Deuteronomy 5

The Ten Commandments

¹Moses called together the people of Israel and said:

Today I am telling you the laws and teachings that you must follow, so listen carefully.

²The Lord our God made an agreement with our nation at Mount Sinai.[#5.2 See the note at 1.1-5.]

³That agreement wasn't only with our ancestors but with us, who are here today.[#5.3 Hebrew “wasn't with.”]

⁴The Lord himself spoke to you out of the fire,

⁵but you were afraid of the fire and refused to go up the mountain. So I spoke with the Lord for you, then I told you that he had said:

²²When we were gathered at the mountain, the Lord spoke to us in a loud voice from the dark fiery cloud. The Lord gave us these commands, and only these. Then he wrote them on two flat stones and gave them to me.[#He 12.18,19.]

The People Were Afraid

²³When fire blazed from the mountain, and you heard the voice coming from the darkness, your tribal leaders came to me

²⁴and said:

²⁸The Lord heard you and said:

³²Israel, you must carefully obey the Lord 's commands.

³³Follow them, because they make a path that will lead to a long successful life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.