1
Moses called all Israel together and said to them:
“Listen, O Israel, to the statutes and ordinances that I speak in your hearing today, so that you may learn them and keep them faithfully.
2
The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.
3
Not with our fathers did the LORD make this covenant, but with us, with us who are here today, all of us who are alive.
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The LORD spoke with you face to face on the mountain, out of the midst of the fire—
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I stood between the LORD and you at that time to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain—and he said:
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‘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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You shall have no other gods before me.
8
You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath 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 and on the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
10
but showing steadfast love to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments.
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You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will hold guiltless the one who takes his name in vain.
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Keep the Sabbath day, and make it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.
13
Six days you shall labor 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 foreigner who is within your gates—so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as you do.
15
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.
16
Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, so 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.
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You shall not murder.
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You shall not commit adultery.
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Do not steal.
20
Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.
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Do not covet your neighbor’s wife; and do not desire his house, or his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
22
These words the LORD spoke to your whole assembly on the mountain with a loud voice, from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the darkness; and he added no more. He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.”
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“When you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders,
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and said: Behold, the LORD our God has shown us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice from the midst of the fire. This day we have seen that God speaks with man, and man still lives.
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But now, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer, we shall die.
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For what flesh has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?
27
Go near and hear all that the LORD our God says, and you shall speak to us all that the LORD our God speaks to you, and we will hear it and do it.
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When the LORD heard your words, while you were speaking to me, the LORD said to me: I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. All that they have spoken is good.
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Oh that their heart would always be like this, to fear me and keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their children forever!
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Go, say to them: Return to your tents.
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But you, stand here by me, and I will speak to you all the commandments, the statutes and the ordinances, which you shall teach them, so that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess.
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Therefore be careful to do all that the LORD your God has commanded you. Do not turn aside to the right or to the left.
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You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that you shall possess.”
📜🪔🔟 Summary of Deuteronomy 5 – The Ten Commandments Repeated
Deuteronomy 5 is a repetition of the Ten Commandments (first given in Exodus 20), as a reminder for the new generation of Israel that was about to enter the Promised Land. Moses repeats them with relational emphasis, showing that this law is not merely a set of rules, but a covenant of love between God and his people.
📌 1. Introduction: The Covenant Renewed (verses 1–5)
- Moses called all Israel to listen and learn to do the law of the Lord.
- He emphasized that the Lord’s covenant was not only for their ancestors, but also for those living now.
- The Lord spoke directly from Mount Sinai (Horeb) in fire, cloud, and darkness, and then Moses became the mediator because the people were afraid.
🎯 Faith is not a dead inheritance, but a living covenant that must be received personally.
📌 2. The Ten Commandments (verses 6–21)
Here is the core of the 10 commandments repeated by Moses:
- You shall have no other gods before Me.
- You shall not make an image or worship idols.
- You shall not misuse the name of the Lord.
- Remember and keep the Sabbath day holy.
- Honor your father and your mother.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not give false testimony.
- You shall not covet what belongs to another.
Important note:
- In this version, the reason for keeping the Sabbath day is linked to deliverance from Egypt (verse 15), not to creation as in Exodus.
🎯 These ten laws are not merely prohibitions, but a mirror of God’s character and the standard of His people’s life.
📌 3. The Response of the Israelites at Horeb (verses 22–27)
- After hearing the voice of the Lord from the mountain, the Israelites were afraid and asked Moses to be their mediator.
- They said:
“Do not let the Lord speak directly to us again, lest we die.”
🎯 Awareness of God’s holiness gives rise to reverence and humility.
📌 4. God’s Response and His Hope (verses 28–33)
- The Lord approved their response, and said:
“If only their hearts would always be like this, to fear Me and keep all My commandments.”
- The Lord asked Moses to teach them His laws, and called them to obey fully, so that they might live long and be blessed in the promised land.
🎯 The Lord longs for hearts that fear Him, not merely ritual obedience.
📖 Main Lessons
- The Ten Commandments are an unchanging moral foundation — valid across generations.
- Relationship with God begins with knowing who He is (verse 6), not merely with keeping rules.
- Obedience brings blessing and life; disobedience brings ruin.
- God seeks hearts that fear Him — not merely outward routines.
- Faith must be passed down, but also received personally.
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
- Jesus did not abolish the Ten Commandments, but fulfilled them in love (Matthew 5:17).
- The heart of these laws is fulfilled in the two greatest commandments:
“Love the Lord your God… and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37–40)
- The Sabbath for believers is fulfilled in spiritual rest in Christ (Hebrews 4:9–10).
- The Ten Commandments are not a way of salvation, but a guide for the life of the redeemed.
