The Ten Commandments

The Decalogue (from the Greek dekalogos, meaning ten words) or the Ten Commandments appears twice in complete form in the Hebrew Bible (i.e., Christianity’s Old Testament):

at the Book of Exodus, Chapter 20, verses 2–17,

and at the Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 5, verses 6–21.

In the ERV (Easy-to-Read Version), both follow:

Exodus 20:2-17

Exo 20:2  “I am the LORD your God. I led you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves. These are the commands I give you: 

Exo 20:3  “You must not worship any other gods except me. 

Exo 20:4  “You must not make any idols. Don’t make any statues or pictures of anything up in the sky or of anything on the earth or of anything down in the water. 

Exo 20:5  Don’t worship or serve idols of any kind, because I, the LORD, am your God. I hate my people worshiping other gods. People who sin against me become my enemies, and I will punish them. And I will punish their children, their grandchildren, and even their great-grandchildren. 

Exo 20:6  But I will be very kind to people who love me and obey my commands. I will be kind to their families for thousands of generations. 

Exo 20:7  “You must not use the name of the LORD your God to make empty promises. If you do, the LORD will not let you go unpunished. 

Exo 20:8  “You must remember to keep the Sabbath a special day. 

Exo 20:9  You may work six days a week to do your job. 

Exo 20:10  But the seventh day is a day of rest in honor of the LORD your God. So on that day no one should work—not you, your sons and daughters, or your men and women slaves. Even your animals and the foreigners living in your cities must not work! 

Exo 20:11  That is because the LORD worked six days and made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. And on the seventh day, he rested. In this way the LORD blessed the Sabbath—the day of rest. He made that a very special day. 

Exo 20:12  “You must honor and respect your father and your mother. Do this so that you will have a full life in the land that the LORD your God gives you. 

Exo 20:13  “You must not murder anyone. 

Exo 20:14  “You must not commit adultery. 

Exo 20:15  “You must not steal anything. 

Exo 20:16  “You must not tell lies about other people. 

Exo 20:17  “You must not want to take your neighbor’s house. You must not want his wife. And you must not want his men and women servants or his cattle or his donkeys. You must not want to take anything that belongs to another person.” 

Deuteronomy 5:6–21

Deu 5:6  ‘I am the LORD your God. I led you out of Egypt where you were slaves. 

Deu 5:7  ‘You must not worship any other gods except me. 

Deu 5:8  ‘You must not make any idols. Don’t make any statues or pictures of anything up in the sky or of anything on the earth or of anything down in the water. 

Deu 5:9  Don’t worship or serve idols of any kind, because I am the LORD your God. I hate for my people to worship other gods. People who sin against me become my enemies. And I will punish them, and their children, their grandchildren, and even their great-grandchildren. 

Deu 5:10  But I will be very kind to people who love me and obey my commands. I will be kind to their families for thousands of generations! 

Deu 5:11  ‘You must not use the name of the LORD your God to make empty promises. If you do, the LORD will not let you go unpunished. 

Deu 5:12  ‘You must keep the Sabbath a special day like the LORD your God commanded. 

Deu 5:13  Work six days a week and do your job, 

Deu 5:14  but the seventh day is a day of rest in honor of the LORD your God. So on that day no one should work—not you, your sons and daughters, foreigners living in your cities or your men and women slaves. Not even your cattle, donkeys, and other animals should do any work! Your slaves should be able to rest just as you do. 

Deu 5:15  Don’t forget that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. The LORD your God brought you out of Egypt with his great power and made you free. That is why the LORD your God commands you to always make the Sabbath a special day. 

Deu 5:16  ‘You must honor your father and your mother. The LORD your God has commanded you to do this. If you follow this command, you will live a long time, and everything will go well for you in the land that the LORD your God gives you. 

Deu 5:17  ‘You must not murder anyone. 

Deu 5:18  ‘You must not commit the sin of adultery. 

Deu 5:19  ‘You must not steal. 

Deu 5:20  ‘You must not tell lies about other people. 

Deu 5:21  ‘You must not want another man’s wife. You must not want his house, his fields, his men and women servants, his cattle, or his donkeys. You must not want to take anything that belongs to another person.'”