Knox Bible

1

And now God spoke all these words which follow.

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I, the Lord, am thy God (he said); I, who rescued thee from the land of Egypt, where thou didst dwell in slavery.

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

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

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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, for thy guilt shall make amends;

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love me, keep my commandments, and mercy shall be thine a thousandfold.

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Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God lightly on thy lips; if a man uses that name lightly, the Lord will not acquit him of sin.

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Remember to keep the sabbath day holy.

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

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when the seventh day comes, it is a day of rest, consecrated to the Lord thy God. That day, all work shall be at an end, for thee and every son and daughter of thine, thy servants and serving-women, thy beasts, too, and the aliens that live within thy gates.

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It was six days the Lord spent in making heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them; on the seventh day he rested, and that is why the Lord has blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

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

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Thou shalt do no murder.

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Thou shalt not commit adultery.

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Thou shalt not steal.

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Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

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Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, or set thy heart upon thy neighbour’s wife, or servant or hand-maid or ox or ass or anything else that is his.

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All the people stood watching while thunder rolled and lightning flashed, while the trumpet sounded and the mountain was wreathed in smoke, terrified and awe-stricken so that they kept their distance,

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and cried out to Moses, Do thou tell us the message; we are ready to obey thee. Do not let us hear the Lord speaking; it will cost us our lives.

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But Moses said to the people, Do not be afraid; God has come here to make trial of your obedience; he would have you possessed with the fear of him, to preserve you from sin.

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So the people stood their ground far off, while Moses went up into the darkness where God was.

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And the Lord gave Moses this further message for the Israelites: You stood watching while I spoke to you out of heaven;

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it is not for you to make yourselves gods of silver or of gold.

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It is enough to build me an altar of turf, on which to present burnt sacrifices and welcome-offerings, of sheep or oxen, wherever my name is honoured; so I will come to thee, and give thee my blessing.

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Even if thou shouldst make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stones; to use any tool in the making of it is to profane it.

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And when thou goest up to my altar, thou shalt not mount by steps, for fear of exposing thy body’s nakedness.