Deuteronomy 5

¹ Moses called the whole of Israel together and said to them:

² ‘Yahweh our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.

³ It was not with our fathers that Yahweh made this covenant, but with us, with us who are here, all living today.

⁴ On the mountain, from the heart of the fire, Yahweh spoke to you face to face,

⁵ and I stood all the time between Yahweh and yourselves to tell you of Yahweh’s words, for you were afraid of the fire and had not gone up the mountain. He said:

⁶ “I am Yahweh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

⁷ “You shall have no gods except me.

⁸ “You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth;

⁹ you shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God and I punish the fathers’ fault in the sons, the grandsons and the great-grandsons of those who hate me;

¹⁰ but I show kindness to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments.

¹¹ “You shall not utter the name of Yahweh your God to misuse it, for Yahweh will not leave unpunished the man who utters his name to misuse it.

¹² “Observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy, as Yahweh your God has commanded you.

¹³ For six days you shall labour and do all your work,

¹⁴ but the seventh day is a Sabbath for Yahweh your God. You shall do no work that day, neither you nor your son nor your daughter nor your servants, men or women, nor your ox nor your donkey nor any of your animals, nor the stranger who lives with you. Thus your servant, man or woman, shall rest as you do.

¹⁵ Remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and that Yahweh your God brought you out from there with mighty hand and outstretched arm; because of this, Yahweh your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

¹⁶ “Honour your father and your mother, as Yahweh your God has commanded you, so that you may have long life and may prosper in the land that Yahweh your God gives to you.

¹⁷ “You shall not kill.

¹⁸ “You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁹ “You shall not steal.

²⁰ “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.

²¹ “You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, you shall not set your heart on his house, his field, his servant – man or woman – his ox, his donkey or anything that is his.”

²² ‘These are the words Yahweh spoke to you when you were all assembled on the mountain. With a great voice he spoke to you from the heart of the fire, in cloud and thick darkness. He added nothing, but wrote them on two tablets of stone which he gave to me.

²³ ‘Now when you had heard this voice coming out of the darkness, while the mountain was all on fire, you came to me, all of you, heads of tribes and elders,

²⁴ and said, “See how Yahweh our God has shown us his glory and his greatness and we have heard his voice from the middle of the fire. Today we have seen that God can speak with man and man still live.

²⁵ Why should we die now, when this great fire is ready to devour us, and when we are sure to perish if we hear the voice of Yahweh our God a second time?

²⁶ For what creature of flesh could possibly live after hearing, as we have heard, the voice of the living God speaking from the heart of the fire?

²⁷ You, then, go near and hear everything Yahweh our God will say and tell us all that Yahweh our God says to you; we will listen and observe it.”

²⁸ ‘Yahweh heard the words you spoke to me, and he said to me, “I have heard this people’s words. All they have spoken is well said.

²⁹ If only their heart were always so, set on the fear of me and the keeping of my commandments, so that they and their children might prosper for ever!

³⁰ Go and say to them: Return to your tents.

³¹ But you will stand here by me and I shall tell you all the commandments, the laws and the customs that you must teach them, which they must observe in the land I am giving them for their possession.”

³² ‘Keep this, observe it. This is what Yahweh our God has commanded you. Stray neither to right nor to left.

³³ Follow the whole way that Yahweh has marked for you and you shall live, you shall prosper and shall live long in the land you are to possess.