The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments, also known as the Ethical Decalogue, are a simple listing of God's laws. These laws were inscribed on the tablets Moses received from God on Mount Sinai. Two places in the Bible list these commandments: Exodus 20:2–17 and Deuteronomy 5:6–21. There is another set of ten commandments found in Exodus 31; this set is known as the Ritual Decalogue because it is concerned with rituals instead of ethics.

These lists are broken up into ten simple rules by the various denominations. However, the denominations differ on their exact wording and how they combined the verses to create the ten rules.

What follows is an overview of the commandments and some comments about each one. There are actually 11 listed here because of how they are divided up by various denominations; some get combined or separated.

I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before me
Right off the bat God states his authority as the one and only God and that Christians are not permitted to worship any other entity. In some denominations, the first part is considered to be a preface to the Decalogue rather than a part of the first commandment.

You shall not make yourself an idol
This command forbids the creation of an idol of any form; that is, a figure that is worshiped as a deity or as a representative of a deity. Since the first commandment already stated that only God is to be worshiped, this is a redundant commandment and some denominations simply consider it part of the first commandment. Considering that the Israelites were busy praying to a golden statue of a calf when Moses was up on the mountain receiving the stone tablets, this redundancy was probably needed to hammer the point home.

A side note here: some denominations, notably Jehovah's Witness, have a broad definition of 'idol' and will refuse to worship anything they consider to be an idol. An example is pledging allegiance to the flag of the United States: they consider the flag an idol; pledging allegiance to it would be in violation of this commandment.

You shall not take the name of God in vain
Using God's name involves using it to pledge a false oath or simply using it as an exclamation like a swear word. This includes the name Jesus, the word Christ, the combination of the two, the letters OMG and definitely OMFG.

Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy
Christians are to spend the Sabbath resting rather than working, as God Himself rested on the seventh day of creation. Most denominations also require church attendance on the Sabbath. Exactly which day is the Sabbath is a point of debate; most consider it to be Sunday, but some believe it's Saturday.

Honor your father and mother
Authority is to be honored. Most of the time there are reasons for the laws and rules mankind has created. Namely, mistakes and problems that have already been encountered too often.

You shall not kill
God reserves the right to claim a human life to Himself. In many denominations, this commandment is worded "You shall not murder", as there are cases were claiming another person's life is considered justified: capital punishment and in self defense are two examples. Abortion usually is not considered justifiable as it is neither.

In many cases, this is expanded to include any malicious attempt or action to harm another person.

You shall not commit adultery
Depending on the denomination, adultery may be interpreted as either sex with anyone other than your spouse or simply sex with someone else's spouse. Either can really harm the lives of the people involved.

You shall not steal
Theft of someone else's property is forbidden. Interestingly, this might actually be a prohibition on kidnapping instead of theft as there are other prohibitions about taking what isn't yours.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
Don't lie. Some denominations hold that this commandment only applies in a court of law, but typically it applies everywhere.

You shall not covet your neighbor's wife
Not only should you not have sex with someone else's spouse, you shouldn't even THINK of doing such a thing. This is probably important to point out as if you were to think of doing it enough you might try to do it for real. Also, it could wreck sex with your spouse; there's nothing quite like calling out the wrong name to really ruin your life.

You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor
Simply put, if it doesn't belong to you, you shouldn't be desiring to take it. Many denominations combine this with the previous commandment, which is on the same topic.



In the New Testament, Jesus simplified these commandments into two rules: "Love God with all of your heart and mind" and "Love your neighbor as yourself". Every one of the above commandments forbids treating another without caring or love; as Jesus was quick to remind everyone, the law is based on this simple principle.


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