The Bible

 

Exodus 20

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1 And God spake all these words, saying,

2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

13 Thou shalt not kill.

14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

15 Thou shalt not steal.

16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God Speak with us, lest we die.

20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

22 And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.

23 Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.

24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.

25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.

26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #8863

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8863. Verses 2-7 I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves. You shall not have other gods before My face. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness [of things] which are in the heavens above, and which are on the earth beneath, and which are in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, and you shall not serve them; for I am Jehovah your God, a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons, 1 on the third and on the fourth [generations] of those who hate Me, and showing mercy to thousands who love Me and keep My commandments. You shall not take the name of [Jehovah] your God in vain; for Jehovah will not render him innocent who takes His name in vain.

'I am Jehovah your God' means the Lord in respect of the Divine Human reigning universally, in every single aspect of goodness and truth. 'Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves' means deliverance by Him from hell. 'You shall not have other gods before My face' means that there must be no thought about truths from any source other than the Lord. 'You shall not make for yourself a graven image' means no product of self-intelligence. 'Or any likeness' means a resemblance of those things which are from God. 'Which are in the heavens above, and which are on the earth beneath' means which exist in spiritual light, and which exist in natural light. 'And which are in the waters under the earth' means which exist on the level of the bodily senses. 'You shall not bow down to them, and you shall not serve them' means that no Divine worship must be offered to them. 'For I am Jehovah your God' means that the Divine from the Lord is in every single thing. 'A jealous God' means that as a result there is falsity and evil. 'Visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons' means the consequent propagation of falsity from evil. 'On the third and on the fourth [generations]' means in a long sequence, and joined together. 'Of those who hate Me' means those who completely reject the Lord's Divinity. 'And showing mercy to thousands' means goodness and truth imparted to them for evermore. 'Who love Me' means who receive the good of love. 'And keep My commandments' means who receive the truths of faith. 'You shall not take the name of your God in vain' means instances in which the truth or the good of faith is profaned or blasphemed. 'For Jehovah will not render him innocent who takes His name in vain' means that these things cannot be forgiven.

Footnotes:

1. or the children

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.