Hello Friends!
We here at Encouraging Concepts were recently
challenged in one of our Bible studies on exactly which commandment is the
"Ninth Commandment" listed in the Holy Scriptures. Most Christians today
are quite familiar with the Ten
Commandments as found in the Old Testament book of Exodus, chapter 20.
However, some folks today may not be familiar with the fact that God’s
Commandments are listed somewhat differently by various faith traditions…
The Ten
Commandments: Which Ones?
Protestants, Catholics and Jews each list the commandments of
God with slight variations. Why the
differences? Are they important? The answers provide insights into why
Evangelicals list the Ten Commandments as they do in most churches today.
Such
writers as the ancient philosopher Philo, as well as the Jewish Publication Society's translation of the Bible, the Greek
Church Fathers, and many Protestant churches, consider the first of the Ten
Commandments to be:
"I am the Lord Your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me" – Exodus 20:2-3
That
is to say, God's very existence, and God's relation to Israel in addition to
the prohibition of worshipping other gods are seen as belonging together, while
the prohibition of idolatry forms the second commandment.
God’s Word is true, inerrant,
all-sufficient and complete. Nothing is to be added and nothing is to be
subtracted. Although much could be debated on this topic – and rightfully so!
The intent of this article, however, is not to debate which list is “correct” but
to simply list the various “versions” of the Lords Ten Commandments – known
as the Decalogue – held today and
discern for yourself… Which list do you
follow and obey? Is it even possible
to keep and obey them all?
The “Protestant” list from Exodus 20:3-17:
You shall have no other gods before Me. (Commandment #1)
You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. (Commandment #2)
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. (Commandment #3)
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. (Commandment #4)
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. (Commandment #5)
You shall not kill. (Commandment #6)
You shall not commit adultery. (Commandment #7)
You shall not steal. (Commandment #8)
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Commandment #9)
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s. (Commandment #10)
The Catholic list from Exodus 20:2-17, Deuteronomy 5:6-21 and Traditional Catechetical Formula (http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/command.htm)
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Exodus 20 2-17
|
Deuteronomy 5:6-21
|
A Traditional
Catechetical Formula
|
|
I am the LORD your
God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. |
I am the LORD your
God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. |
1. I am the LORD your
God:
you shall not have strange Gods before me. |
|
You shall have no
other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 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 upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. |
You shall have no
other gods before me
. . . |
|
|
You shall not take
the name of the LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. |
You shall not take
the name of the LORD your God in vain . . . |
2. You shall not take
the name of the LORD your God in vain. |
|
Remember the sabbath
day, to keep it holy.
Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it. |
Observe the sabbath
day,
to keep it holy . . . |
3. Remember to keep
holy the LORD'S Day.
|
|
Honor your father and
your mother,
that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you. |
Honor your father and
your mother
. . . |
4. Honor your father
and your mother.
|
|
You shall not kill.
|
You shall not kill.
|
5. You shall not kill.
|
|
You shall not commit
adultery.
|
Neither shall you
commit adultery.
|
6. You shall not
commit adultery.
|
|
You shall not steal.
|
Neither shall you
steal.
|
7. You shall not
steal.
|
|
You shall not bear
false witness
against your neighbor. |
Neither shall you bear
false witness
against your neighbor. |
8. You shall not bear
false witness
against your neighbor. |
|
You shall not covet
your neighbor's house;
you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's. |
Neither shall you
covet
your neighbor's wife . . .
You shall not desire . . .
anything that is your neighbor's. |
9. You shall not covet
your neighbor's wife.
10. You shall not covet
your neighbor's goods. |
I am the Lord Your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. First Commandment (Exodus 20:2)
You shall have no other gods beside Me. You shall not make for yourself any graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of any thing that is heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them, for I, the Lord Your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. Second Commandment (Exodus 20:3-6)
You shall not take the name of the Lord Your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain. Third Commandment (Exodus 20:7)
Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the Lord Your God, in it you shall not do any manner of work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your man-servant, nor your maid-servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy. Fourth Commandment (Exodus 20:8-11)
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord God gives you. Fifth Commandment (Exodus 20:12)
You shall not murder. Sixth Commandment (Exodus 20:13)
You shall not commit adultery. Seventh Commandment (Exodus 20:13)
You shall not steal. Eighth Commandment (Exodus 20:13)
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Ninth Commandment (Exodus 20:13)
Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!You shall not covet your neighbor's house, nor his wife, his man-servant, his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbor's. Tenth Commandment (Exodus 20:14)
We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!
If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com
I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!
Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><
Encouraging Concepts
Truth for Today
"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"
Lighthouse Publications <><
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Lighthouse Publications <><
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)
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