Year of the Bible
Exodus 20
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Commentary on the Book of Exodus, Chapter 20:
God’s glory has now descended on Mt. Sinai, and God speaks in thunder and trumpets. He introduces Himself as the Lord who brought His people out of Egypt. He explains how His people are to respond to this gift of freedom, and this response is what we call the Ten Commandments. These commands establish the basic covenantal relationship of the people to God and to one another. God also gives a preview of what will later, in the Book of Leviticus, become lengthy commands for sacrifices that will be a necessary part of worship. Interspersed among the commands is the reaction of the people: they are afraid and ask Moses to mediate between them and God. Moses explains they should not fear, which suggests they should not be afraid. He adds that God’s fear, which could be translated as God’s awesomeness, should be before them as a reminder to not break their relationship with God.
The Book of Exodus, Chapter 20:
The Ten Commandments
1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
8 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates; 11 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 sabbath day and hallowed it.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
13 “You shall not kill.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
18 Now when all the people perceived the thunder and the lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled; and they stood afar off, 19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will hear; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.” 20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that the fear of him may be before your eyes, that you may not sin.”
God Gives Moses Laws about Sacrifice
21 And the people stood afar off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. 22 And the LORD said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven. 23 You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold. 24 An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you. 25 And if you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones; for if you wield your tool upon it you profane it. 26 And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.’
*Daily Lectio Divina Question:
Watch or listen to Jen Brown's video explainer and use it as an examination of conscience. Go through each commandment with Jen. How are you doing on each commandment? Ponder, pray and then take those insights to the Sacrament of Confession this week. You can search for Confession times in your area using this website: https://masstimes.org/
Biblical Commentary provided by the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan. Join a Catholic Biblical School of Michigan class this September at Holy Family in Grand Blanc or online.
Revised Standard Version; Second Catholic Edition. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006).
Permission to use the RSV-2CE given for Bishop's Year of the Bible by Ignatius Press. Many thanks to Ignatius for this.
If you're looking for a good Catholic edition of the Bible, look no further.
Entonces Dios pronunció todas
estas palabras, diciendo:
2 –Yo soy el Señor, tu Dios, que te ha
sacado del país de Egipto, de la casa de
la esclavitud.
3 »No tendrás otro dios fuera de mí.
4 »No te harás escultura ni imagen,
ni de lo que hay arriba en el cielo, ni de
lo que hay abajo en la tierra, ni de lo que
hay en las aguas por debajo de la tierra.
5 No te postrarás ante ellos ni les darás
culto, porque yo, el Señor, tu Dios, soy
un Dios celoso que castigo la culpa de
los padres en los hijos hasta la tercera
y la cuarta generación de aquellos que
me odian; 6 pero tengo misericordia por
mil generaciones con los que me aman
y guardan mis mandamientos.
7 »No tomarás el nombre del Señor,
tu Dios, en vano, pues el Señor no dejará
impune al que tome su nombre en
vano.
8 »Recuerda el día del sábado, para
santificarlo. 9 Durante seis días trabajarás
y harás tus tareas. 10 Pero el día séptimo
es sábado, en honor del Señor, tu
Dios. No harás en él trabajo alguno, ni
tú ni tu hijo, ni tu hija, ni tu siervo, ni
tu sierva, ni tu ganado, ni el extranjero
que habita junto a ti. 11 Pues el Señor en
seis días hizo el cielo y la tierra, el mar
y todo lo que contiene, pero el día séptimo
descansó. Por eso el Señor bendijo
el día del sábado y lo santificó.
12 »Honra a tu padre y a tu madre
para que se prolonguen tus días sobre la
tierra que el Señor, tu Dios, te da.
13 »No matarás.
14 »No cometerás adulterio.
15 »No robarás.
16 »No darás falso testimonio contra
tu prójimo.
17 »No codiciarás los bienes de tu
prójimo; ni codiciarás la mujer de tu
prójimo, ni su esclavo ni su esclava, ni
su buey, ni su asno ni nada de lo que
pertenezca a tu prójimo.
Todo el pueblo percibía los truenos
y los relámpagos, el sonido de la
trompeta y la montaña humeante; y se llenaron
de temor y se mantenían a distancia.
19 Entonces le dijeron a Moisés:
–Habla tú con nosotros y te escucharemos;
pero que no hable Dios con
nosotros, no sea que muramos.
20 Respondió Moisés al pueblo:
–No temáis, pues Dios ha venido
para probaros, para que su temor esté
ante vuestros ojos y no pequéis.
21 Y el pueblo se mantuvo a distancia
mientras Moisés se acercaba hacia la
densidad de la nube donde estaba Dios.
22 Entonces dijo el Señor a Moisés:
–Así hablarás a los hijos de Israel:
«Vosotros habéis visto que os he hablado
desde el cielo. 23 No os fabricaréis dioses
de plata, ni os haréis dioses de oro.
24 »Me harás un altar de tierra y me
sacrificarás sobre él tus holocaustos y
tus sacrificios de comunión, tu ganado
menor y tu ganado mayor; en todo lugar
donde haga conmemorar mi nombre,
vendré a ti y te bendeciré.
25 »Y en caso de hacerme un altar de
piedra, no lo edificarás con piedras talladas,
pues al dejar caer tu escoplo sobre
ellas, las profanarías.
26 »Tampoco subirás a mi altar por
escalones, para que, al subir por ellos,
no quede al descubierto tu desnudez».
Pregunta de Lectio Divina del día de hoy
La Biblia de Navarra
Permiso para usar esta versión de la primera edición de la Biblia de Navarra
para el Año de la Biblia del Obispo
dado por Ediciones Universidad de Navarra, S.A. (EUNSA).