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 led you out of Egypt, out of the land of your slavery.
You must not have any other gods except me.
You must not make for yourself any kind of idol, whether in the form of anything in the heavens above, or on the earth beneath, or in the waters below. You must not bow down before them or worship them; for I am the Lord your God and I am passionately exclusive. I lay the consequences of the sin of those who hate me on their sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons; but I show trustworthy love to the thousands of generations who love me and keep my commandments.
You must not use the name of the Lord your God in a wrong way, for the Lord will not forgive anyone who uses his name in a wrong way.
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. You have six days to work and earn your living, but the seventh day is the Sabbath to honor the Lord your God. On this day you must not do any work—not you, not your son or daughter, not your male slave or female slave or livestock, and not the foreigner who is staying with you. For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days, and then rested on the seventh day. That's why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Honor your father and mother, so that you may live a long time in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
You must not kill.
You must not commit adultery.
You must not steal.
You must not give false evidence against others.
You must not desire to have anyone else's house. You must not desire to have their wife, or their male slave or female slave, or their ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to them.”
“I am the Lord your God, who led you out of Egypt, out of the prison-house of slavery.
You must not have any other gods except me.
You must not make for yourself any kind of idol, whether in the form of anything in the heavens above, or on the earth beneath, or in the waters below. You must not bow down before them or worship them; for I am the Lord your God and I am passionately exclusive. I lay the consequences of the sin of those who hate me on their sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons; but I show trustworthy love to the thousands of generations who love me and keep my commandments.
You must not use the name of the Lord your God in a wrong way, for the Lord will not forgive anyone who uses his name in a wrong way.
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you to do. You have six days to work and earn your living, but the seventh day is the Sabbath to honor the Lord your God. On this day you must not do any work—not you, not your son or daughter, not your male slave or female slave or your ox or donkey or any of your livestock, and not the foreigner who is staying with you, so that your male slave and female slave can have the same rest as you. Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt, and that the Lord your God led you out from there with his great power and incredible strength. This is why the Lord your God has ordered you to keep the Sabbath day. Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you to do, so that you may live a long time and do well in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
You must not kill.
You must not commit adultery.
You must not steal.
You must not give false evidence against others.
You must not desire to have anyone else's wife. You must not desire to have their house or field, or their male slave or female slave, or their ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to them.”
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.