Exodus 20:1-17

The Ten Commandments

1 Then God spoke all these words, saying,

2 "¹I am the LORD your God, ²who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

3 "³You shall have no other ⁴gods before * Me.

4 "⁵You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above * or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.

5 "⁶You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a ⁷jealous God, ⁸visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,

6 but showing lovingkindness to ⁹thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

7 "¹⁰You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

8 "Remember ¹¹the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 "¹²Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it ¹³you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant * or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.

11 "¹⁴For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore * the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

12 "¹⁵Honor your father and your mother, that your ¹⁶days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.

13 "¹⁷You shall not murder.

14 "¹⁸You shall not commit adultery.

15 "¹⁹You shall not steal.

16 "²⁰You shall not bear false witness against your ²¹neighbor.

17 "²²You shall not covet your neighbor's house; ²³you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

Exodus 20:1-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 20

In this chapter we have an account of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai; the preface to it, Ex 20:1,2, the ten commandments it consists of, Ex 20:8-17, the circumstances attending it, which caused the people to remove at some distance, Ex 20:18, when they desired of Moses, that he would speak to them and not God, who bid them not fear, since this was for the trial of them; but still they kept at a distance, while Moses drew nigh to God, Ex 20:19-21 who ordered him to caution the children of Israel against idolatry, and directed what sort of an altar he would have made whereon to offer their sacrifices, promising that where his name was recorded he would grant his presence and blessing, Ex 20:22-26.

Cross References

• 1. Leviticus 26:1; Deuteronomy 5:6; Psalms 81:10
• 2. Exodus 13:3; Exodus 15:13, 16; Deuteronomy 7:8
• 3. Deuteronomy 6:14; 2 Kings 17:35; Jeremiah 25:6; Jeremiah 35:15
• 4. Exodus 15:11; Exodus 20:23
• 5. Leviticus 19:4; Leviticus 26:1; Deuteronomy 4:15-19; Deuteronomy 27:15
• 6. Exodus 23:24; Joshua 23:7; 2 Kings 17:35
• 7. Exodus 34:14; Deuteronomy 4:24; Joshua 24:19; Nahum 1:2
• 8. Exodus 34:6, 7; Numbers 14:18, 33; Deuteronomy 5:9, 10; 1 Kings 21:29; Jeremiah 32:18
• 9. Deuteronomy 7:9
• 10. Leviticus 19:12; Deuteronomy 6:13; Deuteronomy 10:20
• 11. Exodus 23:12; Exodus 31:13-16; Leviticus 26:2; Deuteronomy 5:12
• 12. Exodus 34:21; Exodus 35:2, 3; Leviticus 23:3; Deuteronomy 5:13; Luke 13:14
• 13. Nehemiah 13:16-19
• 14. Genesis 2:2, 3; Exodus 31:17
• 15. Leviticus 19:3; Deuteronomy 27:16; Matthew 15:4; Matthew 19:19; Mark 7:10; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20; Ephesians 6:2
• 16. Deuteronomy 5:16, 33; Deuteronomy 6:2; Deuteronomy 11:8, 9; Jeremiah 35:7
• 17. Genesis 9:6; Exodus 21:12; Leviticus 24:17; Matthew 5:21; Matthew 19:18; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20; Romans 13:9; James 2:11
• 18. Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 5:18; Matthew 5:27; Matthew 19:18; Romans 13:9
• 19. Exodus 21:16; Leviticus 19:11, 13; Matthew 19:18; Romans 13:9
• 20. Exodus 23:1, 7; Deuteronomy 5:20; Matthew 19:18
• 21. Leviticus 19:18
• 22. Deuteronomy 5:21; Romans 7:7; Romans 13:9; Ephesians 5:3, 5
• 23. Proverbs 6:29; Matthew 5:28

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "slaves"
• [b]. Or "besides Me"
• [c]. Or "a graven image"
• [d]. Or "hold him guiltless"
• [e]. Lit "is in your gates"