1 And God spake all these words, saying,

2I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

4Thou 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:

5Thou 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;

6And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

7Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

8Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10But 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:

11For 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.

12Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

13Thou shalt not kill.

14Thou shalt not commit adultery.

15Thou shalt not steal.

16Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

17Thou 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.

18And 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.

19And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

20And 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.

21And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

22And 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.

23Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.

24An 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.

25And 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.

26Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

1 And God spake all these words, saying,

2I am the Lord thy God, which haue brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage:

3Thou shalt haue no other Gods before me.

4Thou shalt not make vnto thee any grauen Image, or any likenesse of any thing that is in heauen aboue, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water vnder the earth.

5Thou shalt not bow downe thy selfe to them, nor serue them: For I the Lord thy God am a iealous God, visiting the iniquitie of the fathers vpon the children, vnto the thirde and fourth generation of them that hate me:

6And shewing mercy vnto thousands of them that loue mee, and keepe my Commandements.

7Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vaine: for the Lord will not holde him guiltlesse, that taketh his Name in vaine.

8Remember the Sabbath day, to keepe it holy.

9Sixe dayes shalt thou labour, and doe all thy worke:

10But the seuenth day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not doe any worke, thou, nor thy sonne, nor thy daughter, thy man seruant, nor thy mayd seruant, nor thy cattell, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11For in sixe dayes the Lord made heauen and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seuenth day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and halowed it.

12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy dayes may bee long vpon the land, which the Lord thy God giueth thee.

13Thou shalt not kill.

14Thou shalt not commit adultery.

15Thou shalt not steale.

16Thou shalt not beare false witnes against thy neighbour.

17Thou shalt not couet thy neighbours house, thou shalt not couet thy neighbours wife, nor his man seruant, nor his maid seruant, nor his oxe, nor his asse, nor any thing that is thy neighbours.

18 And all the people saw the thundrings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountaine smoking: and when the people saw it, they remooued, and stood a farre off.

19And they saide vnto Moses, Speake thou with vs, and wee will heare: But let not God speake with vs, lest we die.

20And Moses said vnto the people, Feare not: for God is come to prooue you, and that his feare may bee before your faces, that ye sinne not.

21And the people stood afarre off, and Moses drew neere vnto the thicke darkenes, where God was.

22 And the Lord said vnto Moses, Thus thou shalt say vnto the children of Israel, Yee haue seene that I haue talked with you from heauen.

23Ye shall not make with me gods of siluer, neither shall ye make vnto you gods of gold.

24 An Altar of earth thou shalt make vnto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheepe, and thine oxen: In all places where I record my Name, I will come vnto thee, and I will blesse thee.

25And if thou wilt make mee an Altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewen stone: for if thou lift vp thy toole vpon it, thou hast polluted it.

26Neither shalt thou goe vp by steps vnto mine Altar, that thy nakednesse be not discouered thereon.

 

 

 

III == Deut 5:7 ; 6:14 ; 2nd Kings 17:35 ; Jer 25:6 ; 35:15

 

IV == Lev 26:1 ; Deut 4:16 ; 5:8 ; 27:15 ; Ps 97:7

 

 

 

V == Ex 34:7 , 14 ; Deut 4:24 6:15 ; Nah 1:2

 

 

 

 

 

 

VII == Ex 23:1 ; Lev 19:12 ; Deut 5:11 ; Ps 15:4 ; Mic 6:11 ; Matt 5:33

 

VII == Ex 31:13-14 ; Lev 19:3 , 30 ; 28:2 ; Deut 5:12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XI == Gen 2:2 ; Acts 4:24; 14:15 Rev 10:6; 14:7

 

 

 

XII == Lev 19:3 ; Matt 15:4 ; Mark 7:10 ; Luke 18:20 ; Eph 6:2-3

 

XIII == Deut 5:17 ; Matt 5:21 ; Rom 13:9 ; Jas 2:11

XIV == Deut 5:18 ; Matt 5:27 ; Jas 2:11

XV == Lev 19:11 ; 1st Thess 4:6

XVI == Ex 23:1 ; Deut 5:20 ; 19:16 ; Matt 19:18

XVII == Mic 2:2 ; Hab 2:9 ; Luke 12:15 ; Acts 20:33 ; Rom 7:7 ; 13:9 ; Heb 13:5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XIX == Gel 3:19-20 ; Heb 12:19

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXII == Deut 4:36 ; Neh 9:13

 

 

 

XXIII == 2nd cor 6:14-16

 

XXIV == Deut 12:5 , 11 , 21

 

 

 

1 Then God delivered all these commandments:

2 "I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.

