Bible
The 10 Commandments in the Bible
The Ten Commandments appear in Exodus 20:1-17 and again in Deuteronomy 5:6-21. They are the moral center of the Mosaic law and the foundation of biblical ethics for both Judaism and Christianity. Below are all ten, with the KJV wording and a short plain-English explanation.
Commandment 1
No other gods
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Worship and ultimate loyalty belong to the one true God alone. This is the foundational claim from which the rest of the commandments follow.
Commandment 2
No graven images
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image... Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.
God is not to be represented by human-made images or worshiped through them. Worship is shaped by the truth God reveals, not by images we craft.
Commandment 3
Do not take God's name in vain
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
God's name is holy. To use it lightly, deceptively, or as a curse is to treat as common what is most sacred.
Commandment 4
Keep the sabbath holy
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work.
A weekly day of rest and worship modeled on God's rest after creation (Exodus 20:11). Christians have historically gathered on the first day of the week to commemorate the resurrection, while the principle of rest from labor and dedicated worship continues.
Commandment 5
Honor your father and mother
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
The first commandment with a promise (Ephesians 6:2-3). Respect for parents is the foundation for respect for all authority and for an ordered society.
Commandment 6
Do not kill
Thou shalt not kill.
Specifically, do not commit murder. The Hebrew word distinguishes murder from killing in war or judicial execution. The principle is the sacredness of human life, which is made in God's image (Genesis 9:6). Jesus extends this to inward anger (Matthew 5:21-22).
Commandment 7
Do not commit adultery
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Marriage is to be honored and the marriage covenant kept. Jesus extends this to inward lust (Matthew 5:27-28). The principle is faithfulness in sexual covenant.
Commandment 8
Do not steal
Thou shalt not steal.
Property is to be respected. Theft of any kind (overt theft, fraud, deception, deprivation of wages) violates the commandment. Paul tells the Ephesians to work with their own hands so they can give to those in need (Ephesians 4:28).
Commandment 9
Do not bear false witness
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Speak the truth, especially about other people. The commandment originally concerned testimony in court but applies broadly to lying, slander, gossip, and deception. Truthfulness is the foundation of trust and justice.
Commandment 10
Do not covet
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 any thing that is thy neighbour's.
The first commandment that reaches inward to the heart. Coveting is the longing for what belongs to someone else, which Paul names as the root of many other sins (Romans 7:7-8). This commandment makes clear that God's law is not just about outward action but about inward desire.
Examples
Where
Exodus 20:1-17 (first giving); Deuteronomy 5:6-21 (restated)
First table
Commandments 1 to 4: duties toward God
Second table
Commandments 5 to 10: duties toward neighbor
Numbering differences
Jewish, Reformed/Orthodox, and Catholic/Lutheran traditions group verses differently
How it works
The Ten Commandments (sometimes called the Decalogue, from Greek for "ten words") are given in two places: at Mount Sinai in Exodus 20:1-17 and restated in Deuteronomy 5:6-21. They were written on two stone tablets and stored in the Ark of the Covenant.
Christians traditionally divide them into two tables: commandments 1 to 4 concern duties toward God, and commandments 5 to 10 concern duties toward neighbor. Jesus summarized the whole law as "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart" and "love thy neighbour as thyself" (Matthew 22:37-40).
Numbering across traditions
The Hebrew text of Exodus 20 does not number the commandments. Different traditions group the verses slightly differently:
- Jewish tradition: Exodus 20:2 ("I am the LORD thy God") is the first commandment.
- Reformed Protestant, Eastern Orthodox: no other gods and no graven images are two separate commandments; the prohibition on coveting is one commandment.
- Roman Catholic, Lutheran: no other gods and no graven images are combined as the first commandment; the prohibition on coveting is split into two (the ninth and tenth).
All traditions agree on the content; only the way the verses are grouped into "ten" differs.
Related Bible pages
Frequently asked questions
They appear twice. The first giving is at Mount Sinai in Exodus 20:1-17, after God brought Israel out of Egypt. The second is Moses's restatement to the next generation in Deuteronomy 5:6-21, just before Israel enters the Promised Land. The two lists are nearly identical, with minor differences in wording.
The Hebrew text does not number the commandments, so different traditions group the verses slightly differently. Jewish tradition treats Exodus 20:2 ('I am the LORD thy God') as the first commandment. Reformed Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, and Jews split the prohibition on other gods (commandment 1) and graven images (commandment 2) into two. Roman Catholic and Lutheran traditions combine those into a single first commandment and split the prohibition on coveting (commandments 9 and 10) into two. All ten content items are the same; only the grouping differs.
Christians read the Ten Commandments through the lens of the New Testament. Jesus summarized the law as 'love the Lord thy God' and 'love thy neighbour as thyself' (Matthew 22:37-40), which corresponds to the two tables of the Ten Commandments. The moral content (do not murder, do not steal, do not lie, et cetera) is reaffirmed throughout the New Testament. The specific sabbath day observance is interpreted differently across Christian traditions.
The Ten Commandments are the core ethical center of the larger Mosaic law (which includes 613 commandments by traditional Jewish counting). They were written on two stone tablets and stored in the Ark of the Covenant, marking them as the foundational moral charter. The rest of the Mosaic law (civil law, ceremonial law, dietary law) elaborates how the commandments applied in Israel's specific historical and covenantal setting.
Traditional Christian theology divides the Ten Commandments into two tables. The first table (commandments 1 to 4) concerns duties toward God: no other gods, no images, no taking God's name in vain, keeping the sabbath. The second table (commandments 5 to 10) concerns duties toward neighbor: honor parents, do not murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, or covet. Jesus's summary in Matthew 22:37-40 corresponds to these two tables.
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