The Ten Commandments is a set of commands God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. The commandments are intricately woven into the early history of the
Israelites, and they have a profound influence on Christianity.
After they were set free from Egypt, the Israelites embarked on a journey to the land promised by God. Their leader was Moses, a Hebrew infant who
was found by an Egyptian princess along the Nile river. The Egyptian princess adopted Moses. Moses became a prince of the Egyptian court but during his early adulthood he witnessed the oppression
of his people, the Hebrews, and rebelled against the system. One scene provoked Moses into taking action against an Egyptian taskmaster who was beating, brutally, a Hebrew slave. He killed the
taskmaster and thought no one witnessed the incident. However, a fellow Hebrew saw what really happened. Out of fear for his life, Moses fled to Midian and stayed there for some years.
It was during his stay in Midian that Moses had an encounter with God as a burning bush on Mount Horeb. God asked Moses to lead his people out of
Egypt, and Moses went back to Egypt to lead the people of God out of Egypt into the promised land, which was Canaan. Along the way, God showed Moses and the Israelites his power to do anything.
One of these was the parting of the Red Sea (Reed Sea) – through God’s power – while the Israelites were being chased by the Egyptian army. A part of the sea became dry land, and the Israelites
were able to cross the sea. As the Egyptian army went into the dry land of the sea, water suddenly came, and the Egyptians were swallowed up by the sea. Another display of God’s power happened on
Mount Sinai. There, the Israelites witnessed lightning and smoke surrounded the mountain, and heard thunder and the sound of the trumpet from the mountain. For them, these were God’s
manifestations of his presence. It was also on Mount Sinai that God showed his glory to Moses and gave him the ten commandments for the people to obey.
Below are two lists of Bible verses about the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue. The Bible verses are taken from the Old Testament of the Bible. The
first list is taken from the book of Exodus while the second list is taken from the book of Deuteronomy. A phrase interpretation is given after each Bible verse or group of Bible verses by the
author of the website.
Ten Commandments from the Book of Exodus
“I am the Lord your God…Worship no god but me.”
(Exodus 20:2-3 / GNT 2017) --- Bible verses about the first commandment of the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue that inform the individual and/or
the people about a stable, unchanging God who is their creator and savior and who must be the only one to be worshipped
“Do not use my name for evil purposes, for I, the Lord your God, will punish anyone who misuses my name.”
(Exodus 20:7 / GNT 2017) --- Bible verse about the second commandment of the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue that commands the individual and/or
the people to respect the name of the Lord and which implies that human behaviors such as blasphemy, swearing and disrespectful use of God’s name in speech and other forms of communications are
grievous offenses against God; Bible verse about a commandment with a corresponding punishment for its violation
“Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy. You have six days in which to do your work, but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me.”
(Exodus 20:8 / GNT 2017) --- Bible verse about the third commandment of the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue that commands the individual and/or
the people to celebrate Sabbath day or Sunday worship with holiness
“Respect your father and your mother, so that you may live a long time in the land that I am giving you.”
(Exodus 20:12 / GNT 2017) --- Bible verse about the fourth commandment of the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue that orders the individual and/or
the people to honor their parents and provides a promise or reward for following the commandment
“Do not commit murder.”
(Exodus 20:13 / GNT 2017) --- Bible verse about the fifth commandment of the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue that commands the individual and/or
the people not to take someone else’s life and which strongly indicates an affirmation of an existential recognition of the sacredness of human life
“Do not commit adultery.”
(Exodus 20:14 / GNT 2017) --- Bible verse about the sixth commandment of the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue that orders the individual and/or the
people not to commit adultery and which strongly implies an affirmation of sexual relations between man and woman within marriage life
“Do not steal.”
(Exodus 20:15 / GNT 2017) --- Bible verse about the seventh commandment of the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue that commands the individual and/or
the people not to take things and properties belonging to another individual, and which strongly indicates that respect for private, individual ownership is a societal norm and that human
behaviors like theft, pick-pocketing and unauthorized or improper use of properties not belonging to oneself are grievous offenses against God
“Do not accuse anyone falsely.”
(Exodus 20:16 / GNT 2017) --- Bible verse about the eighth commandment of the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue that orders the individual and/or
the people not to lie and to give a false testimony against anyone, and which strongly indicates an existential recognition of the value of telling the truth
“Do not desire another man’s house; do not desire his wife, his slaves, his cattle, his donkeys, or anything else that he owns.”
(Exodus 20:17 / GNT 2017) --- Bible verse about the ninth and tenth commandments of the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue that commands the
individual and/or the people not to covet someone and something belonging to someone else and which strongly indicates that greed and inordinate desires are grievous offenses against God
Ten Commandments from the Book of Deuteronomy
“I am the Lord your God…You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind, or an image of anything in the
heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.”
(Deuteronomy 5:6-9 / NLT 2016) --- Bible verses about the first commandment of the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue that inform the individual
and/or the people about a stable, unchanging God who is their creator and savior and who must be the only one to be worshipped, and which consider practices such as pagan worship, satanism and
polytheism (or the worship of many gods) as abhorrent to God
“You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.”
(Deuteronomy 5:11 / NLT 2016) --- Bible verse about the second commandment of the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue that commands the individual
and/or the people to respect the name of the Lord and which implies that human behaviors such as blasphemy, swearing and disrespectful use of God’s name in speech and other forms of
communications are grievous offenses against God; Bible verse about a commandment with a corresponding punishment for its violation
“Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you.”
(Deuteronomy 5:12 / NLT 2016) --- Bible verse about the third commandment of the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue that commands the individual
and/or the people to celebrate Sabbath day or Sunday worship with holiness
“Honour your father and mother, as the Lord your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving
you.”
(Deuteronomy 5:16 / NLT 2016) --- Bible verse about the fourth commandment of the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue that orders the individual
and/or the people to honor their parents and provides a promise or reward for following the commandment
“You must not murder.”
(Deuteronomy 5:17 / NLT 2016) --- Bible verse about the fifth commandment of the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue that commands the individual
and/or the people not to take someone else’s life and which strongly indicates an affirmation of an existential recognition of the sacredness of human life
“You must not commit adultery.”
(Deuteronomy 5:18 / NLT 2016) --- Bible verse about the sixth commandment of the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue that orders the individual and/or
the people not to commit adultery and which strongly implies an affirmation of sexual relations between man and woman within marriage life
“You must not steal.”
(Deuteronomy 5:19 / NLT 2016) --- Bible verse about the seventh commandment of the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue that commands the individual
and/or the people not to take things and properties belonging to another individual, and which strongly indicates that respect for private, individual ownership is a societal norm and that human
behaviors like theft, pick-pocketing and unauthorized or improper use of properties not belonging to oneself are grievous offenses against God
“You must not testify falsely against your neighbour.”
(Deuteronomy 5:20 / NLT 2016) --- Bible verse about the eighth commandment of the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue that orders the individual
and/or the people not to lie and to give a false testimony against anyone, and which strongly indicates an existential recognition of the value of telling the truth
“You must not covet your neighbour’s wife.”
(Deuteronomy 5:21 / NLT 2016) --- Bible verse about the ninth commandment of the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue that commands the individual
and/or the people not to covet someone else’s wife and which strongly indicates that inordinate desires are grievous offenses against God
“You must not covet your neighbour’s house or land, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbour.”
(Deuteronomy 5:21 / NLT 2016) --- Bible verse about the tenth commandment of the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue that orders the individual and/or
the people not to covet someone else’s property and which strongly indicates that greed and inordinate desires are grievous offenses against God
