The Ten Commandments are a foundational summary of biblical covenant law. They appear most fully in Exodus 20:1–17 and Deuteronomy 5:6–21. The Bible also refers to them as the “ten words,” which is the basis of the term Decalogue.
For a reader looking for the Ten Commandments, the most important thing is to see the commandments themselves. The list below gives a concise summary of the biblical material before explaining why Jewish and Christian traditions number the commands in slightly different ways.
What are the Ten Commandments?
- Worship no other gods. Israel is commanded to give exclusive loyalty to the God who brought the people out of Egypt.
- Do not make or worship idols. The biblical text prohibits making images for worship and bowing down to them as gods.
- Do not misuse the name of God. God’s name is not to be used falsely, carelessly, or dishonorably.
- Keep the Sabbath holy. The seventh day is set apart for rest and worship. Exodus connects the Sabbath with creation, while Deuteronomy connects it with Israel’s liberation from slavery.
- Honor your father and your mother. The command concerns respect and responsibility within family life.
- Do not murder. The command protects human life. English translations may render the underlying wording as “kill” or “murder,” depending on translation and interpretation.
- Do not commit adultery. The command protects marital fidelity.
- Do not steal. The command prohibits taking what belongs to another person.
- Do not give false testimony against your neighbor. The command addresses lying in testimony and, more broadly in many religious interpretations, truthful treatment of others.
- Do not covet what belongs to another person. The final command concerns wrongful desire for another person’s spouse, property, or possessions.
This ten-part list follows a common numbering used in many Reformed, Anglican, and Orthodox presentations. Catholic and Lutheran traditions preserve the same biblical material but group it differently, so their numbered list looks different even though the underlying text is the same.
Why do Catholics, Lutherans, Orthodox, Anglicans, and Reformed Christians number them differently?
Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 present a sequence of commands, but the biblical text does not place modern numbers “1” through “10” beside each sentence. Religious traditions therefore had to decide how to divide the material into ten units.
Catholic and Lutheran numbering generally treats the prohibition of other gods and the prohibition of idols as part of the first commandment. To retain a total of ten, the command against coveting is divided into two commands: one concerning a neighbor’s spouse and another concerning a neighbor’s goods.
Many Reformed, Anglican, and Orthodox traditions count “no other gods” and “no idols” separately as the first and second commandments, while treating the prohibition of coveting as one commandment.
Jewish numbering and interpretation also have their own traditional structure. The important point is that these traditions are not working from different sets of biblical commands; they are grouping the same passages in different ways.
The Catholic catechetical numbering
In a common Catholic catechetical form, the commandments are summarized as follows:
- Have no other gods before God.
- Do not misuse God’s name.
- Keep the Lord’s Day holy.
- Honor your father and mother.
- Do not kill.
- Do not commit adultery.
- Do not steal.
- Do not bear false witness.
- Do not covet another person’s spouse.
- Do not covet another person’s goods.
This numbering follows the Augustinian tradition used in Catholic catechesis and also closely parallels Lutheran numbering. It does not omit the biblical warning against idols; that material is included within the first commandment rather than numbered separately.
Where do the Ten Commandments appear in the Bible?
The first major version appears in Exodus 20, after Israel’s departure from Egypt and arrival at Mount Sinai. The second appears in Deuteronomy 5, where Moses restates the commandments to Israel before the people enter the land of Canaan.
The wording is similar in both passages, but not identical. The most noticeable difference concerns the Sabbath. Exodus connects Sabbath rest with God’s rest after creation. Deuteronomy emphasizes that Israel had been enslaved in Egypt and therefore should allow servants and others to rest as well.
Elsewhere, Exodus and Deuteronomy refer to the covenantal commands as the “ten words” and describe them as written on two tablets.
What do the Ten Commandments mean?
The Decalogue brings together obligations toward God and obligations toward other people. The opening commands concern worship, God’s name, and sacred time. The later commands concern family, life, marriage, property, truthfulness, and desire.
For Judaism, the commandments belong within the Torah and the wider covenant between God and Israel. They are not the whole of Jewish law, but they hold a prominent place within it.
For Christians, the Ten Commandments became an important framework for moral teaching and catechesis. Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed, and other Christian traditions differ in how they explain the continuing role of Old Testament law, yet all have treated the Decalogue as an important biblical text.
How did Jesus refer to the commandments?
In the New Testament, Jesus cites commandments dealing with murder, adultery, theft, false testimony, and honoring parents. He also summarizes the law through love of God and love of neighbor. Christian interpretation therefore usually treats the Ten Commandments not as an isolated checklist but as part of the wider biblical teaching about worship, justice, love, and moral responsibility.
Why the Ten Commandments still matter
The Ten Commandments remain central to religious education, preaching, liturgy, ethical reflection, and public discussion. Their significance comes not only from their ancient setting at Sinai but also from the long history of Jewish and Christian communities reading, teaching, memorizing, and interpreting them.
Understanding the commandments clearly requires two things at once: knowing the actual commands and recognizing that traditions number them differently. The wording and grouping may vary, but the core biblical material comes from Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5.
