The first Biblical text to refer the commandments are found in Chapter 20 of the Book of Exodus, in which they are spoken by God to the Children of Israel. The biblical passages also refer to ten commandments being written by God on stone, in the form of two stone tablets known as the Tablets of Stone, also referred to as “Tablets of Testimony” or “Tablets of the Covenant,”
that God gave to Moses during 40 day-and-night stay on Mount Horeb. Moses then gave them to the people of Israel in the third month after their Exodus from Egypt. Israel's receipt of the commandments occurred on the third day of preparations at the foot of the mount.
The lists known as the Ten Commandments are given in passages in two books of the Bible: Exodus 20:2–17, Exodus 34:11–27 and Deuteronomy 5:6–21. These passages are provided in English below, using the New Revised Standard Version translation and formatting. Various religions and denominations group the commandments differently; see the Division of the Commandments section for a detailed accounting. The Exodus 34 passage is divergent and covered elsewhere.
I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
3
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
4
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5
Honour thy father and thy mother.
Tablet II
6
Thou shalt not kill.
7
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8
Thou shalt not steal.
9
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
10
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour's.
3. Exodus 20:2–17
2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;
3 Do not have any other gods before me.
4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me,
6 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
8 Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
9 For six days you shall labour and do all your work.
10 But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns.
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.
12 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
13 You shall not murder.
14 You shall not commit adultery.
15 You shall not steal.
16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
6 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;
7 you shall have no other gods before me.
8 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and fourth generation of those who reject me,
10 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
11 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
12 Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.
13 For six days you shall labour and do all your work.
14 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you.
15 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day.
16 Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
17 You shall not murder.
18 Neither shall you commit adultery.
19 Neither shall you steal.
20 Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor.
21 Neither shall you covet your neighbor's wife. Neither shall you desire your neighbor's house, or field, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
11 Observe what I command you today. See, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
12 Take care not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you are going, or it will become a snare among you.
13 You shall tear down their altars, break their pillars, and cut down their sacred poles
14 (for you shall worship no other god, because the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God).
15 You shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, someone among them will invite you, and you will eat of the sacrifice.
16 And you will take wives from among their daughters for your sons, and their daughters who prostitute themselves to their gods will make your sons also prostitute themselves to their gods.
17 You shall not make cast idols.
18 You shall keep the festival of unleavened bread. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt.
19 All that first opens the womb is mine, all your male livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep.
20 The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. No one shall appear before me empty-handed.
21 For six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in ploughing time and in harvest time you shall rest.
22 You shall observe the festival of weeks, the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the festival of ingathering at the turn of the year.
23 Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel.
24 For I will cast out nations before you, and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.
25 You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven, and the sacrifice of the festival of the passover shall not be left until the morning.
26 The best of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk.
27 The Lord said to Moses: Write these words; in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.
6. Division of the Commandments as Listed in Exodus 20
The passage in Exodus 20 contains more than ten imperative statements, totalling 14 or 15 in all. While the Bible itself assigns the count of "10", using the Hebrew phrase aseret had'varim ('the 10 words', 'statements' or 'things'), this phrase does not appear in Exodus 20. Various religions parse the commandments differently.
Preface (vs 1–2) — Implies the obligation to keep all of the commandments of God, in gratitude because of the abundance of his mercy. Forbids ingratitude to God and denial that he is our God.
vs 3 — Enjoins that God must be known and acknowledged to be the only true God, and our God; and to worship him and to make him known as he has been made known to us. Forbids not worshiping and glorifying the true God as God, and as our God; and forbids giving worship and glory to any other, which is due to him alone.
vs 4–6 — Requires receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God has appointed; and zeal in resisting those who would corrupt worship. Prohibits the worshiping of God by images, or by confusion of any creature with God, or any other way not appointed in his Word.
vs 7 — Enjoins a holy and a reverent use of God's names, titles, attributes, ordinances, Word, and works. Forbids all abuse of anything by which God makes Himself known.
vs 8–11 — Requires setting apart to God such set times as are appointed in his Word. Forbids the omission, or careless performance, of the religious duties.
vs 12 — The only commandment with explicitly positive content: it connects all temporal blessings of God with reverence for and obedience to authority, and especially for father and mother.
vs 13 — Requires all lawful endeavors to preserve our own life, and the life of others. Forbids taking away of our own life, or the life of our neighbor, unjustly.
vs 14 — Enjoins protection of our own and our neighbor's chastity, in heart, speech, and behavior. Forbids all unchaste thoughts, words, and actions.
vs 15 — Requires a defense of all lawful things that further the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others. Prohibits whatever deprives our neighbor, or ourselves, of lawfully gained wealth.
vs 16 — Requires the maintaining and promoting of truth between people. Forbids whatsoever is prejudicial to truth, or injurious to our own, or our neighbor's, good name.
vs 17 — Enjoins contentment with our own condition, and a charitable attitude toward our neighbor. Forbids discontent or envy, and all inordinate desires to obtain for ourselves anything that is his.
