Exodus · Bible in Basic English
Exodus 20 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 And God said all these words:
1 God spoke all these words, saying,
2 I am the Lord your God who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the prison-house.
2 “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 You are to have no other gods but me.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 You are not to make an image or picture of anything in heaven or on the earth or in the waters under the earth:
4 “You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 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;
5 you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh 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,
6 And I will have mercy through a thousand generations on those who have love for me and keep my laws.
6 and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 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 a sinner by the Lord
7 “You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your God, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who misuses his name.
8 Keep in memory the Sabbath and let it be a holy day.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 On six days do all your work:
9 You shall labor six days, and do all your work,
10 But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on that day you are to do no work, you or your son or your daughter, your man-servant or your woman-servant, your cattle or the man from a strange country who is living among you:
10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh 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;
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and everything in them, and he took his rest on the seventh day: for this reason the Lord has given his blessing to the seventh day and made it holy.
11 for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.
12 Give honour to your father and to your mother, so that your life may be long in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.
13 Do not put anyone to death without cause.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 Do not be false to the married relation.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 Do not take the property of another.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 Do not give false witness against your neighbour.
16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 Let not your desire be turned to your neighbour's house, or his wife or his man-servant or his woman-servant or his ox or his ass or anything which is his.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
18 And all the people were watching the thunderings and the flames and the sound of the horn and the mountain smoking; and when they saw it, they kept far off, shaking with fear.
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.
19 And they said to Moses, To your words we will give ear, but let not the voice of God come to our ears, for fear death may come on us.
19 They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.”
20 And Moses said to the people, Have no fear: for God has come to put you to the test, so that fearing him you may be kept from sin.
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.”
21 And the people kept their places far off, but Moses went near to the dark cloud where God was.
21 The people stayed at a distance, and Moses came near to the thick darkness where God was.
22 And the Lord said to Moses, Say to the children of Israel, You yourselves have seen that my voice has come to you from heaven
22 Yahweh 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.
23 Gods of silver and gods of gold you are not to make for yourselves.
23 You shall most certainly not make gods of silver or gods of gold for yourselves to be alongside me.
24 Make for me an altar of earth, offering on it your burned offerings and your peace-offerings, your sheep and your oxen: in every place where I have put the memory of my name, I will come to you and give you my blessing.
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.
25 And if you make me an altar of stone do not make it of cut stones: for the touch of an instrument will make it unclean.
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.
26 And do not go up by steps to my altar, for fear that your bodies may be seen uncovered.
26 You shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed to it.’
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Moses
Drawn from the Nile, he led Israel out of Egypt and received God's Law.
Cited in the guide: Exodus 2–Deuteronomy 34
Cross references (26)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Deuteronomy 5:22; Deuteronomy 5:4; Deuteronomy 4:36; Deuteronomy 4:33; Acts 7:38
- 2 Deuteronomy 5:6; Hosea 13:4; Leviticus 26:13; Psalm 81:10; Exodus 13:3
- 3 Deuteronomy 5:7; Matthew 4:10; Psalm 81:9; Isaiah 46:9; Deuteronomy 6:14
- 4 Deuteronomy 5:8; Leviticus 26:1; Deuteronomy 4:15–19; Psalm 97:7; Leviticus 19:4
- 5 Deuteronomy 5:9; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 4:24; Exodus 34:14; Deuteronomy 6:15
- 6 Deuteronomy 7:9; 1 John 5:3; John 14:21; Jeremiah 32:39–40; Deuteronomy 5:29
- 7 Deuteronomy 5:11; Leviticus 19:12; James 5:12; Matthew 5:33–37; Psalm 50:14–16
- 8 Leviticus 26:2; Leviticus 19:3; Exodus 31:13–16; Genesis 2:3; Leviticus 23:3
- 9 Luke 13:14; Exodus 23:12; Exodus 34:21; Leviticus 23:3; Exodus 35:2
- 10 Deuteronomy 5:14–15; Exodus 34:21; Exodus 16:27–28; Numbers 15:32–36; Deuteronomy 24:14–22
- 11 Genesis 1:1–2; Genesis 2:2–3; Exodus 31:17; Mark 2:27–28; Psalm 95:4–7
- 12 Ephesians 6:1–3; Colossians 3:20; Deuteronomy 5:16; Mark 7:10; Proverbs 23:22–25
- 13 Romans 13:9; Deuteronomy 5:17; Genesis 9:5–6; Matthew 5:21–22; Exodus 21:14
- 14 Hebrews 13:4; Deuteronomy 5:18; Romans 7:2–3; Romans 13:9; Leviticus 20:10
- 15 Romans 13:9; Ephesians 4:28; Leviticus 19:11; Leviticus 19:13; Matthew 19:18
- 16 Proverbs 19:5; Matthew 19:18; Psalm 15:3; Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 19:15–21
- 17 Romans 13:9; Luke 12:15; Hebrews 13:5; Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 3:5
- 18 Exodus 19:16–18; Jeremiah 23:23; Hebrews 12:18–19; Psalm 139:7–8
- 19 Deuteronomy 18:16; Acts 7:38; Deuteronomy 5:23–27; Exodus 33:20; Galatians 3:19
- 20 Deuteronomy 13:3; Proverbs 3:7; Isaiah 8:13; 1 Samuel 12:20; Proverbs 16:6
- 21 1 Kings 8:12; Psalm 97:2; Psalm 18:9; 1 Timothy 6:16; 2 Chronicles 6:1
- 22 Nehemiah 9:13; Deuteronomy 4:36
- 23 Ezekiel 20:39; Zephaniah 1:5; 2 Kings 17:33; Revelation 22:15; Exodus 20:3–5
- 24 Deuteronomy 12:5; Psalm 132:13–14; 2 Chronicles 6:6; 1 Kings 9:3; Deuteronomy 12:11
- 25 Joshua 8:31; Deuteronomy 27:5–6
- 26 1 Peter 1:16; Ecclesiastes 5:1; Psalm 89:7; Leviticus 10:3; Hebrews 12:28–29
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… second time: "And ye have made void the word of God by reason of your tradition;" Christ confessing in the plainest manner Him to be Father and God, who said in the law, "Honour thy father and mother; that it may be well with thee." For the true God did confess the commandment of the law as the word of …
If it is said, "Thou shall not commit adultery, Thou shall not kill, Thou shall not steal," and other similar commandments, not human lips but the divine oracles have enounced them.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
For, "honor," saith He, "thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest live long upon the earth." And again, "He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death." But He, omitting the first, the reward appointed for them that honor their parents, states that which is more awful, the punishment, I mean, threatened to such as dishonor them; …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
The Lord came down in fire on Mount Sinai, and the people could not bear it, but said to Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear; and let not God speak to us, lest we die: and again, For who is there of all flesh that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
… things pertaining to God, was not a minister of the Spirit; for the law was given, "ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator," namely Moses, in accordance with the summons of the people, "Speak thou with us,...but let not God speak with us." Thus faith in Moses is referred to the Lord, the Mediator between God and men, …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 8 (1895)