Deuteronomy 5

Moses summoned all the people of Israel and said to them, “You Israelite people, listen to all the rules that I am commanding you today. Learn them and be sure to obey them.

When we were at Mount Horeb, God our God made a covenant with us.

But this covenant was not only for our ancestors; he made it also for us who are alive now. \*

God personally spoke with us on that mountain, from the middle of the fire.

On that day, I stood between God and your parents in order to tell them what he said. That was because they were afraid of the fire, and they did not want to climb up the mountain. This is what God said,

‘I am God your God, the one you worship. I am the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt. I am the one who freed you from being slaves there. \*

Do not worship any god other than me.

Do not carve yourself a figure that looks like anything in the sky or that is on the ground or that is in the water under the ground. \* 9 Do not bow down to any idol or worship it, because I am God your God. I demand that you worship me only! I will punish the descendants of those who hate me. I will punish their descendants for three, even four {generations}.

However, I will faithfully love forever all of those who love me and obey my commandments. \* 11 {I am} God your God, so do not use my name for the wrong purpose. This is because I will certainly punish those who use my name for wrong purposes. \* 12 Remember that the seventh day of every week belongs to me. This is according to what I, God your God, am commanding you.

There are six days each week for you to do all your labor.

But the seventh day is a day of rest, a day dedicated to me, God your God. On that day you must not do any work. Neither you nor your sons, your daughters, your male or female slaves, your livestock, and not even foreigners who are living in your country may work. \*

Remember that your families were slaves in Egypt. I, God your God, brought you out of there by my very great power. As a result, I am commanding that all of you must rest on the seventh day of each week. \* 16 Honor your father and your mother, just like I, God your God, am commanding you. Do this in order that you may live a long time in the land that I, God your God, will give you. Also do this in order that things will go well for you there. \* 17 Do not murder anyone.

Do not commit adultery with anyone.

Do not steal anything.

Do not tell lies about someone in court. \* 21 Do not covet someone else’s wife, someone else’s house, someone else’s field, someone else’s male or female slave, someone else’s livestock, someone else’s donkeys, or anything else that another person owns.’ \*

Those are the commandments that God commanded your families when they were at {the bottom of} the mountain. God spoke with a very loud voice from the middle of the fire, and there were dark clouds {around the mountain}. He spoke only those Ten Commandments. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me. \*

Your parents heard God’s voice when he spoke to them out of the darkness, while there was a big fire burning on the mountain. After that, their leaders came to me.

{One of} them said, ‘Listen to us! God our God showed us that he is very glorious and great when we heard him speak from the fire. Today we have realized that it is possible for us human beings to continue to live even though God has spoken to us. \*

But we are afraid that we will die. We are afraid that this immense fire will burn us all up if we go on hearing God’s voice.

We are the only people on earth who have remained alive after hearing the all-powerful God speak to them from a fire!

{So Moses}, you go {up the mountain} and listen to everything that God our God says. Then {come back} and tell us everything that he has said, and we will listen to what he has said and obey it.’ \*

God heard your leaders say that. {When I went back up the mountain}, God said to me, ‘I have heard what your leaders have said. What they have said is right.

I surely wish that they would always have awesome respect for me and obey all my commandments. I desire their worship so that things may go well for them and for their descendants forever.

So go {down} and tell them to return to their tents. \*

But {then,} you {come back up} here and stand near me. I will give you all the rules and decrees that I {want them to obey}. Then you can teach them to the people so that they will obey them when they are in the land that I am giving to them.’ \*

Be sure that you do everything that God our God has commanded us to do. Be sure to obey his commandments.

Conduct your lives as God our God has commanded us to do. This is so that you may live a long time. Also, this is so that things may go well for you {when you are living} in the land that you will occupy. \*