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Deuteronomy 5 - Simple English

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Read Deuteronomy Chapter 5

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1And Moses called all Israel together and said to them, "Hear, Israel, the statutes and judgments that I speak in your hearing today. Learn them, keep them, and do them."

2"The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb."

3"The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us - with us, who are all of us here alive today."

4"The LORD talked with you face to face on the mountain, out of the middle of the fire,"

5"(At that time I stood between the LORD and you, to tell you the word of the LORD. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain.) He said:"

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

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

8"'You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or on the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth.'"

9"'You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I the LORD your God am a jealous God. I bring the sin of the fathers upon the children, to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,'"

10"'and I show mercy to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.'"

11"'You shall not use the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold guiltless anyone who uses his name in vain.'"

12"'Keep the sabbath day, and set it apart as holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.'"

13"'Six days you shall labour and do all your work,'"

14"'but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work - not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor the stranger who is inside your gates. Then your manservant and your maidservant may rest as well as you.'"

15"'Remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the LORD your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day.'"

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

17"'You shall not kill.'"

18"'You shall not commit adultery.'"

19"'You shall not steal.'"

20"'You shall not give false witness against your neighbour.'"

21"'You shall not desire your neighbour's wife. You shall not covet your neighbour's house, or his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.'"

22"These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly on the mountain, out of the middle of the fire, the cloud and the thick darkness, with a great voice. He added nothing more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me."

23"When you heard the voice out of the middle of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me - all the heads of your tribes, and your elders."

24"And you said, 'Look, the LORD our God has shown us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the middle of the fire. Today we have seen that God speaks with man, and man still lives.'"

25"'Now then, why should we die? This great fire will burn us up. If we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, we shall die.'"

26"'For who of all flesh has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the middle of the fire, as we have, and stayed alive?'"

27"'You go near, and hear all that the LORD our God will say. Then tell us everything that the LORD our God says to you, and we will hear it and do it.'"

28"The LORD heard your words when you spoke to me, and the LORD said to me, 'I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. All that they have said is good.'"

29"'Oh, that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear me and keep all my commandments always, so that it might be well with them and with their children for ever!'"

30"'Go, say to them, Go back into your tents again.'"

31"'But as for you, stand here by me, and I will tell you all the commandments, the statutes and the judgments which you shall teach them, so that they may do them in the land which I am giving them to possess.'"

32"So be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. Do not turn aside to the right hand or to the left."

33"You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land which you shall possess."

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Explanation

Deuteronomy 5

In short

Moses gathers Israel and restates the Ten Commandments that God spoke to them at Mount Horeb. He explains why they need a mediator: the people were terrified by God's direct voice from the fire and asked Moses to receive God's words for them instead. The chapter ends with Moses commissioned to teach these commandments to the next generation.

Context

This is Moses' second speech to Israel, near the end of their forty years in the wilderness. He is reminding the people of the covenant God made with them at Mount Horeb, when they heard God's voice from the fire. The people had been afraid of God's direct presence, so they asked Moses to stand between them and God. Now, before they enter the promised land, Moses restates what God commanded them then.

What the text says

Moses calls all Israel to hear and learn the statutes and judgments (verses 1-2). He tells them the covenant was made with them directly, not with their ancestors (verse 3). God spoke to them face to face from the fire on the mountain (verse 4), but Moses stood between God and the people because the people feared the fire and would not come up the mountain (verse 5).

Verses 6-21 record the Ten Commandments as God spoke them: do not worship other gods, do not make graven images, do not take God's name in vain, keep the Sabbath day, honor your parents, do not kill, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, or covet your neighbor's possessions. The Sabbath command includes a humanitarian reason: remember that you were slaves in Egypt (verse 15).

Verses 22-27 describe how God spoke all these words to the assembly from the fire, cloud, and darkness with a great voice, then wrote them on two stone tables and gave them to Moses. When the people heard God's voice, they came to Moses in fear, saying they have seen that God talks with humans and they lived (verse 24). They ask Moses to speak for them because they fear dying if they hear God's voice again (verses 25-27).

God approves their words, saying they have spoken well (verse 28), but wishes they would keep his commandments always (verse 29). God tells the people to return to their tents while Moses stays to receive the commandments he will teach them (verses 30-31). The chapter ends with Moses commanding Israel to observe all God has commanded them and to walk in his ways (verses 32-33).

Takeaways

  • The Ten Commandments are God's direct speech to Israel, with Moses as the appointed intermediary between God's frightening presence and the people's fear.
  • The Sabbath law is presented with a humanitarian motivation: remembering slavery in Egypt makes the requirement to let servants rest understandable.
  • Obedience to God's commands is framed as the path to life and well-being in the land God gives them.

Explanation written with the help of AI. The Bible text above is not changed. Context and interpretation are flagged as such; always come back to the text itself.

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