Exodus 20New King James Version
The Ten Commandments(A)
20 And God spoke(B)all these words, saying:
2 (C)“IamtheLordyour God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,(D)out of the house of[a]bondage.
3 (E)“You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 (F)“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likenessof anythingthatisin heaven above, or thatisin the earth beneath, or thatisin the water under the earth;5 (G)you shall not bow down to them nor[b]serve them.(H)For I, theLordyour God,ama jealous God,(I)visiting[c]the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourthgenerationsof those who hate Me,6 but(J)showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 (K)“You shall not take the name of theLordyour God in vain, for theLord(L)will not holdhimguiltless who takes His name in vain.
8 (M)“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.9 (N)Six days you shall labor and do all your work,10 but the(O)seventh dayisthe Sabbath of theLordyour God.In ityou shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle,(P)nor your stranger whoiswithin your gates.11 For(Q)insix days theLordmade the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all thatisin them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore theLordblessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
12 (R)“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be(S)long upon the land which theLordyour God is giving you.
13 (T)“You shall not murder.
14 (U)“You shall not commit(V)adultery.
15 (W)“You shall not steal.
16 (X)“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 (Y)“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house;(Z)you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything thatisyour neighbor’s.”
The People Afraid of God’s Presence
18 Now(AA)all the people(AB)witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain(AC)smoking; and when the people sawit,they trembled and stood afar off.19 Then they said to Moses,(AD)“You speak with us, and we will hear; but(AE)let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
20 And Moses said to the people,(AF)“Do not fear;(AG)for God has come to test you, and(AH)that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.”21 So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near(AI)the thick darkness where Godwas.
The Law of the Altar
22 Then theLordsaid to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have talked with you(AJ)from heaven.23 You shall not makeanything to be(AK)with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves.24 An altar of(AL)earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings,(AM)your sheep and your oxen. In every(AN)place where I[d]record My name I will come to you, and I will(AO)bless you.25 And(AP)if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you(AQ)use your tool on it, you have profaned it.26 Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your(AR)nakedness may not be exposed on it.’
Footnotes
- Exodus 20:2slaves
- Exodus 20:5worship
- Exodus 20:5punishing
- Exodus 20:24cause My name to be remembered
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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