Exodus 20
Then
God spoke all these words: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out
of
slavery in Egypt. "Never
have any other god. Never
make your own carved idols or statues that represent any creature in the sky,
on the earth, or in the water. Never worship them or serve them, because
I, the Lord your God, am a God who does not tolerate rivals. I punish children
for their parents'''' sins to the third and fourth generation of those who hate
me. But
I show mercy to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my
commandments. "Never
use the name of the Lord your God carelessly. The Lord will make sure that
anyone who carelessly uses His name will be punished. "Remember the day of worship by
observing it as a holy day. You have six days to do all your work. The
seventh day is the day of worship dedicated to the Lord your God. You, your
sons, your daughters, your male and female slaves, your cattle, and the
foreigners living in your city must never do any work on that day. In six days
the Lord made heaven, earth, and the sea, along with everything in them. He
didn''''t work on the seventh day. That''''s why the Lord blessed the day he stopped His work and set this day apart as holy.
"Honor your father and your mother,
so that you may live for a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving
you. "Never
murder. "Never
commit adultery. "Never
steal. "Never
lie when you testify about your
neighbor. "Never desire to take your
neighbor''''s household away from him. "Never desire to take your neighbor''''s
wife, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey, or anything else that
belongs to him."
All the people heard the thunder and saw
the lightning. They heard the blast of the ram''''s horn and saw the mountain
covered with smoke. So they shook with fear and stood at a
distance. Then they said
to Moses, "You speak to us, and we''''ll listen. But don''''t let God speak to
us, or we''''ll die!" Moses
answered the people, "Don''''t be afraid! God has come only to test you, so
that you will be in awe of Him and won''''t sin." The people kept their distance while
Moses went closer to the dark cloud where God was.
The Lord said to Moses, "This is
what you must say to the Israelites: You''''ve seen for yourselves that I have
spoken to you from heaven. Never make any gods of silver or gold for
yourselves. Never worship them. "You must build an altar for me made
out of dirt. Sacrifice your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your
sheep, goats, and cattle on it. Wherever I choose to have my name remembered, I
will come to you and bless you. If you build an altar for me made out of
stones, never make it with cut stone blocks. If you use a chisel on it, you
will make it unacceptable to me. Never use stairs to go up to my altar.
Otherwise, people will be able to see under your clothes."