1 God spoke all these words:

2 »I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of slavery in Egypt.

3 »Do not have any other god.

4 »Do not make your own carved idols or statues that represent any creature in the sky, on the earth, or in the water.

5 »Do not worship them or serve them. I, Jehovah your God, am a God demanding exclusive devotion. I do not tolerate rivals. I will not share your affection with any other god. I punish children for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.

6 »I show mercy loving kindness to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my commandments.

7 »Never use the name of Jehovah your God in a false and evil way. Jehovah will make sure that anyone who is false, evil, careless and vain with his name will be punished.

8 »Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

9 »You have six days to do all your work.

10 »The seventh day is a Sabbath dedicated to Jehovah your God. Do not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.

11 »Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them in six days. He rested on the seventh day. Therefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 »Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land Jehovah your God gives you.

13 »Do not murder.

14 »Do not commit adultery.

15 »Do not steal.

16 »Do not lie accuse anyone falsely.

17 »Do not covet desire another man’s house. Do not desire his wife, his slaves, his cattle, his donkeys, or anything else that he owns.

18 The people heard the thunder and the trumpet blast. They saw the lightning and the smoking mountain. They trembled with fear and stood at a distance.

19 They said to Moses: »If you speak to us, we will listen. However, we are afraid that if God speaks to us, we will die.«

20 Moses responded: »Do not be afraid. God has only come to test you and to inspire you to obey him, so that you will not sin.«

21 But the people continued to stand at a distance. Only Moses went near the dark cloud where God was.

22 Jehovah commanded Moses to tell the Israelites: »You have seen how I have spoken to you from heaven.

23 »Do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gold to be worshiped in addition to me.

24 »Make an altar of earth for me. Sacrifice your sheep and your cattle as offerings to be completely burned and as peace offerings. In every place that I set-aside for you to worship me, I will come to you and bless you.

25 »If you make an altar of stone for me, do not build it out of cut stones. This is because when you use a chisel on stones, you make them unfit for my use.

26 »Do not build an altar for me with steps leading up to it. If you do, you will expose yourselves as you go up the steps.«