The 10 Commandments Explained
The Ten Commandments are the words God spoke to Israel at Mount Sinai after the exodus from Egypt. They are told in Exodus 20:1-17 and repeated in Deuteronomy 5:6-21. They set out love of God and love of neighbor. Jews and Christians number them differently, and many Christians still read them as a guide for daily life.
The story of the Ten Commandments in Scripture
The story begins after the exodus. Israel has left Egypt and camped at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19). There God speaks to the whole people. Before any command, he names himself and recalls what he has done: “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” (Exodus 20:2). The commandments come after the rescue, not before it.
The first part concerns the people’s relationship with God (Exodus 20:3-11). They are to have no other gods, make no graven image to bow down to, and not take God’s name in vain. They are also to keep the sabbath: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (20:8). The sabbath rest reaches the whole household, including servants, strangers and animals.
The second part concerns life among neighbors (Exodus 20:12-17). It begins with honoring father and mother. It then forbids killing, adultery, stealing and false witness against a neighbor. The Hebrew verb in “Thou shalt not kill” is often rendered “murder” in later translations. The last commandment forbids coveting what belongs to a neighbor, so it reaches the desire behind the deed.
Two tablets of stone hold these words. Moses breaks them when he finds the people worshipping the golden calf (Exodus 32:19). God then says: “Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables” (Exodus 34:1). Exodus 34:28 calls them “the words of the covenant, the ten commandments”. Deuteronomy 4:13 also speaks of ten commandments on two tables of stone.
Forty years later, on the edge of the promised land, Moses recites the commandments to a new generation (Deuteronomy 5:6-21). The wording differs slightly. The sabbath begins with “Keep” instead of “Remember”, and its reason is not creation but freedom: “remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt” (5:15). The wife is also named before the house in the last commandment.
The traditions count the commandments in different ways. Jewish tradition usually counts Exodus 20:2 as the first word. Catholics and Lutherans join the ban on other gods and images (20:3-6) into one commandment and divide coveting into two, following Deuteronomy 5:21. Reformed, Orthodox and Anglican traditions generally count the image ban as the second and coveting as one. The text itself is the same in all of them.
Jesus did not set the commandments aside. Asked about the greatest commandment, he answered with two lines from the Law: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” and “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37-39). He added that “on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (22:40). Many Christians see in these two lines the two parts of the Ten Commandments.
Praying with the Ten Commandments
- Sit quietly for a minute and read Exodus 20:2 slowly, letting yourself remember what God has freed you from.
- Read verses 3 to 11 of Exodus 20, the commandments about God, and ask which of them you most need to hear this week.
- Read verses 12 to 17, the commandments about your neighbor, and think of one person whom you can treat more honestly or more kindly.
- Name one thing you tend to want that belongs to someone else, and thank God for one thing you already have.
- If you pray at night, review the day without harshness and ask for forgiveness where you failed.
- End by praying the two great commandments of Matthew 22:37-39 as a short intention for tomorrow.
Prayer
Lord God, you brought your people out of slavery
and spoke words that lead to life.
Give me a heart that puts you first
and lips that honor your name.
Teach me to rest, to honor my parents,
to tell the truth and to respect what is not mine.
Free me from envy and keep me faithful in small things.
Write your law on my heart, as you once wrote it on stone.
Help me to love you with all my heart
and my neighbor as myself.
Amen.
King James Version
Frequently asked questions
Why are they called the "ten words"?
The Hebrew phrase translated "the ten commandments" in Exodus 34:28 literally means "ten words", and Deuteronomy 4:13 uses the same expression. Not every line is a command, since some give a reason or a promise. The Greek name Decalogue, used in later Christian writing, also means "ten words". It describes what God declared at Sinai.
What does "you shall not commit adultery" mean?
In Exodus 20:14 it forbids sexual relations between a married person and someone other than their spouse. It protects the marriage covenant and the family. Jesus deepens it in Matthew 5:27-28, where he speaks of looking at someone with lust. Christian churches read the commandment as a call to faithfulness in marriage and to respect for other people.
How can someone keep the commandment against coveting today?
Start by noticing envy when it appears, for example when you compare your life with others online. Then name it honestly and thank God for one concrete thing you have. You can also do something kind for the person you envy. Unlike the other commandments, this one deals with desire, and Paul says in Romans 7:7 that it showed him his own heart.
