29 Aug 2025 – jeffersonvann

Exodus 20

Exodus 20:1 Then God spoke all these words, and this is what he said,

Exodus 20:2 “I am Yahveh your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, taking you out of the house of slavery.

Exodus 20:3 “No other gods before me are for you.

Exodus 20:4 “You will not make for yourself a carved image, or any reproduction of anything that is in the sky above, or that is in the land beneath, or that is in the water under the land.

Exodus 20:5 You will not bow down to them or slave for them, because I Yahveh your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,

Exodus 20:6 but showing covenant faithfulness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Exodus 20:7 “You will not use the name of Yahveh your God hypocritically, because Yahveh will not hold him guiltless who uses his name hypocritically.

Exodus 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day, by keeping it holy.

Exodus 20:9 Six days you will work, and do all your labor

Exodus 20:10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahveh your God. On it you will not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave, or your female slave, or your livestock, or the foreign guest who is within your gates.

Exodus 20:11 Because in six days Yahveh made the sky and land, the sea, and everything that is in them, and ceased on the seventh day. Therefore, Yahveh blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Exodus 20:12 “Value your father and your mother, so that your lives may be extended in the land that Yahveh your God is giving you.

Exodus 20:13 “Do not murder.

Exodus 20:14 “Do not commit adultery.

Exodus 20:15 “Do not steal.

Exodus 20:16 “Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.

Exodus 20:17 “Do not crave[1] your neighbor’s house; Do not lust after your neighbor’s wife, or greedily seek his male slave, or his female slave, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Exodus 20:18 Then all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off

Exodus 20:19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or else we will die.”

Exodus 20:20 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, because God has come to test you, so that the fear of him may be before you, so that you may not fail.”

Exodus 20:21 The people stood far off, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

Exodus 20:22 And Yahveh told Moses, “This is what you should say to the people of Israel: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have communicated with you from the sky.

Exodus 20:23 Do not make gods of silver to represent me, nor make for yourselves gods of gold.

Exodus 20:24 You should make for me an earthen altar and sacrifice on it your whole burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. I will come to you and bless you in each place where I cause my name to be remembered.

Exodus 20:25 If you make me an altar of stone, you should not build it out of carved stones, because if you use your tool on it you defile it.

Exodus 20:26 And do not go up by steps to my altar, so that your nakedness is not exposed on it.’

[1]חמד = crave. Exodus 20:17; 34:24.

Exodus 20 quotes:

“Exodus 20:3 records the words of the first commandment: “You shall have no other Gods before me.” Topping the list of ten, this “law to love by” reminds us that God the Creator, who revealed Himself through His Word and His world, is the one, the only one, to trust, obey, worship, and love. This God, rather than the variety of “gods” people revere, must have first place in our lives. Five Learning Center activities, focusing on the themes of “One” and “First,” are intended to help participants gain a greater understanding of this important instruction and grasp the message that the First. Commandment invites us into an intimate union with a loving God.”

Wezeman, Phyllis Vos, and Judith Harris Chase. Laws to Love by : The Ten Commandments. Educational Ministries, 1996. p. 15.

“Law is an important part of every human society because it regulates human conduct and defines moral standards. This is especially true of the society in the Bible, the people of God. In both the Old and New Testaments, law and the way life is shaped by law are significant concerns that have various expressions and understandings. The first five books of the Bible, Genesis through Deuteronomy, deal in large part with the giving of the law to ancient Israel. Here are grouped the major collections of law for the whole Bible, including two versions of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5). But the rest of the Old Testament constantly refers back to the laws. For example, the prophets rely on them to announce God’s judgment on the people; and the history books (such as Kings and Ezra) and wisdom writings (including Proverbs and Job) assume the grounding of Israel in the law.”

Dutcher-Walls, Patricia, et al. The Commandments : For a Blessed Life. Kerygma Program, 1999. p. 3.

“The ten commandments are introduced by the statement, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Exodus 20:2; Deuteronomy 5:6) . Israel had a history. For more than four hundred years, it had been a nation of slaves. Then, without any action on their part to merit it, the people had experienced a series of miracles, culminating in their passage through the Red Sea and the subsequent destruction of the enemies who were in pursuit of them. It was on the basis of this experience that God had a right to give them a body of commandments.”

Kalas, J. Ellsworth. The Ten Commandments from the Back Side. Abingdon Press, 1998. p. 108.