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Pentateuch · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Exodus 20

Israel's deliverance, covenant at Sinai, God's presence, and a people formed for worship.

Old Testament

Exodus 20

1God spoke all these words, saying,

2“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3“You shall have no other gods before me.

4“You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

5you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me,

6and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who misuses his name.

8“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9You shall labor six days, and do all your work,

10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates;

11for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.

12“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you.

13“You shall not murder.

14“You shall not commit adultery.

15“You shall not steal.

16“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

17“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

18All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance.

19They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.”

20Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won’t sin.”

21The people stayed at a distance, and Moses came near to the thick darkness where God was.

22The LORD said to Moses, “This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.

23You shall most certainly not make gods of silver or gods of gold for yourselves to be alongside me.

24You shall make an altar of earth for me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I record my name I will come to you and I will bless you.

25If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of cut stones; for if you lift up your tool on it, you have polluted it.

26You shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed to it.’

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Israel's deliverance, covenant at Sinai, God's presence, and a people formed for worship. Read Exodus 20 within the complete Exodus overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Exodus 20

Exodus 20 contains 26 verses and about 549 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “God spoke all these words, saying,” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 26 closes: “You shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed to it.’” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include make, earth, will, servant, people, moses. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Exodus 20

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Exodus 20:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

Start with prayer