Here, then, Moses called the whole of Israel together, and said to them, Listen, Israel, to the observances and the decrees I now proclaim in your hearing; learn them well, and live by them.

When we were at Horeb, the Lord our God made a covenant with us,

such a covenant as he never made with our fathers, but kept it for us, who stand here, living men, to-day.✻

Face to face he spoke with us on the mountain, out of the flames;

and yet I must be your representative all the while, a mediator between the Lord and you to tell you what his commands were, such dread of those fires kept you back from the hill-side.

And thus he spoke: I am the Lord thy God, it was I who rescued thee from the land of Egypt, where thou didst dwell in slavery.

Thou shalt not defy me by making other gods thy own.

Thou shalt not carve thyself images, or fashion the likeness of anything in heaven above, or on earth beneath, or in the waters at the roots of earth,

to bow down and worship it. I, thy God, the Lord Almighty, am jealous in my love; be my enemy, and thy children, to the third and fourth generation, shall make amends;

love me, keep my commandments, and mercy shall be thine a thousand-fold.

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God lightly on thy lips; if a man uses that name lightly, he will not go unpunished.

Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord thy God has bidden thee.

Six days for drudgery, for doing all the work thou hast to do;

when the seventh day comes, it is a sabbath, a day of rest, consecrated to the Lord thy God. That day, all work shall be at an end, for thee and for every son and daughter of thine, thy servants and serving-women, thy ass, too, and thy ox, and all thy beasts, and the aliens that live within thy city walls. It must bring rest to thy men-servants and thy maid-servants, as to thyself.

Remember that thou too wast a slave in Egypt; what constraining force the Lord used, what a display he made of his power, to rescue thee; and now he will have thee keep this day of rest.

Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord God has bidden thee; so shalt thou live long to enjoy the land which the Lord thy God means to give thee.

Thou shalt do no murder.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not steal.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife.

Thou shalt not set thy heart upon thy neighbour’s house or lands, his servants or handmaids, an ox or ass or anything that is his.✻

All this the Lord proclaimed to the whole multitude of you, there on the mountain, speaking aloud from the heart of the flames, the cloud, and the darkness; this and no more. And he wrote it down on two tablets of stone which he entrusted to me.

And you, what thoughts were yours, when you listened to this voice that came out of the darkness, saw the mountain all aflame? You came to me, elders and chieftains of the tribes, and pleaded with me;

The Lord our God has given us sight, now, of the splendour and the greatness that is his, we have been able to listen to his voice coming out of the heart of the flames; to-day has proved to us that a man may see God and live to tell of it.

Must we court death, with this raging fire ever ready to devour us? Die we surely must, if we hear the voice of the Lord God again.

Frail mortality cannot listen, as we have listened, to the voice of the living God speaking from the heart of the flames, without incurring death at last.

Do thou go near, and listen to all the commands the Lord thy God has for thee; thou shalt proclaim it to us, and we will obey.

Hearing this, the Lord said to me, I have listened to the plea this people of mine has made to thee, and all they have said is well said.

Ah, had they but hearts so true that they would always fear me, always keep my commandments! Then it should go well with them, and with their sons for all time.

Go and bid them return to their tents;

and do thou remain here at my side while I make known to thee the laws and observances and decrees I would have taught, the laws of that country which I am giving them for their home.

It is for you, then, to observe the commands which the Lord has given you, never swerving to right or left,

but still treading the path which the Lord your God has marked out for you; so that you may enjoy, in long prosperity, the land which shall be yours.