Deuteronomy 5:20-30

20 Thou shalt not beare false witnesse agenst thy neghboure,

21 Thou shalt not luste after thi neghbours wife: thou shat not couet thi neyghbours housse, felde, seruaunte, mayde, oxe, asse nor ought that is thi neghbours.

22 These wordes the Lorde spake vnto al youre multitude in the mount out of the fyre, cloude and darcknesse, with a loude voyce and added nomoare there to, and wrote them in .ij. tables of stone and delyuered them vnto me.

23 But as soone as ye herde the voyce out off the darcknesse and sawe the hill burne with fyre, ye came vnto me all the heedes of youre tribes and youre elders:

24 and ye sayed: beholde, the Lorde oure God hath shewed us his glorye and his greatnesse, and we haue herde his voyce out of the fyre, and we haue sene this daye that God maye talke with a man and he yet lyue.

25 And now wherfore shulde we dye that this greate fyre shulde consume us: Yf we shulde heare the voyce of the Lorde oure God any moare, we shulde dye.

26 For what is any flesh that he shulde heare the voyce of the lyuynge God speakynge out of the fyre as we haue done and shulde yet lyue:

27 Goo thou ad heare all that the Lorde oure God sayeth, and tell thou vnto us all that the Lorde oure God sayeth vnto the, and we will heare it and doo it.

28 And the Lorde herde the voyce of youre wordes when ye spake vnto me, and he sayed vnto me: I haue herde the voyce of the wordes of this people which they haue spoke vnto the they haue well sayed all that they haue sayed.

29 Oh that they had soche an herte with them to feare me ad kepe all my commaundmentes alwaye, that it myghte goo well with them and with their childern for euer.

30 Goo ad saye vnto them: gett you in to youre tentes agayne,

Deuteronomy 5:20-30 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.