Exodus 20
Open in the reader1And God spoke all these words:
2“I am He-Who-Is your God, who brought you out of the land of Two-Straits, out of the house of slavery.
3You shall have no other gods before Me.
4You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.
5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, He-Who-Is your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
6but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7You shall not take the name of He-Who-Is your God in vain, for He-Who-Is will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
8Remember the Rest day by keeping it devoted.
9Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10but the seventh day is a Rest to He-Who-Is your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates.
11For in six days He-Who-Is made the heavens and the earth and the Sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore He-Who-Is blessed the Rest day and set it apart as devoted.
12Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that He-Who-Is your God is giving you.
13You shall not murder.
14You shall not commit adultery.
15You shall not steal.
16You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sounding of the ram’s horn, and the mountain enveloped in smoke, they trembled and stood at a distance.
19“Speak to us yourself and we will listen,” they said to Drawn-Out. “But do not let God speak to us, or we will die.”
20“Do not be afraid,” Drawn-Out replied. “For God has come to test you, so that the fear of Him may be before you, to keep you from sinning.”
21And the people stood at a distance as Drawn-Out approached the thick darkness where God was.
22Then He-Who-Is said to Drawn-Out, “This is what you are to tell the children of Strives-with-God: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven.
23You are not to make any gods alongside Me; you are not to make for yourselves gods of silver or gold.
24You are to make for Me an altar of earth, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats and cattle. In every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.
25Now if you make an altar of stones for Me, you must not build it with stones shaped by tools; for if you use a chisel on it, you will defile it.
26And you must not go up to My altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.’