The Word of the Lord

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Exodus 20

1 And God spoke all these words, saying,
2 I▵ am Jehovah thy God, who brought· thee ·out of the land of Egypt, out·​·of the house of servitude1.
3 ⊕ Thou shalt have◦ no◦ other gods before My faces2.
4 ⊕ Thou shalt not make to thee a carved◦ image, nor◦ any figure of what is in the heavens above, or what is in the earth beneath, or what is in the waters beneath the earth.
5 ⊕ Thou shalt not bow· thyself ·down to them, nor serve them; for I▵, Jehovah thy God, am a jealous God◦, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons, on the third and on the fourth generation3 of◦ those who hate Me;
6 and doing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 ⊕ Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold· him ·innocent who takes His name in vain.
8 ⊕ Remember the Sabbath day, to keep· it ·holy.
9 Six days shalt thou serve, and do all thy work▵4;
10 ⊙ but the seventh day is the Sabbath of◦ Jehovah thy God; thou shalt not do any work▵, thou◦, nor◦ thy son nor◦ thy daughter, thy manservant nor◦ thy maidservant, nor◦ thy beast, nor◦ thy sojourner who is in5 thy gates;
11 for in six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on◦ the seventh day; therefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day, and made· it ·holy.
12 ⊕ Honor◦ thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be prolonged upon the ground that Jehovah thy God is giving to thee.
13 ⊕ Thou shalt not murder.
14 ⊕ Thou shalt not commit·​·adultery.
15 ⊕ Thou shalt not steal.
16 ⊕ Thou shalt not answer against◦ thy neighbor▵ as a false witness6.
17 ⊕ Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s▵ house. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s▵ wife, nor◦ his manservant, nor◦ his maidservant, nor◦ his ox, nor◦ his donkey, nor◦ anything◦ that is thy neighbor’s▵.
18 And all the people saw the voices, and the torches, and the voice of the shophar, and the mountain smoking; and the people saw, and they quaked, and stood far·​·off.
19 And they said to▵ Moses, Speak thou◦ with us, and we will hear; and let not God speak with us, lest perchance we die.
20 And Moses said to▵ the people, Fear not; for God has come for the sake of tempting you, and so·​·that◦ the fear of Him may be before your faces, that you sin not▵.
21 And the people stood far·​·off, and Moses approached the dense·​·darkness where God was.
22 And Jehovah said to▵ Moses, Thus shalt thou say to▵ the sons of Israel: You◦ have seen that I have spoken with you from the heavens.
23 ⊕ You shall not make with Me gods of silver and gods of gold; you shall not make them to you.
24 ⊖ An altar of ground thou shalt make to Me, and shalt sacrifice on it thy burnt·​·offerings, and thy peace·​·offerings, thy flocks, and thy herds; in every place where I shall cause My name to be remembered, I will come to thee, and I will bless thee.
25 ⊖ And if thou make for Me an altar of stones, thou shalt not build it of hewn◦ stones; for if thou move thy chisel on it, then thou wilt profane it.
26 ⊖ And thou shalt not go·​·up on stairs on My altar, that thy nakedness be not revealed upon it.

1literally, “of servants”; but see the note at Micah 6:4

2“The signification of ‘faces,’ when predicated of God, is love, mercy, peace, good, thus the Lord Himself, for it is the Lord from whom these are” (AC 8867).

3as in AC 6239:8, AE 532:12, Coronis 35:3

4The word for “work,” here and in the following verse, applies especially to one’s daily occupation; it is also closely related to the word in Hebrew for “angel,” which reflects the concept of use.

5As to why “in” is used here, and not “within”: “Consequently ‘the sojourner in the gates’ denotes memory-knowledge in general, for memory-knowledge in general is in the gates, that is, in the entrance to the truths which are of the church” (AC 8890).

6as in TCR 321; but AC 8907 has “the witness of a lie.”