Below are the lists that contain the 10 Commandments or the Decalogue as recorded in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. We also provide a list of commandments written in a short form, and lists that include Jewish and Catholic numbers for the Ten Commandments.
The 10 laws of Moses were provided by God Himself to teach us the way to lead a more fulfilling life today and be pleasing to Him.
God gave the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, accompanied by explosions, smoke and the sound of a trumpet to highlight the importance of these laws. Moses wrote God’s commands from Exodus 20 and then recapped the events within Deuteronomy 5. There are only minor variations in the emphasis of the narratives. Both versions are provided below, with the list of commands in their short form.
The order of the commands on the three lists below is a reflection of the numbers used throughout most all of the Christian world, even though Catholics, Jews and others employ different systems of numbering.
The 10 Commandments in Short Form from KJV Bible
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honour thy father and thy mother.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house.
The 10 Commandments Recorded in Exodus 20 (Contemporary English Version)
1. I am the Lord your God, the one who brought you out of Egypt where you were slaves. Do not worship any god except me.
2. Do not make idols that look like anything in the sky or on earth or in the ocean under the earth. Don’t bow down and worship idols. I am the Lord your God, and I demand all your love. If you reject me, I will punish your families for three or four generations. But if you love me and obey my laws, I will be kind to your families for thousands of generations.
3. Do not misuse my name. I am the Lord your God, and I will punish anyone who misuses my name.
4. Remember that the Sabbath Day belongs to me. You have six days when you can do your work, but the seventh day of each week belongs to me, your God. No one is to work on that day—not you, your children, your slaves, your animals, or the foreigners who live in your towns. In six days I made the sky, the earth, the oceans, and everything in them, but on the seventh day I rested. That’s why I made the Sabbath a special day that belongs to me.
5. Respect your father and your mother, and you will live a long time in the land I am giving you.
6. Do not murder.
7. Be faithful in marriage.
8. Do not steal.
9. Do not tell lies about others.
10. Do not want anything that belongs to someone else. Don’t want anyone’s house, wife or husband, slaves, oxen, donkeys or anything else.
The 10 Commandments Recorded in Deuteronomy 5 (Amplified Version)
1. I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make for yourself any idol, or any likeness (form, manifestation) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth [as an object to worship]. You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous (impassioned) God [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine], visiting (avenging) the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers on the children [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers], to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing graciousness and steadfast lovingkindness to thousands [of generations] of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, irreverently, in false affirmations or in ways that impugn the character of God]; for the Lord will not hold guiltless nor leave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain [disregarding its reverence and its power].
4. Remember the Sabbath (seventh) day to keep it holy (set apart, dedicated to God). Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath [a day of rest dedicated] to the Lord your God; on that day you shall not do any work, you or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock or the temporary resident (foreigner) who stays within your [city] gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested (ceased) on the seventh day. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy [that is, set it apart for His purposes].
5. Honor (respect, obey, care for) your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged in the land the Lord your God gives you.
6. You shall not commit murder (unjustified, deliberate homicide).
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal [secretly, openly, fraudulently, or through carelessness].
9. You shall not testify falsely [that is, lie, withhold, or manipulate the truth] against your neighbor (any person).
10. You shall not covet [that is, selfishly desire and attempt to acquire] your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
The Decalogue in Jewish Chronological Order (Complete Jewish Bible)
1. I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the abode of slavery.
2. You are to have no other gods before me. You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline. You are not to bow down to them or serve them; for I, Adonai your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey my mitzvot.
3. You are not to use lightly the name of Adonai your God, because Adonai will not leave unpunished someone who uses his name lightly.
4. Remember the day, Shabbat, to set it apart for God. You have six days to labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Shabbat for Adonai your God. On it, you are not to do any kind of work — not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property. For in six days, Adonai made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. This is why Adonai blessed the day, Shabbat, and separated it for himself.
5. Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land which Adonai your God is giving you.
6. Do not murder.
7. Do not commit adultery.
8. Do not steal.
9. Do not give false evidence against your neighbor.
10. Do not covet your neighbor’s house; do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
The Decalogue in Catholic Chronological Order (New Catholic Bible)
1. I am the Lord, your God, you shall not have other gods instead of me.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.
3. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.
4. Honor your father and your mother.
5. You shall not kill.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not give false witness against your neighbor.
9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.
The Lutherans use the same chronological order, but they do not follow what Catholics refer to as the 9th and 10th Commandments, following the chronology from Exodus 20.
Find out how to understand the 10 Commandments by studying each commandment and making a commitment to live by the commandments. To further understand, check out the following articles: “Decoding the Ten Commandments.”
