The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments are recorded in chapter 20 of Exodus and in chapter 5 of Deuteronomy. The Old Testament calls them “the words of the covenant” (Exod 34:28) and “the ten words” (Exod 34:28; Deut 4:13); the New Testament calls them “the commandments”, in Greek ἐντολαί (Matt 19:17; Rom 13:9). Today they are often called the Decalogue, from the Greek δέκα λόγοι, “ten words”.
The two records of the Ten Commandments are essentially the same, but they give different grounds for the Sabbath commandment: in Exodus it rests on the creation of the world, in Deuteronomy on Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt.
In the New Testament Jesus and the apostles refer to these commandments more than once — to all of them except the Sabbath commandment. They speak above all of keeping them inwardly rather than outwardly and single out two chief requirements: love for God and love for one’s neighbour.
Exodus and Deuteronomy
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of 20:2 Lit slavesslavery.
“You shall have no other gods 20:3 Or besides Mebefore Me.
“You shall not make for yourself 20:4 Or a carved imagean idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, inflicting the 20:5 I.e., punishment for the wrongdoingpunishment of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing 20:6 Or faithfulnessfavor to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not 20:7 Or hold him guiltlessleave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. For six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your 20:10 Lit strangerresident who 20:10 Lit is in your gatesstays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
“Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged on the land which the Lord your God gives you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not 20:16 Lit answer as a false witness againstgive false testimony against your neighbor.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male slave, or his female slave, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of 5:6 Lit slavesslavery.
‘You shall have no other gods besides Me.
‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any 5:8 Or manifestationlikeness of what is in heaven above 5:8 Lit or what is onor on the earth beneath 5:8 Lit or what is onor in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, inflicting the 5:9 I.e., punishment for the wrongdoingpunishment of the fathers on the children, 5:9 Or and oneven on the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing 5:10 Or faithfulnessfavor to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God 5:11 I.e., uselessly or abusivelyin vain, for the Lord will not 5:11 Or hold guiltlessleave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain.
‘Keep the Sabbath day to treat it as holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. For six days you 5:13 Or mayshall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; you shall not do any work that day, you or your son or your daughter, or your male slave or your female slave, or your ox, your donkey, or any of your cattle, or your 5:14 Lit strangerresident who 5:14 Lit is in your gatesstays with you, so that your male slave and your female slave may rest as well as you. And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to 5:15 Lit performcelebrate the Sabbath day.
‘Honor your father and your mother, just as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well for you on the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
‘You shall not murder.
‘You shall not commit adultery.
‘You shall not steal.
‘You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male slave or his female slave, his ox, his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’
How the commandments are numbered
The text holds more than ten precepts, and there is more than one way to divide it into ten commandments. The table shows which commandment each passage counts as in each tradition; a dash means the passage is not counted among the commandments, and “pre.” marks the preamble: it has no number of its own but is held to be part of the Ten Commandments.
| Text | Exodus | Deuteronomy | Septuagint | Talmud | Augustine | Philo | Catholic | Lutheran | Reformed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| “I am the LORD thy God…” | 20:2 | 5:6 | — | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | pre. |
| “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” | 20:3 | 5:7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…” | 20:4–6 | 5:8–10 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 2 |
| “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain…” | 20:7 | 5:11 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| “Remember (keep) the sabbath day…” | 20:8–11 | 5:12–15 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| “Honour thy father and thy mother…” | 20:12 | 5:16 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| “Thou shalt not kill” | 20:13 | 5:17 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| “Thou shalt not commit adultery” | 20:14 | 5:18 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| “Thou shalt not steal” | 20:15 | 5:19 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| “Thou shalt not bear false witness…” | 20:16 | 5:20 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house” | 20:17 | 5:21 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 |
| “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife” | 20:17 | 5:21 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
| “…nor his manservant, nor his maidservant… nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s” | 20:17 | 5:21 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
- Septuagint — the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Its division is followed today by the Orthodox Church and by most Protestant churches, except the Lutherans.
- Talmud — in the Jewish tradition the first commandment is the preamble, “I am the LORD thy God…”.
- Saint Augustine follows the Jewish tradition but does not count the preamble as a commandment, and splits the last commandment, “Thou shalt not covet”, in two, following the word order of Deuteronomy.
- Philo of Alexandria divides the text as the Septuagint does, but has “Thou shalt not kill” and “Thou shalt not commit adultery” the other way round.
- The Catholic Church follows Augustine’s division but counts the preamble as part of the first commandment.
- Lutherans follow Augustine’s division without the prohibition of images and take the text of Exodus as the basis.
- Reformed churches follow the Septuagint’s division; the preamble is held to be a necessary part of the Ten Commandments and is always said together with them.