Deuteronomy 5:19-29

19 " "Do not steal. ¹

20 " "Do not accuse anyone falsely. ²

21 " "Do not desire another man's wife; do not desire his house, his land, his slaves, his cattle, his donkeys, or anything else that he owns.' ³

22 "These are the commandments the Lord gave to all of you when you were gathered at the mountain. When he spoke with a mighty voice from the fire and from the thick clouds, he gave these commandments and no others. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me. ⁴

23 "When the whole mountain was on fire and you heard the voice from the darkness, your leaders and the chiefs of your tribes came to me

24 and said, "The Lord our God showed us his greatness and his glory when we heard him speak from the fire! Today we have seen that it is possible for people to continue to live, even though God has spoken to them.

25 But why should we risk death again? That terrible fire will destroy us. We are sure to die if we hear the Lord our God speak again.

26 Has any human being ever lived after hearing the living God speak from a fire?

27 Go back, Moses, and listen to everything that the Lord our God says. Then return and tell us what he said to you. We will listen and obey.'

28 "When the Lord heard this, he said to me, "I have heard what these people said, and they are right.

29 If only they would always feel this way! If only they would always honor me and obey all my commands, so that everything would go well with them and their descendants forever.

Deuteronomy 5:19-29 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 5

In this chapter Moses, after a short preface, De 5:1-5, repeats the law of the decalogue, or ten commands, with some little variation, De 5:6-21, and then reminds the Israelites of the terrible manner in which it was delivered to them, De 5:22,23 which put them upon making a request that Moses might be a mediator between God and them, and hear what the Lord had to say, and report it to them; to which they promised obedience, De 5:24-27 and which being agreeable to the Lord was granted, De 5:28-31, and this laid them under a greater obligation to observe the commands of God, and keep them, De 5:32,33.

Cross References

• 1. 5.19Leviticus 19.11;Matthew 19.18;Mark 10.19;Luke 18.20;Romans 13.9.
• 2. 5.20Exodus 23.1;Matthew 19.18;Mark 10.19;Luke 18.20.
• 3. 5.21Romans 7.7; 13.9.
• 4. 5.22-27Hebrews 12.18, 19.