you; you will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

Take care, then, to do whatever the Lord your God has given you orders to do; let there be no turning away to the right hand or to the left.

33 You will walk in all the ways that Yahweh your God has commanded you, so that you may live, and so that it may go well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that you will possess.

Go on walking in the way ordered for you by the Lord your God, so that life may be yours and it may be well for you, and your days may be long in the land of your heritage.