Deuteronomy 5:13-23

13 On six days do all your work:

14 But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on that day do no work, you or your son or your daughter, or your man-servant or your woman-servant, or your ox or your ass or any of your cattle, or the man from a strange country who is living among you; so that your man-servant and your woman-servant may have rest as well as you.

15 And keep in mind that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord your God took you out of that land by his strong hand and his stretched-out arm: for this reason the Lord has given you orders to keep the Sabbath day.

16 Give honour to your father and your mother, as you have been ordered by the Lord your God; so that your life may be long and all may be well for you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

17 Do not put anyone to death without cause.

18 Do not be false to the married relation.

19 Do not take the property of another.

20 Do not give false witness against your neighbour;

21 Or let your desire be turned to your neighbour's wife, or his house or his field or his man-servant or his woman-servant or his ox or his ass or anything which is your neighbour's.

22 These words the Lord said to all of you together on the mountain, out of the heart of the fire, out of the cloud and the dark, with a great voice: and he said no more; he put them in writing on the two stones of the law and gave them to me.

23 And after hearing the voice which came out of the dark while the mountain was burning with fire, all the heads of your tribes and your chiefs came to me,

Deuteronomy 5:13-23 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.