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Exodus 20

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1 And God spoke all these words, saying,

2 I am Jehovah thy God, who brought· thee ·out of the land of Egypt, out·​·of the house of servitude*.

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before My faces.

4 Thou shalt not make to thee a graven image, nor any figure of what is in the heavens above, or what is in the earth beneath, or what is in the waters beneath the earth.

5 Thou shalt not bow· thyself ·down to them, nor serve them; for I, Jehovah, thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons, on the third and on the fourth generation* of those who hate Me;

6 and doing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

7 Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold· him ·innocent who takes His name in vain.

8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep· it ·holy.

9 Six days shalt thou serve, and do all thy work*;

10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of Jehovah thy God; thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son nor thy daughter, thy manservant nor thy maidservant, nor thy beast, nor thy sojourner who is in thy gates;

11 for in six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day, and made· it ·holy.

12 Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be prolonged upon the ground that Jehovah thy God is giving to thee.

13 Thou shalt not murder.

14 Thou shalt not commit·​·adultery.

15 Thou shalt not steal.

16 Thou shalt not answer against thy neighbor as a false witness*.

17 14 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.

18 15 And all the people saw the voices, and the torches, and the voice of the shophar*, and the mountain smoking; and the people saw, and they quaked, and stood far·​·off.

19 16 And they said to Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear; and let not God Speak with us, lest perchance we die.

20 17 And Moses said to the people, Fear not; for God has come for the sake of tempting you, and so·​·that the fear of Him may be before your faces, that you sin not.

21 18 And the people stood far·​·off, and Moses approached the dense·​·darkness where God was.

22 19 And Jehovah said to Moses, Thus shalt thou say to the sons of Israel, You have seen that I have spoken with you from the heavens.

23 20 You shall not make with Me gods of silver and gods of gold; you shall not make them to you.

24 21 An altar of ground thou shalt make to Me, and shalt sacrifice on it thy burnt·​·offerings, and thy peace·​·offerings, thy flocks, and thy herds; in every place where I shall cause My name to be remembered, I will come to thee, and I will bless thee.

25 22 And if thou make for Me an altar of stones, thou shalt not build it of hewn stones; for if thou move thy chisel on it, then thou wilt profane it.

26 23 And thou shalt not go·​·up on stairs on My altar, that thy nakedness be not revealed upon it.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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This fresco was created by Franz Xaver Kirchebner in the Parish church of St. Ulrich in Gröden, Italy, which was built in the late 18th century.

The Lord in essence is perfect love expressed as perfect wisdom. He created us so that He could love us, give us love and wisdom of our own, and thus be united with us. This is the ultimate blessing, for us to receive His love and wisdom and to be together with Him, and all other forms and meanings of "blessing" flow from it. This flow, however, takes many different forms in the Bible. When people receive the Lord's blessing, it illustrates how His love and wisdom flow into us in forms that fit the spiritual state people represent in the Word. When people bless the Lord, it indicates an acknowledgment that life and all its gifts come from Him and shows a desire to accept them and be conjoined. When people bless each other, it represents the desire to share good desires and true ideas as much as possible.