1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 I am Jehovah thy God, who have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make thyself any graven image, or any form of what is in the heavens above, or what is in the earth beneath, or what is in the waters under the earth: 5 thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I, Jehovah thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and to the fourth [generation] of them that hate me, 6 and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. 7 Thou shalt not idly utter the name of Jehovah thy God; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that idly uttereth his name. 8 Remember the sabbath day to hallow it. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work; 10 but the seventh day is the sabbath of Jehovah thy God: thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy bondman, nor thy handmaid, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. 11 For in six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore Jehovah blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 12 Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be prolonged in the land that Jehovah thy God giveth thee. 13 Thou shalt not kill. 14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. 15 Thou shalt not steal. 16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 17 Thou shalt not desire thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not desire thy neighbour's wife, nor his bondman, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour's. 18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the flames, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw [it], they trembled, and stood afar off, 19 and said to Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die. 20 And Moses said to the people, Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before you, that ye sin not. 21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near to the obscurity where God was. 22 And Jehovah said to Moses, Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: Ye have seen that I have spoken with you from the heavens. 23 Ye shall not make beside me gods of silver, and ye shall not make to you gods of gold. 24 An altar of earth shalt thou make unto me, and shalt sacrifice on it thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings, thy sheep and thine oxen: in all places where I shall make my name to be remembered, I will come unto thee, and bless thee. 25 And if thou make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone; for if thou lift up thy sharp tool upon it, thou hast profaned it. 26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.
Exodus 20 Darby Translation
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
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)