The Ten Commandments

In the Bible,
in the book of the Bible called
Exodus,
there is a story about the Jews,
and the leader of
the Jews, Moses.
On day, Moses went up on top of a
mountain, called Mount Sinai,
and he said that
God gave him
ten laws, or
commandments.

They were
written on two
stone tablets.
It is also called
the Decalogue.

This is Hebrew, the language of the

Jews.
 These became
the most
important laws
of the Jews.

But Christians
also follow
these laws.
Here are the Ten
Commandments!
 Remember:

thou shalt
means

you will,
 and:

thy and thyself

mean

your and yourself.

1. Thou shalt have no
other gods before Me.
Long ago, people believed in many
gods.

For example, the Greeks believed in

many gods: Zeus, Hera, Apollo,
Athena, Poseidon, Aphrodite, and
others.
But the God of the Jews said:
you will worship only me.
2. Thou shalt not
make for thyself a
carved image.
 A carved image here means a statue
that is worshipped, like this golden calf.
Long ago, some people who believed in
old religions worshipped statues.
But the God of the Jews said: you
will not worship statues.
3. Thou shalt not take
the name of the Lord
thy God in vain.
 Some people curse when they are
angry: they say “gosh” and “darn”!
But the God of the Jews said: you
will not say “God” when you
curse!
 4. Remember the
Sabbath day, to keep
it holy.
The Bible says that God created
everything in six days, and
he rested on the seventh day.
So Sunday (for Christians) or Saturday
(for Jews) is called the Sabbath.
 So the God of the Jews said: you will
remember the Sabbath, and worship me
and rest too.
5. Honor thy father
and thy mother.
To honor someone is to treat him like
he is important; don’t be mean to him.
 So the God of the Jews said:
you will honor your mama and
papa.
6. Thou shalt not
murder.
To murder is to kill a person, just
because you want to.
Murder is very wrong and very
bad.
So the God of the Jews said:
you will not murder anyone.
7. Thou shalt not
commit adultery.
When they are married, a man and
a woman should love each other.
So the God of the Jews said: you
will not love some other man or
woman.
8. Thou shalt not
steal.
 To steal is just to take something
that isn’t yours, without asking and
without paying.
Stealing is wrong.
So the God of the Jews said:
you will not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear
false witness against
thy neighbor.
To bear false witness is a fancy way of
saying “lie” or “say something untrue.”
Telling lies is wrong.
So the God of the Jews said:
you will not lie.
 10. Thou shalt not covet
thy neighbor’s house; thou
shalt not covet thy
neighbors wife, nor his
male servant, nor his
female servant, nor his ox,
nor his donkey, nor
anything that is thy
To covet is just to want.
 Wanting something that
somebody else has is called envy.
That is an ugly feeling.
So the God of the Jews said: do not
envy others; do not want what they
have.
The
End