Ten Commandments Teaching
From Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 KJV Bible
And Moses called all Israel, and said to them,
Hear, O Israel, the Statutes and Judgments
Which I speak in your ears this day,
That ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.
And God spake all these words, saying,
I am the LORD thy God,
Who brought thee out of the land of Egypt,
From the house of bondage.
I. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
II. Thou shalt not make unto thee any Graven Image, or any likeness that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I am the LORD thy God, a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
III. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in Vain: for the LORD will not hold guiltless he that taketh His name in vain.
IV. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it Holy, to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: 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: that thy male servant and thy female servant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God brought thee out from there with a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm: Therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day. For six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
V. Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged; and that it may be well with thee, and that thy days may be long in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
VI. Thou shalt not Murder.
VII. Thou shalt not commit Adultery.
VIII. Thou shalt not Steal.
IX. Thou shalt not bear False Witness against thy neighbor.
X. Thou shalt not Covet thy neighbor's wife, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his field, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.
Now these, the Commandments, the Statutes, and the Judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: And that thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And thou shalt teach these commandments diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve Him, and shalt swear by His name. Ye shall not go after other gods. Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, and thou shalt do right. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these Commandments before the Lord our God, as He hath commanded us. Deuteronomy Chapter 6
NOTES ON THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Numbering: Catholics, Jews and Lutherans combine the 1st and 2nd Commandments into one. Jews make up for this by listing a preamble detailing being saved out of Egypt as the 1st Commandment, while the Catholics and Lutherans add a Commandment at the end by dividing the 10th into two parts, one forbidding covetousness toward your neighbor's wife, and the other forbidding covetousness towards his goods.
Lists: Lutherans, Catholics, Jews and others may have other differences with the Protestant KJV version reproduced here by a compilation and justification of the two lists found respectively in Exodus and Deuteronomy.There are not many differences between these two lists, and they tend to be minor. It is mostly a matter of taste and choice as to how they are reconciled into one.
Commandment Order: It should be noted that the Ten Commandments are listed in the Bible in order of importance to represent a well ordered hierarchy of values, with the most important Commandment first, and the least important last.
Misinterpretation: Many of the Commandments are widely and commonly misunderstood. The most common error is in regard to the meaning of the word Kill (5th Commandment). It doesn't mean simply kill but, more accurately, it means Murder, properly defined as unlawful killing. Lawful killing is not intended to be prohibited as the Bible lists many crimes that are to be punished by death, not to speak of killing in war and self-defense.
Taking of the Lord's name in vain (3rd Commandment) should be understood to mean disobedience, criticizing, rebellion, blaming, or even second-guessing God, not the simple utterance of the name of God in anger toward some thing or some person, even when used as a profanity. This is not to condone the careless use of the Lord's name, but to restrict it to casual cursing, trivializes the importance of the 3rd Commandment.
Making Graven Images (2nd Commandment) should be understood as worshiping things of any sort, and the works of men in particular, as well as paying to much heed to material things, as opposed to the things of God.
Observing the Sabbath (4th Commandment) was then, as it is now, large matter of dispute both as to the proper day and the proper conduct suitable to that day.
Honoring parents (5th Commandment) should be understood as honoring them only in those ways, and for those things that qualify them as Godly parents.
Italicized Words have been omitted on occasion, first because none of them appears in original manuscripts, but were added under sometimes questionable circumstances by the translators to try to help less well-educated people better understand. They often serve a doubtful purpose even in that capacity, and some have been left out here.
Problems with combining the 1st and 2nd Commandments are that it lessens the prohibition against idolatry, graven images and materialism, and diminishes the importance of the one God concept. Plus it requires the dividing of the last and least important Commandment, the 10th into two Commandments.
Problems with dividing the 10th Commandment, that forbids covetousness, into two parts. It raises the importance of a prohibition on coveting beyond what is intended in the original manuscripts despite it being the least important commandment.
Combining the first two Commandments and dividing the last Commandment, seems disproportionate and unreasonable.
Fourth Commandment changes regarding the Sabbath are also problematical.
These Ten Commandments are the foundation stone of Judeo-Christian religion, culture, and our respective nations. No other documents are as important to our way of life. It is therefore necessary that we understand them as fully as we can.
As an aid to understanding and memory the following quick list is provided: