The Torah · Old Testament

Exodus 20

The commandments and the people’s request for Moses to speak

General context

God identifies himself as the Lord who brought Israel out of bondage, then gives commands concerning allegiance, worship and life with others. Israel must have no other gods, make no carved likenesses for themselves or bow to them, and not take the Lord's name in vain. The warning about image worship includes consequences reaching later generations and mercy toward those who love him and keep his commands. Sabbath rest extends to children, male and female servants, livestock and the resident stranger, and is grounded in the Lord's creation and seventh-day rest. The people are commanded to honor father and mother and forbidden to kill, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness or covet what belongs to a neighbor. Amid thunder, lightning, trumpet sound and the smoking mountain, they stand at a distance and ask Moses to speak with them, fearing death if God speaks. Moses tells them not to fear and connects God's testing and fear with avoiding sin. He approaches the thick darkness while they remain far off. Further instructions prohibit silver and gold gods and specify earthen or unhewn-stone altars without steps.

Cited passages: Exodus 20:1, Exodus 20:2, Exodus 20:3, Exodus 20:4, Exodus 20:5, Exodus 20:6, Exodus 20:7, Exodus 20:8, Exodus 20:9, Exodus 20:10, Exodus 20:11, Exodus 20:12, Exodus 20:13, Exodus 20:14, Exodus 20:15, Exodus 20:16, Exodus 20:17, Exodus 20:18, Exodus 20:19, Exodus 20:20, Exodus 20:21, Exodus 20:22, Exodus 20:23, Exodus 20:24, Exodus 20:25, Exodus 20:26

Exodus 20 (KJV)

¹And God spake all these words, saying,

²I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

³Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

⁴Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

⁵Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

⁶And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

⁷Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

⁸Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

⁹Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

¹⁰But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

¹¹For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

¹²Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

¹³Thou shalt not kill.

¹⁴Thou shalt not commit adultery.

¹⁵Thou shalt not steal.

¹⁶Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

¹⁷Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

¹⁸And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

¹⁹And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

²⁰And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

²¹And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

²²And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.

²³Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.

²⁴An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.

²⁵And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.

²⁶Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The opening grounds the address in Israel's release from Egyptian bondage. The Sabbath command explicitly includes servants, animals and the stranger within the gates. Honoring parents is linked with length of life in the land the Lord gives. The cited King James wording says 'Thou shalt not kill'; Bible in Basic English renders it as putting someone to death without cause. The guide does not settle every later question about the command's scope. The altar instructions distinguish earth from stone, prohibit tools on the stone and explain the ban on steps by the danger of exposed nakedness. No detailed altar dimensions or later sanctuary design appear here.

Cited passages: Exodus 20:2, Exodus 20:8, Exodus 20:9, Exodus 20:10, Exodus 20:11, Exodus 20:12, Exodus 20:13, Exodus 20:22, Exodus 20:23, Exodus 20:24, Exodus 20:25, Exodus 20:26

Literary context

Divine identity and remembered rescue precede the commands. Longer explanations accompany the prohibitions about images and the commands concerning Sabbath and parents, while several commands about harm to a neighbor are brief. The account then shifts from direct divine speech to the people's request for a mediator. Moses' instruction not to fear stands beside his statement that fear of God should prevent sin, creating a distinction within his own speech rather than removing fear from the scene. The final worship instructions return to the question of how the people are to approach the God who has spoken.

Key moments

The speaker recalls deliverance (Exodus 20:2). The Lord identifies himself as the one who brought Israel out of Egyptian bondage.
Sabbath rest reaches the household (Exodus 20:10). The command includes children, servants, livestock and the stranger within the gates.
The people ask Moses to speak (Exodus 20:19). They ask to hear Moses rather than God directly because they fear dying.
Stone altars must remain unhewn (Exodus 20:25). The instruction forbids using a tool on the stones of the altar.

For reflection

How does the opening reminder of deliverance shape the commands that follow?