The Ten Commandments

Pre-amble

(2) "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

(6) "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

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(3) "You shall have no other gods before me.

(7) "'You shall have no other gods before me.

You shall have no other gods, can mean money, work or sport etc. – i.e. anything that prevents a full relationship with God. This commandment applied from the time of creation.

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(4) "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
(5) You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,
(6) but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

(8) "'You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
(9) You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
(10) but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall not make or worship idols. This applied from the time of creation.

He is a loving merciful God who provided the way of life, through the death of Jesus Christ

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(7) "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

(11) "'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

You shall not blaspheme the name of the Lord which means more than swearing. An action that denigrates the name of God is blaspheming – for example suggesting He did not create the world. This commandment  applied from the time of creation.

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(8) "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

(9) Six days you shall labour, and do all your work,
(10) but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner 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 on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

(12) "'Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.

(13) Six days you shall labour and do all your work,
(14) but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.
(15) You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

You shall keep the Sabbath holy - where sabbath means 'rest' or to 'cease'. Noting the validity of this commandment today; in the same way one expects no one to lie (commandment 9), or steal (commandment 8) - thus it is not legalism to recommend resting every 7 days, in the same way it is not legalism to expect honesty, fidelity in marriage and respect for other's property. This applied from the time of creation.

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(12) "Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

(16) "'Honour your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

You shall honour your father and mother, which applies to both young children and grown up children – the latter concerns support and care of parents. This applied from the time of creation.

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(13) "You shall not murder.

(17) "'You shall not murder.

You shall not kill – Jesus said that hating someone was equivalent to killing them. This applied from the time of creation.

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(14) "You shall not commit adultery.

(18) "'And you shall not commit adultery.

You shall not commit adultery. Sex belongs between a man and women who are married. Jesus said that lusting for sex with a person who is not your spouse is adultery. This applied from the time of creation.

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(15) "You shall not steal.

(19) "'And you shall not steal.

You shall not steal, which includes time and money. This applied from the time of creation.

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(16) "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.

(20) "'And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not lie. This applied from the time of creation.

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(17) "You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour’s."

(21) "'And you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbour’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour’s.'

You wall not covet which means wanting something you cannot afford, wanting something just because someone else has it or wanting something out of greed. You need to know the difference between wanting and needing something – most westerners have no idea of this concept. This applied from the time of creation.