God’s Commands
Exodus 19:1-2, 16-19; 20:1-5a, 7-8, 12-17
God’s Agreement With Israel
19 1 The Israelites reached the Sinai desert in the third month of their trip from Egypt. 2They had traveled from Rephidim to the Sinai desert. The Israelites camped in the desert near Mount Sinai.
16 On the morning of the third day, a thick cloud came down onto the mountain. There was thunder and lightning and a very loud sound from a trumpet. All the people in the camp were frightened. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to a place near the mountain to meet God. 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke. Smoke rose off the mountain like smoke from a furnace.c This happened because the Lord came down to the mountain in fire. Also the whole mountain began to shake. 19 The noise from the trumpet became louder and louder. Every time Moses spoke to God, God answered him with a voice like thunder.
The Ten Commandments
20 1 Then God said, 2 “I am the Lord your God. I led you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves. These are the commands I give you:
3 “You must not worship any other gods except me.
4 “You must not make any idols.b Don’t make any statues or pictures of anything up in the sky or of anything on the earth or of anything down in the water. 5 Don’t worship or serve idols of any kind, because I, the Lord, am your God.
7 “You must not use the name of the Lord your God to make empty promises. If you do, the Lord will not let you go unpunished.
8 “You must remember to keep the Sabbathe a special day.
12 “You must honor and respect your father and your mother. Do this so that you will have a full life in the land that the Lord your God gives you.
13 “You must not murder anyone.
14 “You must not commit adultery.f
15 “You must not steal anything.
16 “You must not tell lies about other people.g
17 “You must not want to take your neighbor’s house. You must not want his wife. And you must not want his men and women servants or his cattle or his donkeys. You must not want to take anything that belongs to another person.”
c 19:18 furnace Or “kiln,” an oven for baking bricks to make them hard.
b 20:4 idol A statue of a false god that people worship. It can also mean anything that is more important to a person than God.
e 20:8 SabbathSaturday, the seventh day of the week and a special day for Israelites or Jews. By God’s command it was set aside as a time for the people to rest and honor God.
f 20:14 adultery Breaking a marriage promise by committing sexual sin.
g 20:16 Or “You must not be a false witness against your neighbor.”