Exodus Chapter 20 — The Ten Commandments
God gives the Ten Commandments to the Israelites at Mount Sinai and establishes rules for proper worship and altar building.
1God*After “God”, the Hebrew has the two letters “Aleph Tav” (the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet), not as a word, but as a grammatical marker. spoke all these words, saying,
2“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3“You shall have no other gods before me.
4“You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, the LORD 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,
6and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD†LORD or GOD in all caps is from the Hebrew יהוה Yahweh except when otherwise noted as being from the short form יה Yah. your God,‡or, You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who misuses his name.
8“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9You shall labor six days, and do all your work,
10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD 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;
11for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.
12“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
13“You shall not murder.
14“You shall not commit adultery.
15“You shall not steal.
16“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
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.”
18All 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.
19They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.”
20Moses 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.”
21The people stayed at a distance, and Moses came near to the thick darkness where God was.
22The LORD 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.
23You shall most certainly not make gods of silver or gods of gold for yourselves to be alongside me.
24You 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.
25If 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.
26You shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed to it.’
WEB Translation
Notable Verses
Exodus 20:3
“You shall have no other gods before me.”
This is the first commandment, establishing the requirement of exclusive devotion to God.
Exodus 20:12
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you.”
This is the first commandment concerning human relationships and is accompanied by a specific promise.
Exodus 20:20
“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.'”
Moses explains the purpose of the awe-inspiring display of God's power as a deterrent against wrongdoing.
Chapter Summary
Exodus 20 records the pivotal moment when God delivers the Ten Commandments to the Israelites at Mount Sinai. After reminding the people of their deliverance from Egypt, God provides the core requirements of the covenant: prohibiting other gods and idols, honoring His name and the Sabbath, and maintaining moral conduct toward others through honoring parents and avoiding murder, adultery, theft, false testimony, and covetousness. The narrative describes the people's intense fear as they witness thunder, lightning, and smoke on the mountain, prompting them to ask Moses to mediate between them and God so they do not perish. The chapter concludes with God giving Moses specific instructions regarding the prohibition of gold and silver idols and the proper way to construct simple altars of earth or unhewn stone, emphasizing that human tools would pollute a sacred altar.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Ten Commandments include worshiping only God, avoiding idols, not misusing God's name, keeping the Sabbath, honoring parents, and prohibiting murder, adultery, theft, false testimony, and coveting.
The Israelites witnessed terrifying physical manifestations of God's presence, including thunder, lightning, a smoking mountain, and a loud trumpet blast, which made them fear for their lives.
God commanded that altars be made of earth or natural, uncut stones. He specifically forbade using tools on the stones, stating that doing so would pollute the altar.
Study Note
The Ten Commandments are often referred to as the Decalogue, a term derived from the Greek words for 'ten' and 'words'.
Related Chapters
Deuteronomy 5
This chapter contains the second formal listing of the Ten Commandments in the Bible.
Matthew 5
Jesus provides deeper spiritual commentary on several of the commandments introduced in Exodus 20.
Exodus 19
This preceding chapter describes the preparation and arrival at Mount Sinai before the law was given.
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