Deuteronomy 5:18-28

18 No adultery.

19 No stealing.

20 No lies about your neighbor.

21 No coveting your neighbor's wife. And no lusting for his house, field, servant, maid, ox, or donkey either - nothing that belongs to your neighbor!

22 These are the words that God spoke to the whole congregation at the mountain. He spoke in a tremendous voice from the fire and cloud and dark mist. And that was it. No more words. Then he wrote them on two slabs of stone and gave them to me.

23 As it turned out, when you heard the Voice out of that dark cloud and saw the mountain on fire, you approached me, all the heads of your tribes and your leaders,

24 and said,

25 But why risk it further? This huge fire will devour us if we stay around any longer. If we hear God's voice anymore, we'll die for sure.

26 Has anyone ever known of anyone who has heard the Voice of God the way we have and lived to tell the story?

27 "From now on, you go and listen to what God, our God, says and then tell us what God tells you. We'll listen and we'll do it."

28 God heard what you said to me and told me, "I've heard what the people said to you. They're right - good and true words.

Deuteronomy 5:18-28 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.