Exodus 20
Ten commandments
Then God said,
1. “I am your God the Existing One who brought you out of the Egyptian slave house. You shouldn’t have any gods other than me.
2. “You shouldn’t make representations of anything in the sky, earth, or water. Don’t bow to them or work for them, because I’m the Existing One—your God—and I’m jealous. When people hate me, I carry over their ancestors corruption to their descendants for three or four generations. But when people love me and regard my mandates, I treat them with goodness in the thousands.
3. “Don’t affiliate yourself with the Existing One’s reputation lightly, because I won't regard those people as innocent.
4. “Remember to set apart sabbaticals. Do all your work in six days but the seventh day will be a sabbatical for your God, the Existing One. You, your kids, your servants, your livestock, and your visitors shouldn’t do any work on sabbaticals. The Existing One made the sky, ground, and sea in six days along with everything in them and then rested on the seventh day and set it apart.
5. “Respect your parents so that you’ll have more time in the country given to you by your God the Existing One.
6. “Don’t murder.
7. “Don’t engage in infidelity.
8. “Don’t steal.
9. “Don’t give dishonest testimonies against your fellow human beings.
10. “Don’t crave for your neighbor’s house, his wife, his employees, his animals, or anything else that belongs to your fellow human beings.”
Israelites tremble
Everyone saw the lights and smoke around the mountain, and everyone heard the sounds and the trumpet. When everyone saw these things they stood off at a distance, trembling. They told Moses,
“Tell us everything yourself and we’ll listen. Just don’t let God speak to us directly, or we will die.”
Moses told them,
“Don’t be alarmed. God came down so that he could test you and so that your fear for him would prevent you from going the wrong way.”
So everyone stood off at a distance while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.
Don’t have additional gods
Then the Existing One told Moses to tell Israel,
“You saw how I spoke to you from the sky. Don’t appoint any gods other than me. Don’t make gods out of silver or gold for yourselves. Make an altar for me out of earth, and use it to offer me your burnt sacrifices, alliance sacrifices, sheep, and oxen. I’ll come join you and bless you everywhere I cause my reputation to be remembered. If you make me an alter out of stone, make sure you don’t build it out of cut stones, because using your tools on it will defile it. And don’t climb up steps to my altar to avoid broadcasting your shame as you climb.”