3 You shall not have other gods besides me.

4 You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth;

5 you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation;

6 but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation, on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7 "You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain.

8 "Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.

9 Six days you may labor and do all your work,

10 but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God. No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who lives with you.

11 In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

12 "Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you.

13 "You shall not kill.

14 "You shall not commit adultery.

15 "You shall not steal.

16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him."

18 When the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the trumpet blast and the mountain smoking, they all feared and trembled. So they took up a position much farther away

19 and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we shall die."

20 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid, for God has come to you only to test you and put his fear upon you, lest you should sin."

21 Still the people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the cloud where God was.

22 The LORD told Moses, "Thus shall you speak to the Israelites: You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven.

23 Do not make anything to rank with me; neither gods of silver nor gods of gold shall you make for yourselves.

24 "An altar of earth you shall make for me, and upon it you shall sacrifice your holocausts and peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In whatever place I choose for the remembrance of my name I will come to you and bless you.

25 If you make an altar of stone for me, do not build it of cut stone, for by putting a tool to it you desecrate it.

26 You shall not go up by steps to my altar, on which you must not be indecently uncovered.

v 1,2. After about six weeks of travel, the people would camp here at Mt Sinai for about eleven months. Wilderness doesn’t necessarily mean desert, but uninhabited, or simply pasture land. It was surely more productive in that day. Some take this to mean they have been on the road two or three months, but I am with scholars of a different opinion. “In the third month” and “the same day” in Jewish usage would mean and emphasize the first day of the month, which was 45 days after Egypt. One day was spent on the mount, verse 3, and one day returning the people’s answer, verses 7 and 8. Then there were three days of preparation, or a total of fifty days from the passover to the proclamation of the law. Hence, the Feast of Pentecost, that is, the fiftieth day, was the inauguration of the Old Testament Church. Divine wisdom is apparent in the selection of the same reason for the institution of the New Testament Church, Jn. 1:17; Acts 2:1.

v 3.4. The Lord is giving Moses a new revelation. The Lord had redeemed His people, but now he is going to propose a way of living, not a way of salvation.

A GAVEN THING, NOR THE LIKENESS OF ANY THING: All such images, or likenesses, are forbidden by this commandment, as are made to be adored and served; according to that which immediately follows, thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them. That is, all such as are designed for idols or image-gods, or are worshipped with divine honour. But otherwise images, pictures, or representations, even in the house of God, and in the very sanctuary so far from being forbidden, are expressly authorized by the word of God. See Ex. 25. 15, and etc.; chap. 38. 7; Num. 21:8, 9; 1 Chron. 28:18, 19; 2 Chron. 3:10.

v 5,6. Moses was to offer the people this wonderful position as God’s special people. All they had to do was obey His proposal.

v 7,8. The word was first given to the elders and they passed it on to the people. The people all answered affirmatively, but they failed to take into account their moral and spiritual weaknesses, which would make them unable to be obedient. The law merely condemns. Grace enables us “both to will and do His good pleasure, Phil. 2:13.

v 9-13. God speaking to Moses out of the thick cloud would cause the people to realize that Moses’ instructions were truly coming from God. The wording of verse 10 very clearly indicates that the “third day” is “day after tomorrow”. They would be put to death if they touched the mount, but were to come up to it.

v 14, 15. Part of their purification was abstinence from sexual activity. In Lev. 15: 16-18, they were unclean after sexual activity till they washed and until evening.

v 16-19. The mountain quaking is further described in Ps. 68:8 and 114:4. The granite mountain on fire and smoking like a furnace would be frightening without the earth quaking. Then the increasing loudness of the trumpet would strike more fear, and it must have been awesome to hear God answer Moses.

v 20-26. Presumably the flames receded as Moses advanced upwards, otherwise he advanced into the midst of them. The first command to Moses was to go back down and charge the people not to approach the mountain in their curiosity to gaze, or (v 25) the Lord Himself would strike them dead. Moses thought it unnecessary because he had already set bounds for them not to cross, but the Lord knows the frailty of man, and that he would be inclined to disobey. In some places the assumed mountain rose up perpendicularly, so it would be easy to reach out and touch. The first time I partook of the Lord’s Table after being saved and baptized, younger kids peeked in the church windows to see what I was doing. Moses and Aaron could go up, but no one else. Again the warning of death for others trying to come up where the Lord was. Moses obeyed the Lord’s command. Much of these chapters is repeated in Deuteronomy.