Exodus 20 | King James Version

King James Version

1 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the LORD thy God, which 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 unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and 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 take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is , and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD 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 covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. 18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it , they removed, and stood afar off. 19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. 20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. 21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was . 22 And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 23 Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold. 24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. 25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. 26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

New International Reader’s Version

God gives his people the Ten Commandments

1 Here are all the words God spoke. He said, 2 ‘I am the LORD your God. I brought you out of Egypt. That is the land where you were slaves. 3 ‘Do not put any other gods in place of me. 4 ‘Do not make for yourself statues of gods that look like anything in the sky. They may not look like anything on the earth or in the waters either. 5 Do not bow down to them or worship them. I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God. I cause the sins of the parents to affect their children. I will cause the sins of those who hate me to affect even their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 6 But for all time to come I show love to all those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 ‘Do not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will find guilty anyone who misuses his name. 8 ‘Remember to keep the Sabbath day holy. 9 Do all your work in six days. 10 But the seventh day is a sabbath to honour the LORD your God. Do not do any work on that day. The same command applies to your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and your animals. It also applies to any outsiders who live in your towns. 11 In six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea and everything in them. But he rested on the seventh day. So the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 12 ‘Honour your father and mother. Then you will live a long time in the land the LORD your God is giving you. 13 ‘Do not murder. 14 ‘Do not commit adultery. 15 ‘Do not steal. 16 ‘Do not be a false witness against your neighbour. 17 ‘Do not want to have anything your neighbour owns. Do not want to have your neighbour’s house, wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey.’ 18 The people saw the thunder and lightning. They heard the trumpet. They saw the mountain covered with smoke. They trembled with fear and stayed a long way off. 19 They said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself. Then we’ll listen. But don’t let God speak to us. If he does, we’ll die.’ 20 Moses said to the people, ‘Don’t be afraid. God has come to test you. He wants you to have respect for him. That will keep you from sinning.’ 21 Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. But the people remained a long way off.

Worship the Lord

22 Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Here is what you must tell the people of Israel. Say to them, “You have seen for yourselves what I said to you from heaven. 23 Do not put any other gods in place of me. Do not make silver or gold statues of them for yourselves. 24 ‘ “Make an altar out of soil for me. Sacrifice your burnt offerings and friendship offerings on it. Sacrifice your sheep, goats and cattle on it. I will come to you and bless you everywhere I cause my name to be honoured. 25 If you make an altar out of stones to honour me, do not build it with blocks of stone. You will make it ‘unclean’ if you use a tool on it. 26 Do not walk up steps to my altar. If you do, someone might see your naked body under your robes.”