DeuteronomyChapter 5

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¹Then Moses called all Israel together. He said to them: Listen, Israel, to the laws and rules I am telling you today. Learn them and be careful to obey them. ²The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. ³He did not make this covenant with our fathers. He made it with all of us who are alive here today. ⁴The LORD spoke with you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. ⁵At that time I stood between the LORD and you. I told you the word of the LORD. You were afraid of the fire, so you would not go up the mountain. And the LORD said: ⁶"I am the LORD your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you were slaves. ⁷You shall have no other gods before me. ⁸You shall not make for yourself an idol. Do not make one in the shape of anything in the sky above, on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth. ⁹You shall not bow down to them or worship them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God. I punish the children for the sins of their fathers who hate me. I punish them to the third and fourth generations. ¹⁰But I show faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. ¹¹You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let anyone go unpunished who misuses his name. ¹²Keep the Sabbath day holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. ¹³Six days you shall work and do all your jobs. ¹⁴But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On that day you must not do any work. This is for you, your son, and your daughter. It is for your male and female servants. It is for your ox, your donkey, and all your animals. It is also for the foreigner living in your towns. Then your male and female servants may rest as you do. ¹⁵Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. The LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the LORD your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. ¹⁶Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you. Then you will live a long time, and it will go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you. ¹⁷You shall not murder. ¹⁸You shall not commit adultery. ¹⁹You shall not steal. ²⁰You shall not be a false witness against your neighbor. ²¹You shall not long to have your neighbor's wife. You shall not long to have your neighbor's house or field. You shall not long for his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."a ²²The LORD spoke these commandments in a loud voice to all of you gathered there. He spoke out of the fire, the cloud, and the deep darkness on the mountain. He added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me. ²³You heard the voice out of the darkness while the mountain was burning with fire. Then all the leaders of your tribes and your elders came to me. ²⁴You said, "The LORD our God has shown us his glory and greatness. We have heard his voice out of the fire. Today we have seen that a person can live even if God speaks with him. ²⁵But now, why should we die? This great fire will burn us up. If we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer, we will die. ²⁶What human being has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the fire, as we have, and lived? ²⁷You go near and listen to everything the LORD our God says. Then tell us everything the LORD our God tells you. We will listen and obey." ²⁸The LORD heard what you said to me. He said to me, "I have heard what these people said to you. Everything they said is good. ²⁹Oh, I wish they would always have hearts like this! I wish they would fear me and keep all my commands always. Then it would go well with them and with their children forever. ³⁰Go and tell them to go back to their tents. ³¹But you stay here with me. I will tell you all the commands, laws, and rules. You must teach them to the people. They must follow them in the land I am giving them to own." ³²So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you. Do not turn away to the right or to the left. ³³Walk in all the ways the LORD your God has commanded you. Then you will live, and things will go well for you. You will live long in the land you will own.