This is probably the most complete list of the 10 commandments that I have ever read.
Thank you for sharing such knowledge about this subject.
According to other sources, The Ten Commandments are as follows with corresponding commentaries:
“I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have any gods before Me.”
This commandment forbids idolatry, the worship of false gods and goddesses, and it prohibits polytheism, the belief in many gods, insisting instead on monotheism, the belief in one God. This commandment forbids making golden calves, building temples to Isis, and worshiping statues of Caesar, for example.
“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”
The faithful are required to honor the name of God. It makes sense that if you’re to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, then you’re naturally to respect the name of God with equal passion and vigor.
“Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.”
The Jewish celebration of Sabbath (Shabbat) begins at sundown on Friday evening and lasts until sundown on Saturday. Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christians go to church on Sunday, treating it as the Lord’s Day instead of Saturday to honor the day Christ rose from the dead.
“Honor thy father and mother.”
This commandment obliges the faithful to show respect for their parents — as children and adults. Children must obey their parents, and adults must respect and see to the care of their parents when they become old and infirm.
“Thou shalt not kill.”
The better translation from the Hebrew would be “Thou shalt not murder” — a subtle distinction but an important one to the Church. Killing an innocent person is considered murder. Killing an unjust aggressor to preserve your own life is still killing, but it isn’t considered murder or immoral.
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
The sixth and ninth commandments honor human sexuality. This commandment forbids the actual, physical act of having immoral sexual activity, specifically adultery, which is sex with someone else’s spouse or a spouse cheating on their partner. This commandment also includes fornication, which is sex between unmarried people, prostitution, pornography, homosexual activity, masturbation, group sex, rape, incest, pedophilia, bestiality, and necrophilia.
“Thou shalt not steal.”
The seventh and tenth commandments focus on respecting and honoring the possessions of others. This commandment forbids the act of taking someone else’s property. The Catholic Church believes that this commandment also denounces cheating people of their money or property, depriving workers of their just wage, or not giving employers a full day’s work for a full day’s pay. Embezzlement, fraud, tax evasion, and vandalism are all considered extensions of violations of the Seventh Commandment.
“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”
The Eighth Commandment condemns lying. Because God is regarded as the author of all truth, the Church believes that humans are obligated to honor the truth. The most obvious way to fulfill this commandment is not to lie — intentionally deceive another by speaking a falsehood. So a good Catholic is who you want to buy a used car from.
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.”
The Ninth Commandment forbids the intentional desire and longing for immoral sexuality. To sin in the heart, Jesus says, is to lust after a woman or a man in your heart with the desire and will to have immoral sex with them. Just as human life is a gift from God and needs to be respected, defended, and protected, so, too, is human sexuality. Catholicism regards human sexuality as a divine gift, so it’s considered sacred in the proper context: marriage.
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.”
The Tenth Commandment forbids the wanting or taking of someone else’s property. Along with the Seventh Commandment, this commandment condemns theft and the feelings of envy, greed, and jealousy in reaction to what other people have.
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According to Christian belief, the Ten Commandments are important rules from God that tell Christians how to live.
The first four commandments are instructions about how humans should relate to God:
Do not worship any other gods – Many Christians believe the first commandment is the most important. Christians believe that there is only one God who is worthy of worship.
Do not make any idols – The Bible actually says not to make any images of things from Heaven or Earth.
Do not misuse the name of God – God’s name should be honoured and respected.
Keep the Sabbath day holy – One day a week, known as the Sabbath, should be set aside for God. The Christian Sabbath is Sunday, and on this day many people go to church and spend time with their families.
The last six commandments are about how people should treat each other:
Honour your father and mother – Christians should love and respect their parents.
Do not commit murder – For Christians, human life has a special status, and many believe that only God should have the power to end a human life.
Do not commit adultery – A married person should not have a sexual relationship with anyone except the person to whom they are married.
Do not steal – A person should not take things that do not belong to them without permission.
Do not lie – A person should be truthful and not tell lies.
Do not covet – To covet means to be jealous of what someone else has. Christians should be content with what God has given them and not focus on wealth and possessions.
As believers in Jesus Christ, we are called to a new life and are asked to make moral choices that keep us united with God. With the help and grace of the Holy Spirit, we can choose ways to act to keep us close to God, to help other people, and to be witnesses to Jesus.
The Ten Commandments guide us in making choices that help us to live as God wants us to live. The first three commandments tell us how to love God; the other seven tell us how to love our neighbour.
I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange gods before me.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.
Honour your father and your mother.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife.
You shall not covet your neighbour’s goods.