Exodus 20
1 God spoke all these words, saying,
God spoke all the following words:
2 “I am the LORD your God, who 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 for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens 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 yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who 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 loving kindness to thousands of those 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 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who misuses his name.
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 You shall labour six days, and do all your work,
You have six days to work and earn your living,
10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger 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 the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.
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 your father and your mother, that your days may be long in 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 murder.
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 give false testimony against your neighbour.
You must not give false evidence against others.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbour’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 All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance.
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 They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t 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 Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won’t 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 The people stayed at a distance, and Moses came 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 The LORD said to Moses, “This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: ‘You yourselves 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 most certainly not make gods of silver or gods of gold for yourselves to be alongside me.
You must not make any idols of silver or gold to worship in addition to me.
24 You shall make an altar of earth for me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place 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 If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of cut stones; 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 You shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed to it.’
Also, you must not go up to my altar using steps, so your private parts are not seen.’”