According to the Medieval Sefer ha-Chinuch, the first four statements concern the relationship between God and humans, while the next six statements concern the relationships between people. Rabbinic literature holds that the Ten Statements in fact contain 14 or 15 distinct instructions.
"I am the LORD your God…" — To believe in the existence of God and His influence on events in the world and that the goal of the redemption from Egypt was to become His servants (Rashi). It prohibits belief in or worship of any additional deities.
"Do not make an image…" — Prohibits the construction or fashioning of "idols" in the likeness of created things and worshipping them.
"Do not swear falsely by the name of the LORD…" — To never take the name of God in a vain, pointless or insincere oath.
"Remember (zachor) the Sabbath day…" — The seventh day of the week is termed Shabbat and is holy, just as God ceased creative activity during Creation.
"Honor your father and your mother…" — An obligation that one owes to God, fulfilled through one's actions towards one's parents.
"Do not murder" — Murdering a human being is a capital sin.
"Do not commit adultery" — Sexual intercourse between a man and a married woman who is not his wife.
"Do not steal" — According to the Talmud, this commandment refers to kidnapping and not to theft of material property.
"Do not bear false witness against your neighbor" — One must not bear false witness in a court of law or other proceeding.
"Do not covet your neighbor's wife" — One is forbidden to desire and plan how one may obtain that which God has given to another.
The Lutheran (Protestant) and Catholic division of the commandments both follow the one established by St. Augustine, following the then current synagogue scribal division. The first three commandments govern the relationship between God and humans, the fourth through eighth govern public relationships between people, and the last two govern private thoughts.
Catholic teaching distinguishes between dulia—paying honor, respect and veneration to saints—and latria—adoration directed to God alone.
The Catechism states that the "first day" of the week, or Sunday, has replaced the Jewish Sabbath as the Lord's day because it "recalls the new creation inaugurated by the Resurrection of Christ."
The right of states to execute criminals is not absolutely forbidden by the fifth commandment. Catholics (along with many Lutherans) also consider abortion sinful and a violation of this commandment.
Adultery is the breaking of the holy bond between husband and wife, and is thus a sacrilege. This commandment includes not just the act of adultery, but lust as well.
This commandment forbids misrepresenting the truth in relations with others. This also forbids lying.
In Islam Moses (Musa) is venerated as one of the greatest prophets of God. However, Islam also teaches that the texts of the Torah and the Gospels have been corrupted from their divine originals over the years. Despite this purported corruption, messages from the Torah and the Gospels still coincide closely with certain verses in the Qur'an. This is by-and-large the case with the Ten Commandments.
According to S. A. Nigosian, Professor of religious studies at the University of Toronto, the ten categories of moral precepts in the Qur'an (chapter 17) resemble the Ten Commandments in the Bible and "represent the fullest statement of the code of behavior every Muslim must follow."
Worship only God — Take not with Allah another object of worship; or thou (O man!) wilt sit in disgrace and destitution. (17:22)
Be kind, honourable and humble to one's parents — And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: "My Lord! bestow on them thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood." (17:24)
Be neither miserly nor wasteful in one's expenditure — Make not thy hand tied (like a niggard's) to thy neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach, so that thou become blameworthy and destitute. (17:29)
Do not engage in 'mercy killings' for fear of starvation — Kill not your children for fear of want: We shall provide sustenance for them as well as for you. Verily the killing of them is a great sin. (17:31)
Do not commit adultery — Nor come nigh to adultery: for it is a shameful (deed) and an evil, opening the road (to other evils). (17:32)
Do not kill unjustly — Nor take life — which Allah has made sacred — except for just cause. (17:33)
Care for orphaned children — Come not nigh to the orphan's property except to improve it, until he attains the age of full strength. (17:34)
Keep one's promises — fulfil (every) engagement [i.e. promise/covenant], for (every) engagement will be enquired into (on the Day of Reckoning). (17:34)
Be honest and fair in one's interactions — Give full measure when ye measure, and weigh with a balance that is straight. (17:35)
Do not be arrogant in one's claims or beliefs — And pursue not that of which thou hast no knowledge; for every act of hearing, or of seeing or of (feeling in) the heart will be enquired into. (17:36)