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Deuteronomy 5

Moses recounts God’s covenant commands and Israel’s fearful response, joining the call to obedience with God’s desire for their lasting good.

Moses gathers all Israel to hear the covenant commands given at Horeb. He recounts how YHWH spoke from the fire, declared the Ten Commandments, and wrote them on two stone tablets. The people feared that hearing more of God’s voice would kill them, so they asked Moses to hear and relay his words. God approved their request and expressed his desire for hearts that would fear him and keep his commands.

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1Moses called to all Israel, and said to them, “Hear, Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I speak in your ears today, that you may learn them, and observe to do them.”
2The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
3The LORD didn’t make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive today.
4The LORD spoke with you face to face on the mountain out of the middle of the fire,
5(I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to show you the LORD’s word; for you were afraid because of the fire, and didn’t go up onto the mountain) saying,
6“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
7“You shall have no other gods before me.
8“You shall not make a carved image for yourself—any likeness of what is in heaven above, or what is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
9You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me
10and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
11“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who misuses his name.
12“Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.
13You shall labor six days, and do all your work;
14but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, in which you shall not do any work—neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.
15You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
16“Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
17“You shall not murder.
18“You shall not commit adultery.
19“You shall not steal.
20“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
21“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. Neither shall you desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
22The LORD spoke these words to all your assembly on the mountain out of the middle of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice. He added no more. He wrote them on two stone tablets, and gave them to me.
23When you heard the voice out of the middle of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;
24and you said, “Behold, the LORD our God has shown us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the middle of the fire. We have seen today that God does speak with man, and he lives.
25Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the LORD our God’s voice any more, then we shall die.
26For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the middle of the fire, as we have, and lived?
27Go near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say, and tell us all that the LORD our God tells you; and we will hear it, and do it.”
28The LORD heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me; and the LORD said to me, “I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They have well said all that they have spoken.
29Oh that there were such a 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 forever!
31But as for you, stand here by me, and I will tell you all the commandments, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess.”
32You shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn away to the right hand or to the left.
33You shall walk in all the way which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Deuteronomy 5:32Moses closes the account by requiring obedience to God’s commands without turning aside in either direction.
Deuteronomy 5:16The command to honor parents joins family obligations to God’s promise of life and well-being in the land.
Deuteronomy 5:29God’s response reaches beyond the people’s spoken promise to the enduring heart of reverence and obedience he desires.
Where this chapter reaches

Exodus records the same covenant event and commandments, while Deuteronomy’s Sabbath command highlights Israel’s rescue from slavery as the reason for shared rest. Matthew and Ephesians repeat the command to honor parents; Ephesians also draws attention to its attached promise of well-being and long life.

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After reading the whole chapter

How does the link between rescue from slavery and rest for servants shape your reading of the Sabbath command?

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What stands out in the difference between Israel’s promise to obey and God’s desire for their hearts?

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Questions people ask about Deuteronomy 5

Why does Deuteronomy 5 connect the Sabbath with slavery in Egypt?

Verse 15 grounds Sabbath observance in Israel’s rescue from bondage. Those who had been slaves must allow their servants to rest alongside them. The command extends rest throughout the household, including livestock and resident foreigners. Remembering God’s deliverance therefore shapes how Israel treats those who work within its gates.

How did God speak face to face with Israel if Moses stood between them?

The phrase describes Israel hearing God address the assembly from the fire. It does not say that they saw God’s face. Moses also served as the one who conveyed God’s word. After hearing the commandments, the people asked him to receive further instruction because they feared hearing God’s voice again.

What does Deuteronomy 5:29 mean?

God approves the people’s request for Moses to hear and relay his words, then expresses his desire for enduring reverence and obedience in their hearts. Their promise to obey is good; the verse concerns whether that commitment will last. God connects such obedience with the welfare of them and their children.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).