Bible / Exodus

Exodus 20

World English Bible, Catholic edition, in plain modern English. About the translations

1 God spoke all these words, saying,

2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

4 “You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

5 you 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, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me,

6 and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who misuses his name.

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 You shall labor six days, and do all your work,

10 but 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, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates;

11 for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you.

13 “You shall not murder.

14 “You shall not commit adultery.

15 “You shall not steal.

16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

18 All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance.

19 They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.”

20 Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won’t sin.”

21 The people stayed at a distance, and Moses came near to the thick darkness where God was.

22 The LORD said to Moses, “This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.

23 You shall most certainly not make gods of silver or gods of gold for yourselves to be alongside me.

24 You shall make an altar of earth for me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I record my name I will come to you and I will bless you.

25 If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of cut stones; for if you lift up your tool on it, you have polluted it.

26 You shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed to it.’

This chapter in the Catechism and the early Church

Where the Catechism of the Catholic Church cites these verses (from its footnotes on vatican.va), and where the earliest Church Fathers quote them (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, public domain). Short quotes only; follow the links for the full text. The Catechism uses modern verse numbers, so these are listed by chapter.

  1. Exodus 20:1 in modern BiblesCCC 2056
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 2056 “The word "Decalogue" means literally "ten words." God revealed these "ten words" to his people on the holy mountain. They were written…”
  2. Exodus 20:2 in modern BiblesCCC 2061
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 2061 “The Commandments take on their full meaning within the covenant. According to Scripture, man's moral life has all its meaning in and…”
  3. Exodus 20:8 in modern Bibles
    Read the Fathers
    • “Further, also, it is written concerning the Sabbath in the Decalogue which [the Lord] spoke, face to face, to Moses on Mount Sinai, "And sanctify ye the Sabbath of the Lord with clean hands and a pure heart.”

      Quoted in The Letter of Barnabas, Unknown author (early 2nd century), Chapter XV. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  4. Exodus 20:11 in modern BiblesCCC 2169
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    • CCC 2169 “In speaking of the sabbath Scripture recalls creation: "For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all…”
  5. Exodus 20:12 in modern BiblesCCC 2200 CCC 2214
    Read the Catechism and Fathers
    • CCC 2200 “Observing the fourth commandment brings its reward: "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land…”
    • CCC 2214 “The divine fatherhood is the source of human fatherhood; this is the foundation of the honor owed to parents. the respect of…”
    • “manner Him to be Father and God, who said in the law, "Honour thy father and mother; that it may be well with thee.”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter IX. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  6. Exodus 20:17 in modern BiblesCCC 1456
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 1456 “Confession to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament of Penance: "All mortal sins of which penitents after a diligent…”
  7. Exodus 20:20 in modern BiblesCCC 1867
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 1867 “The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are "sins that cry to heaven": the blood of Abel, The sin of the Sodomites,…”
  8. Exodus 20:21 in modern BiblesCCC 1867
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 1867 “The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are "sins that cry to heaven": the blood of Abel, The sin of the Sodomites,…”
  9. Exodus 20:22 in modern BiblesCCC 1867
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 1867 “The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are "sins that cry to heaven": the blood of Abel, The sin of the Sodomites,…”