138-139 : The Ten Commandments
When the voice of the trumpet sounded long blasts, and grew louder and louder,
Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice.
Then the Lord came down upon the top of Mount Sinai,
and he called Moses up to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
And God spoke all these words,
saying: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,out of the house of slavery.
"You shall have no gods other than me.
"You shall not make any sculptured image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth.
You shall not bow down to them nor worship them.
For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the offspring of those who hate me, and
showing mercy to thousands of those that love me and keep my commandments.
"You shall not use the name of the Lord your God carelessly.
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labour 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 any member of your family and household, nor any person living with you. 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 seventh day and made it holy.
"Respect your father and your mother, so that your days may be many in the land the Lord your God
gives to you.
"You shall not kill.
"You shall not commit adultery.
"You shall not steal.
"You shall not wrongly accuse your neighbour.
"You shall not envy your neighbour, nor desire to have his house, his wife, his servants, his animals, nor anything that is his."
All the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the noise of the trumpet,
and saw the mountain smoke.
And when they did so, they moved back and stood at a distance.
And they said to Moses: "Speak to us, and we will listen.
But do not let God speak to us, for fear that we may die."
And Moses said to the people: "Do not fear, for God has come to test you, so that you may learn to have respect for him, so that you may do no wrong."
The people stood far off while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where the Lord was.
LAWS FOR GOVERNING THE TRIBES
And God spoke to Moses and gave him laws to govern the tribes of Israel in all their acts.
And among the laws that were given were the following:
"Anyone who strikes another man and kills him must himself be put to death.
"Anyone who strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.
"Anyone who kidnaps another, and sells him or keeps him as a slave shall be put to death.
"Anyone who curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.
"Life shall be given for life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, burning for burning, wound for wound.
"But if a thief is killed by a person who attacks him in the act of stealing,
that person shall not be punished for murder.
"If an ox gores a man or woman, and they die,
then the ox shall be stoned and he shall not be eaten,
but the owner of the ox shall not be charged.
But if the ox was accustomed to push with his horn in time past,
and it has been made known to his owner and he has not kept him in,
the ox shall be stoned and the owner also shall be put to death.
"If a man steals an ox or a sheep and kills it or sells it,
he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.
If the animal is found in his hand alive, whether it is ox or ass or sheep, he shall restore double.
"Any man who worships any god other than the Lord shall be destroyed.
"You shall deal kindly with strangers, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
"You shall care for the widow and the fatherless child.
If you hurt them, and they cry to the Lord, their cry shall be heard.
The Lord's anger shall be great, and he will cause your own death,
so that your wives shall be widows and your children fatherless.
"If you lend money to any of my people who are poor,
you shall not take interest on the sum owed to you.
"You shall obey without complaint the ruler and the judges of the people."
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