The Bible — World English Bible

Exodus 20

In brief

Exodus 20 tells of the moment when God speaks to his people at Sinai and gives them the Ten Commandments, shortly after the exodus from Egypt. God begins by reminding them that he is the one who set Israel free. Then come words about the relationship with him: one God, no idols, his name, the day of rest. Then words about life with others: honoring parents, not murdering, not stealing, not coveting. Frightened by the thunder, the people prefer that Moses speak in their place. The chapter ends with instructions about the altar.

The chapter in 5 parts

  1. v. 1-6The God who sets free: one God, no idols
  2. v. 7-11God's name and the day of rest
  3. v. 12-17Living with others: parents, life, faithfulness, property, truth
  4. v. 18-21The people tremble and keep their distance
  5. v. 22-26How to approach God: the altar and worship

1God spoke all these words, saying,

2“I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3“You shall have no other gods before me.

4“You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

5you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me,

6and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7“You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your God, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who misuses his name.

8“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9You shall labor six days, and do all your work,

10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates;

11for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.

12“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.

13“You shall not murder.

14“You shall not commit adultery.

15“You shall not steal.

16“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

17“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

18All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance.

19They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.”

20Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won’t sin.”

21The people stayed at a distance, and Moses came near to the thick darkness where God was.

22Yahweh said to Moses, “This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.

23You shall most certainly not make gods of silver or gods of gold for yourselves to be alongside me.

24You shall make an altar of earth for me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I record my name I will come to you and I will bless you.

25If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of cut stones; for if you lift up your tool on it, you have polluted it.

26You shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed to it.’

Key verses

Verse 2
“I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Before any command, God recalls what he has done: he brought his people out of Egypt. The commandments are given to a people already set free, not to buy their freedom but to live it.

Verse 3
“You shall have no other gods before me.

The first commandment sets the center of everything: no other gods before God. Preachers remind us that idols are not only statues, but anything that takes first place in the heart.

Verse 8-10
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. You shall labor six days, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates;

The day of rest is offered to the whole household: son, daughter, servants and even the foreigner. One preacher sees in it a concern for the weakest, not only a personal right.

Verse 12
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.

Honoring one's father and mother is the first commandment turned toward others. It opens the second part of the ten words, devoted to life in society and the family.

Verse 19-20
They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won’t sin.”

The frightened people ask that Moses speak in their place. Moses answers not to be afraid, because God has come to test them and so that his fear may be before them, that they won't sin. The passage shows the distance felt before God's holiness.

Test your knowledge

All Bible quizzes →

Characters in this chapter

What the sermons say

The Ten Commandments: Loving God, Loving Your NeighborThis sermon rereads the Ten Commandments as a single invitation: to love God and love your neighbor. It starts from the origin of Mother's Day in Exodus 20:12 and dwells on the rest extended to the whole household in verse 10.Read the summary →Evaluate Yourself: The First and Greatest CommandmentThe preacher reads the first commandment alongside Jesus' answer about the greatest commandment. He invites us to examine who really holds first place in our lives, beyond what we show.Read the summary →Shavuot: God Gives You His Word Before His SpiritJohann Lange explains that Shavuot is traditionally the feast of the giving of the Torah at Sinai, and that the Pentecost of Acts 2 belongs to the same appointed time. He concludes that the Word and the Spirit cannot be separated.Read the summary →Give Up Your Iniquities to Live in Lasting HappinessYvan Castanou draws on the word of Exodus 20 that God visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children. He distinguishes a one-time sin from deep-rooted iniquity and calls us to put an end to it.Read the summary →

Frequently asked questions about Exodus 20

What are the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20?

They open with the relationship with God: no other gods, no carved images, not taking his name in vain, and remembering the day of rest. They continue with the relationship with others: honoring your father and mother, not murdering, not committing adultery, not stealing, not bearing false witness and not coveting. Christian traditions do not all number them the same way.

Why does God give the Ten Commandments after the exodus from Egypt?

Verse 2 shows that God first presents himself as the one who set his people free. The commandments are not meant to win freedom: they describe how to live for a people already set free, in relationship with him and with others.

What does the Sabbath commandment mean in Exodus 20?

God invites us to set aside a day for rest and not to work, neither ourselves nor those who depend on us, including the foreigner. Christians do not agree on how to apply it today: some keep Saturday, others Sunday, others see it mainly as a principle of rest and trust in God.

What does it mean to visit the iniquity of the fathers on the children (Exodus 20:5)?

The verse says that the consequences of rebellion against God can affect several generations, while his faithfulness extends to a thousand generations for those who love him. Christians understand this passage differently: some see mainly the concrete effects of parents' choices, others a more spiritual reach.

Articles quoting Exodus 20

← All chapters

World English Bible translation — public domain.