CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Deuteronomy 5
Chapter 5 of 34
Chapter Overview
What happens in Deuteronomy 5
Moses begins his second speech by restating the Ten Commandments. He reminds the people that God spoke directly to them from the fire at Mount Horeb, and he recalls how the people were so terrified that they asked Moses to be their go-between with God.
Scripture
Deuteronomy 5
The Covenant at Horeb
Study note
Moses called all Israel together and reminded them that the covenant God made at Horeb was not just with their ancestors but with each of them personally. God had spoken face to face from the fire, and Moses stood between God and the people because they were afraid.
1 Moses called all the Israelites together and said to them, "Pay attention, Israel, to the rules and laws I am announcing to you right now. Study them and make sure you follow them. And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.
2 The Lord our God entered into a covenant with us at Horeb. The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
3 This covenant was not only for our ancestors who came before us. The Lord made it with us -- every one of us standing here alive today. The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.
4 The Lord spoke directly to you from the fire on the mountain, face to face. The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire,
5 I stood between you and the Lord at that time to pass his message along to you, because the fire frightened you and you would not go up the mountain. The Lord said: (I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to shew you the word of the LORD: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying,
The Ten Commandments Restated
Study note
Moses restated the Ten Commandments. These were the core laws of God's covenant with Israel. The version here is nearly identical to Exodus 20, with one notable difference: the reason given for keeping the Sabbath points to their slavery in Egypt rather than to creation, emphasizing God's deliverance.
6 "'I am the Lord your God, the one who rescued you from Egypt where you lived as slaves. I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
7 You must never worship any other gods but me. Thou shalt have none other gods before me.
8 Never carve an idol for yourself -- no statue of anything up in the sky, down on the ground, or in the seas beneath. Thou shalt not make 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 waters beneath the earth:
9 Do not kneel before them or worship them. I, the Lord your God, expect your complete loyalty. When people reject me, I hold their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren accountable for their sins. Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto 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,
10 But I pour out my unfailing love on thousands of generations of people who love me and live by my commands. And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
11 Never use the name of the Lord your God carelessly. The Lord will hold guilty anyone who treats his name without respect. 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.
12 Set the Sabbath day apart as something special and sacred, as the Lord your God has told you. Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.
13 You have six days each week to get all your work done. Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:
14 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD your God: in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates; that your manservant and your maidservant may rest as well as you. 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, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
15 Never forget that you were once slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with incredible power and strength. That is the reason the Lord your God tells you to observe the Sabbath. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.
16 Show deep respect to your father and mother, just as the Lord your God has told you. If you do, you will enjoy a long life and things will go well for you in the land the Lord your God is giving you. Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
17 Never take another person's life. Thou shalt not kill.
18 Never be unfaithful to your husband or wife. Neither shalt thou commit adultery.
19 Never take what belongs to someone else. Neither shalt thou steal.
20 Never tell lies about someone. Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.
21 Never wish you had your neighbor's wife. Never be envious of your neighbor's house, land, servants, ox, donkey, or anything else that is theirs.' Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's.
The People Ask Moses to Speak for Them
Study note
After hearing God's thundering voice from the fire, the people were terrified and begged Moses to act as their messenger. God said the people spoke well and wished they would always have such respect for him. He told Moses to teach them all his commands.
22 "The Lord spoke these words to your whole gathering on the mountain, out of the fire, the thick cloud, and the deep darkness. His voice boomed, and he said nothing beyond these. He engraved them on two stone tablets and handed them to me. These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.
23 You heard the voice coming from the darkness. The mountain burned with fire. All your tribal leaders and elders came to me. And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;
24 You said, 'The Lord our God has let us see his glory and majesty, and we have heard his voice right out of the fire. Today we have learned that God can talk to human beings and they can survive. And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.
25 But why should we push our luck? This huge fire is going to kill us! If we keep listening to the Lord our God speak, we are going to die. Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die.
26 Has any human being ever heard the living God speak from inside a fire the way we did, and lived through it? For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?
27 You go up closer and hear everything the Lord our God says. Then come tell us what he said, and we promise to listen and obey.' Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.
28 "The Lord heard what you said to me, and he responded, 'I heard every word these people said to you. Everything they said was exactly right. And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken.
29 If only they would always feel this way -- always wanting to honor me and obey everything I say! Then things would go well for them and their families for all time. O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!
30 Go ahead and tell them to go back to their tents. Go say to them, Get you into your tents again.
31 But you stay here with me. I will share with you all the commands, rules, and laws you need to teach them so they can live by them in the land I am giving them.' But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.
32 "So make sure you do exactly what the Lord your God has told you. Stay on the straight path -- do not wander off in any direction. Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
33 Stick to every road the Lord your God has mapped out for you. Then you will thrive, enjoy long life, and do well in the land you are about to claim." Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.
Key Themes
Themes in Deuteronomy 5
The ten commandments as the covenant foundationGod speaks directly to his peopleHoly fear and healthy reverenceThe need for a mediator between God and humanity
Prophetic Connections
How this chapter points to Christ
Deuteronomy 5:5 1 Timothy 2:5
Moses standing between God and the people as mediator of the covenant foreshadows Christ, the one mediator between God and humanity.
Apply This Today
Living Deuteronomy 5
The people's terror at hearing God's voice directly and their request for Moses to speak on their behalf reveals a deep human need for a mediator. God honored that request. The Ten Commandments are not arbitrary rules but the foundation of a relationship with a holy God who desires our flourishing.
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Study Deuteronomy in Covenant Path
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