Exodus 20 King James Version (KJV)
20 And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou 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.
5 Thou 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;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lordwill not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But 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:
11 For 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.
12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
13 Thou shalt not kill.
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15 Thou shalt not steal.
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
17 Thou 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.
18 And 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.
19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
20 And 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.
21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
22 And 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.
23 Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.
24 An 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.
25 And 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.
26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.
Commentary
Basic principles of the covenant (20:1-17)
The form of the covenant God made with Israel followed a pattern that was common in the ancient world when an overlord made a covenant with his subjects. God introduced himself to his people by declaring his name and status as Yahweh the sovereign Lord, and recounting to his people what he had graciously done for them. He reminded them that their God was living and active, and that the words they were about to hear were a revelation direct from him (20:1-2).
After the introduction came the basic covenant obligations, summarized in ten easily remembered commandments. These were not laws in the legal sense, for they carried no penalties. Rather they were the principles on which the nation’s laws would be built and by which the nation should live.
The first three commandments were concerned mainly with attitudes to God. He alone was the true God; there was room for no other (3). No image of any kind was to be an object of worship, whether used as a symbol of the true God or as the representation of some other (false) god. God would act in righteous judgment against those who rebelled in this way, and against those of succeeding generations who followed the bad example of their ancestors. The sins of one generation would affect the next. But to those who remained faithful, God would prove himself faithful (4-6).
Yahweh’s people were not to misuse his name, either in swearing to a statement that was not true or in swearing to a vow that was not kept. They were also to be careful not to use his name irreverently, such as when cursing in anger (7; cf. Lev 24:16).
In the fourth commandment God showed that people could combine an attitude of reverence towards him with an attitude of care for their own needs. The weekly Sabbath encouraged people to worship God, since the day was set apart to him as holy, but at the same time it benefited them by making sure they had adequate rest from their regular work (8-11).
The remaining six commandments dealt with people’s duties in the community. They were to be faithful to their family responsibilities, and in doing so would help towards a healthy stable society and ensure for themselves a long and happy life. They were to act with love and consideration towards others by refraining from murder, maintaining purity in sexual relationships, respecting other people’s rights to their possessions, refusing to make false accusations, and avoiding the desire for anything belonging to another person (12-17).
Correct attitudes in worship (20:18-26)
Moses was satisfied when he saw that the people, having witnessed the frightening events connected with God’s coming to Mount Sinai, were suitably humbled. They became aware of their shortcomings and at the same time developed a greater fear of God (18-21).
People were to show a similarly humble attitude when they built altars at places of God’s special revelation (e.g. 17:14-16). Because Israel was a wandering people, such altars were not to be permanent; because Israel was a sinful people, the altars were not to be lavish. They were to consist of simply a mound of earth or a heap of loose rocks, depending on which material was available in the region. The altars were not to be so high that they required steps, in order to avoid any immodesty that might occur if people lifted up their robes while climbing the steps (22-26; cf. 28:42-43).
Characteristics of Hebrew laws
Hebrew laws were mainly of two kinds. The first kind we have met in the Ten Commandments.
These were absolute standards, usually in the negative (e.g. ‘You shall not steal’). The second kind, which
we shall meet repeatedly in the next three chapters, consisted of laws that probably resulted from cases where Moses or his assistants had given judgments, and those judgments now became standards for use in future cases (e.g. ‘If a man borrows anything from his neighbour, and it is hurt or dies . . . he shall make full restitution’). Laws of the first kind may be considered basic principles; those of the second kind, the application of those principles to specific circumstances.
When reading the Hebrew law code, we should remember that it was designed to suit the cultural and social habits of the time. It’s purpose was to maintain order and administer justice among a people whose way of life was already established. For example, it did not immediately outlaw slavery, for the social, economic and political order of the age was so constructed that slavery could not be instantly abolished. But Hebrew law introduced attitudes of consideration for the welfare of others that were unknown in most other ancient cultures, and so began the process that eventually brought an end to slavery.
Hebrew law was in some ways similar to other law codes of the ancient world, but it also had some important differences. A fundamental requirement was that the punishment had to fit the crime. There was not the brutality found in some ancient nations, where punishments were out of all proportion to the crime (21:22-25; Deut 25:3). Also, justice was the same for everyone, regardless of status. Laws did not favour the upper classes, but guaranteed a fair hearing for all (23:3,6; Lev 19:15).
In particular the Hebrew law code protected the rights of the defenceless and disadvantaged, such as the poor (23:6), foreigners (23:9), widows and orphans (22:22), debtors who sold themselves into slavery (21:1-11) and even those who were born slaves (23:12).
The basic reason for these differences was no doubt that the Hebrew law came from God, a fact that is stated repeatedly. Legal, moral and religious matters were not separated as in some law codes, for in the community of God’s people all areas of life were relevant to each other. The people viewed everything in the light of their understanding of God and their relation to him.