"...look into all things with a searching eye” - Baha'u'llah (Prophet Founder of the Baha'i Faith)

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Mar 13, 2013

What are the Ten Commandments?

The Ten Commandments vary according to religion and denomination. In the Jewish tradition, the Ten Commandments (based on Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21) are as follows:

1. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

2. You shall have no other god to set against me. You shall not make a carved image for yourself.

3. You shall not make wrong use of the name of the Lord your God.

4. Remember to keep the Sabbath day holy.

5. Honor your father and your mother.

6. You shall not commit murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not give fake evidence against your neighbor.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife; you shall not covet your neighbor's house or anything that belongs to him.

In the Christian tradition, the Jewish first commandment is not included in the list. For Eastern Orthodox Christians and most Protestants, the first and second commandments are as follows:

1. You shall have no other god to set against me.

2. You shall not make a carved image for yourself.

The commandments then continue in conformity with the Jewish tradition. Roman Catholics and Lutherans, however, list the commandments as follows:

1. You shall have no other god to set against me; you shall not make a carved image for yourself.

2. You shall not make wrong use of the name of the Lord your God.

3. Remember to keep the Sabbath day holy.

4. Honor your father and your mother.

5. You shall not commit murder.

6. You shall not commit adultery.

7. You shall not steal.

8. You shall not give false evidence against your neighbor.

9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house or anything that belongs to him. (The Book of Answers, by Barbara Berliner)