The Bible
Exodus Chapter 20
1God spoke all these words, saying, 2"I am Yahweh your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery.
3"Have no other gods before me.
4"Don't 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 below the land: 5don't bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the iniquity of the fathers, 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"Don't carry the name of Yahweh your God emptily, for Yahweh will not clear the one who carries his name emptily.
8"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9Labor for six days, and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. Don't do any work in it. Not you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant. Not your livestock, nor the stranger who is within your gates; 11for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh 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 Yahweh your God is giving you.
13"Don't murder.
14"Don't commit adultery.
15"Don't steal.
16"Don't give false testimony against your neighbor.
17"Don't covet your neighbor's house. Don't 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.
22Yahweh said to Moses, "This is what to tell the children of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 23Most certainly do not make gods of silver or gods of gold for yourselves to be alongside me. 24Make an altar of earth for me, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and 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, don't build it of cut stones; for if you lift up your tool on it, you have polluted it. 26Don't go up by steps to my altar, so your nakedness won't be exposed to it.'
The Bible text is an adaptation of the WEB
to include nuanced meanings of particular ancient words for placenames, God and others of special interest.
In general square brackets:[] are used to indicate words not found in the original text.
They also indicate the 5 books of the Psalms, and the letters in Psalm 119;
and a few passages considered by some to be of questionable authenticity, marked with an asterisk(*).
