Deuteronomy 5 · WEB
The Ten Commandments Restated
Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.
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Moses called to all Israel and said to them, "Hear, Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I speak in your ears today, that you may learn them, and observe to do them.
2The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
3The LORD didn't make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive today.
4The LORD spoke with you face to face on the mountain out of the middle of the fire,
5(I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to show you the word of the LORD; for you were afraid because of the fire, and didn't go up into the mountain) saying:
6"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
7You shall have no other gods before me.
8"You shall not make for yourself an idol, any likeness of what is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
9You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me,
10and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
11"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who misuses his name.
12"Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.
13Six days you shall labor and do all your work;
14but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. You shall not do any work in it—you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.
15You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by 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; that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
17"You shall not murder.
18"You shall not commit adultery.
19"You shall not steal.
20"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
21"You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's."
22"The LORD spoke these words to all your assembly on the mountain out of the middle of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice. He added no more. He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
23When you heard the voice out of the middle of the darkness while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders,
24and you said, 'Behold, the LORD our God has shown us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the middle of the fire. We have seen today that God does speak with man, and he still lives.
25Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we will die.
26For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the middle of the fire, as we have, and lived?
27Go near and hear all that the LORD our God says. Then speak to us all that the LORD our God speaks to you; and we will hear it and do it.'
28"The LORD heard the voice of your words, when you spoke to me. The LORD said to me, 'I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken.
29Oh that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!
30Go tell them, Return to your tents.
31But as for you, stand here by me, and I will speak to you all the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances, which you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.'
32"You shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
33You shall walk in all the way which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.
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Summary
Moses recites the Ten Commandments to the new generation, emphasizing that this covenant was made not just with their ancestors but with them — the living people standing before him. The commandments cover both vertical (toward God: no other gods, no idols, no misuse of God's name, Sabbath rest) and horizontal (toward people: honor parents, no murder, no adultery, no theft, no false witness, no coveting) obligations. Moses recalls the terrifying moment at Sinai when the people begged Moses to be their mediator, and God expressed his deep longing that this fear would translate into lasting obedience.
Themes
- The Ten Commandments as the foundation of covenant life with God
- Redemption as the basis for obedience — God rescues before he commands
- The Sabbath as a memorial of liberation, not just creation (contrast with Exodus 20)
- The people's fear of God's holiness and the role of Moses as mediator
- God's yearning heart: "Oh that there were such a heart in them..."
Key verses
- Deut 5:15 — “You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm.”
- Deut 5:29 — “Oh that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!”
- Deut 5:6 — “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
Context & background
The Decalogue (Ten Commandments) appears here with slight variations from Exodus 20, most notably in the Sabbath commandment: in Exodus 20 the Sabbath is grounded in creation (God rested on the seventh day), while here in Deuteronomy 5 it is grounded in the Exodus (remember you were a slave in Egypt). Both rationales are true and complementary. Mount Horeb (also called Sinai) is traditionally located in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, though some scholars propose sites in northwestern Saudi Arabia. The covenant at Horeb was the defining constitutional moment for the nation of Israel — equivalent in significance to a founding charter.
Cross-references
- Exodus 20:1-17 — The original giving of the Ten Commandments at Sinai
- Hebrews 8:6 — Jesus as the mediator of a better covenant, building on Moses' mediating role
- Jeremiah 31:33 — God's promise to write the law on hearts, not stone tablets
- Matthew 22:37-40 — Jesus summarizes all the commandments as love for God and neighbor
- Romans 13:8-10 — Paul affirms love as the fulfillment of the commandments