Exodus 20:1-21

Ten Commandments

1 And God spoke all these words, saying,

2 "I [am] Yahweh, your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves.

3 "There shall be for you no other gods before me.

4 "You shall not make for yourself a divine image [with] any form that [is] in the heavens above or that [is] in the earth below or that [is] in the water below the earth.

5 You will not bow down to them, and you will not serve them, because I [am] Yahweh your God, a jealous God, punishing [the] guilt of [the] parents on the children on [the] third and on [the] fourth [generations] of those hating me,

6 and showing loyal love to thousands [of generations] of those loving me and of those keeping my commandments.

7 "You shall not {misuse the name of Yahweh your God}, because Yahweh will not leave unpunished [anyone] who {misuses his name}.

8 "Remember the day of the Sabbath, to consecrate it.

9 Six days you will work, and you will do all your work.

10 But the seventh day [is] a Sabbath for Yahweh your God; you will not do any work--you or your son or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your animal, or your alien who [is] in your gates--

11 because [in] six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that [is] in them, and on the seventh day he rested. Therefore Yahweh blessed the seventh day and consecrated it.

12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that your days can be long on the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving you.

13 "You shall not murder.

14 "You shall not commit adultery.

15 "You shall not steal.

16 "You shall not testify against your neighbor [with] a false witness.

17 "You shall not covet the house of your neighbor; you will not covet the wife of your neighbor or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that [is] your neighbor's."

18 And all the people [were] seeing the thunder and the lightning and the sound of the ram's horn and the mountain smoking, and the people saw, and they trembled, and they stood at a distance.

19 And they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will listen, but let not God speak with us, lest we die."

20 And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you so that his fear will be before you so that you do not sin."

21 And the people stood at a distance, and Moses approached the very thick cloud where God was.

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Exodus 20:1-21 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 20

In this chapter we have an account of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai; the preface to it, Ex 20:1,2, the ten commandments it consists of, Ex 20:8-17, the circumstances attending it, which caused the people to remove at some distance, Ex 20:18, when they desired of Moses, that he would speak to them and not God, who bid them not fear, since this was for the trial of them; but still they kept at a distance, while Moses drew nigh to God, Ex 20:19-21 who ordered him to caution the children of Israel against idolatry, and directed what sort of an altar he would have made whereon to offer their sacrifices, promising that where his name was recorded he would grant his presence and blessing, Ex 20:22-26.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Footnotes 4

[a]. "Generations" is understood from comparison with parallel verses (compare Exod 34:6-7; Deut 7:9)
[b]. "Generations" is understood from comparison with parallel verses ( compare Exod 34:6-7; Deut 7:9)
[c]. Literally "take up/bear/carry the name of Yahweh your God for [what is] worthless/false/empty"
[d]. Literally "bears his name for [what is] false"