Exodus 20
Ten Words, and a People Afraid to Come Near
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The Ten Commandments
20:1The Lord spoke all these words, saying,
20:2“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
20:3“You shall have no other gods except Me.
20:4“You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven above, on the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth.
20:5“You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I am the Lord your God, a jealous God, repaying the fathers’ sins upon children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me,
20:6“and showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My ordinances.
20:7“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not clear anyone who takes His name in vain.
20:8“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
20:9“You shall labor for six days and do all your work,
20:10“but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You shall do no work on it—you, your son, your daughter, your male slave, your female slave, your ox, your beast of burden, any of your livestock, or the sojourner living among you.
20:11“For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and the sea and everything in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and made it holy.
20:12“Honor your father and your mother, so that it may go well with you and you may live long on the good land the Lord your God is giving you.
20:13“You shall not commit adultery.
20:14“You shall not steal.
20:15“You shall not murder.
20:16“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
20:17“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, his field, his male slave, his female slave, his ox, his beast of burden, any of his livestock, or anything belonging to your neighbor.”
Fear and Reassurance
20:18All the people saw the sound, the flashes, the trumpet’s sound, and the smoking mountain. All the people were afraid and stood far away.
20:19They said to Moses, “You speak to us. Do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”
20:20Moses said to them, “Take courage. God has come to you to test you, so that the fear of Him may be in you and you may not sin.”
20:21The people stood far away, while Moses entered the thick darkness where God was.
The Law of the Altar
20:22The Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and announce to the sons of Israel: You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.
20:23“You shall not make gods of silver for yourselves, nor shall you make gods of gold for yourselves.
20:24“You shall make an altar of earth for Me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and offerings of well-being, your sheep and calves, in every place where I name My name. I will come to you and bless you.
20:25“If you make an altar of stones for Me, you shall not build it with cut stones, for you have laid your blade upon them, and they are defiled.
20:26“You shall not go up by steps to My altar, lest you expose your nakedness on it.”
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Saints Translation · Liturgical reading edition · V1 · working draft awaiting specialist review.