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
»Ja sam GOSPOD, tvoj Bog, koji te je izveo iz Egipta, kuće ropstva.
»Nemoj da imaš drugih bogova osim mene. Ne pravi sebi idola u obličju bilo čega što je gore na nebu ili dole na zemlji ili ispod u vodi. Ne klanjaj im se, niti im služi, jer sam ja, GOSPOD, tvoj Bog, ljubomoran Bog i kažnjavam decu za greh roditelja do trećeg i četvrtog kolena onih koji me mrze, a pokazujem ljubav do hiljaditog kolena onima koji me vole i drže se mojih zapovesti.
»Ne zloupotrebljavaj ime GOSPODA, svoga Boga, jer GOSPOD neće ostaviti nekažnjenog onoga ko zloupotrebljava njegovo ime.
»Seti se da subotu držiš svetom. Šest dana radi i obavljaj svoje poslove, ali sedmi dan je subota GOSPODA, tvoga Boga. Toga dana ne obavljaj nikakav posao, ni ti, ni tvoj sin, ni tvoja kći, ni tvoj rob, ni tvoja robinja, ni tvoja stoka, ni došljak koji živi među vama. Jer, GOSPOD je za šest dana načinio nebo i zemlju i more i sve što je u njima, a sedmog dana se odmarao. Zato je GOSPOD blagoslovio subotu i učinio je svetom.
»Poštuj svoga oca i svoju majku, da poživiš dugo u zemlji koju ti daje GOSPOD, tvoj Bog.
»Ne ubij.
»Ne učini preljubu.
»Ne ukradi.
»Ne svedoči lažno protiv svoga bližnjega.
»Ne poželi kuću svoga bližnjega. Ne poželi ženu svoga bližnjega, ni njegovog roba ni robinju, ni njegovog vola ni magarca, ni bilo šta drugo što pripada tvome bližnjemu.«
»Ja sam GOSPOD, tvoj Bog, koji te je izveo iz Egipta, kuće ropstva.
»Nemoj da imaš drugih bogova osim mene. Ne pravi sebi idola u obličju bilo čega što je gore na nebu ili dole na zemlji ili ispod u vodi. Ne klanjaj im se, niti im služi, jer sam ja, GOSPOD, tvoj Bog, ljubomoran Bog i kažnjavam decu za grehe roditelja do trećeg i četvrtog kolena onih koji me mrze, a pokazujem ljubav do hiljaditog kolena onima koji me vole i drže se mojih zapovesti.
»Ne zloupotrebljavaj ime GOSPODA, svoga Boga, jer GOSPOD neće ostaviti nekažnjenog onoga ko zloupotrebljava njegovo ime.
»Poštuj subotu držeći je svetom, kao što ti je GOSPOD, tvoj Bog, zapovedio. Šest dana radi i obavljaj sve svoje poslove, ali sedmi dan je subota GOSPODA, tvoga Boga. Toga dana ne obavljaj nikakav posao, ni ti, ni tvoj sin, ni tvoja kći, ni tvoj rob, ni tvoja robinja, ni tvoj vo, ni tvoje magare, ni sva tvoja stoka, ni došljak u tvom gradu, da i tvoj rob i robinja mogu da se odmore kao i ti. Seti se da si i ti bio rob u Egiptu i da te je GOSPOD, tvoj Bog, odande izveo moćnom rukom i ispruženom desnicom. Zato ti je GOSPOD, tvoj Bog, zapovedio da slaviš subotu.
»Poštuj svoga oca i svoju majku, kao što ti je zapovedio GOSPOD, tvoj Bog, da poživiš dugo i da ti bude dobro u zemlji koju ti daje GOSPOD, tvoj Bog.
»Ne ubij.
»Ne učini preljubu.
»Ne ukradi.
»Ne svedoči lažno protiv svoga bližnjega.
»Ne poželi ženu svoga bližnjega. Ne žudi za kućom svoga bližnjega, ni za njegovom njivom, ni za njegovim robom ili robinjom, ni za njegovim volom ili magarcem, ni za bilo čim drugim što pripada tvome bližnjemu.«
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.