Deuteronomy 5:18-33

18 "Never commit adultery.

19 "Never steal.

20 "Never avoid the truth when you testify about your neighbor.

21 "Never desire to take your neighbor's wife away from him. "Never long for your neighbor's household, his field, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey, or anything else that belongs to him."

22 These are the commandments the LORD spoke to your whole assembly on the mountain. He spoke in a loud voice from the fire, the cloud, and the gloomy darkness. Then he stopped speaking. He wrote the commandments on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

23 But when you heard the voice coming from the darkness and saw the mountain blazing with fire, all the leaders and heads of your tribes came to me.

24 You said, "The LORD our God has let us see how great and glorious he is. We've heard his voice come from the fire. Today we've seen that people can live even if God speaks to them.

25 Why should we die? This great fire will consume us! If we continue to hear the voice of the LORD our God, we'll die!

26 Who has ever heard the voice of the living God speak from a fire, as we did, and lived?

27 [Moses,] go and listen to everything that the LORD our God says. Then tell us whatever the LORD our God tells you. We'll listen and obey."

28 When the LORD heard the words that you spoke to me, he said, "I have heard what these people said to you. Everything they said was good.

29 If only they would fear me and obey all my commandments as long as they live! Then things would go well for them and their children forever.

30 "Tell the people to go back to their tents.

31 But you stay here with me. I will give you all the commands, laws, and rules that you must teach them to obey in the land which I'm giving them to possess."

32 So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you. Never stop living this way.

33 Follow all the directions the LORD your God has given you. Then you will continue to live, life will go well for you, and you will live for a long time in the land that you are going to possess.

Deuteronomy 5:18-33 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.