1 God spoke all these words: 2 “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 You must have no other gods before me. 4 You must not make for yourself a carved figure nor the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water below. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God. I punish the ancestors' wickedness by bringing punishment on the descendants, to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me. 6 But I show covenant faithfulness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 You must not take the name of Yahweh your God, in vain, for I will not hold guiltless anyone who takes my name in vain. 8 Remember the Sabbath day, to set it apart to me. 9 You must labor and do all your work for six days. 10 But the seventh day is a Sabbath for Yahweh your God. On it you must not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the foreigner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days Yahweh made the heavens and earth, the sea, and everything that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart. 12 Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live a long time in the land that Yahweh your God is giving you. 13 You must not murder anyone. 14 You must not commit adultery. 15 You must not steal from anyone. 16 You must not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17 You must not covet your neighbor's house; you must not covet your neighbor's wife, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” 18 All the people saw the thundering and the lightning, and heard the voice of the trumpet, and saw the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled and stood far off. 19 They said to Moses, “Speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, for God has come to test you so that the honor of him may be in you, and so that you do not sin.” 21 So the people stood far off, and Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. 22 Yahweh said to Moses, “This is what you must tell the Israelites: 'You yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 23 You will not make for yourselves other gods alongside me, gods of silver or gods of gold. 24 You must make an earthen altar for me, and you must sacrifice on it your burnt offerings, fellowship offerings, sheep, and oxen. In every place where I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make me an altar of stone, you must not build it of cut stones, for if you use your tools on it, you will have defiled it. 26 You must not go up to my altar on steps, so that your nakedness is not exposed.'”
Exodus · Unlocked Literal Bible
Exodus 20 Unlocked Literal Bible
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)