text:_ Monday's Reading

EXODUS 20:1-20
(Everett Fox Translation)
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

God spoke all these words,
saying:
I am YHWH your God,
who brought you out
from the land of Egypt, from a house of serfs

You are not to have
any other gods
before my presence.
You are not to make yourself a carved-image
or any figure
that is in the heavens above, that is on the earth beneath, that is in the waters beneath the earth;
you are not to bow down to them,
you are not to serve them,
for I, YHWH your God,
am a zealous God,
calling-to-account the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons,
to the third and the fourth (generation)
of those that hate me,
but showing loyalty to the thousandth
of those that love me,
of those that keep my commandments.

You are not to take up
the name of YHWH your God for emptiness,
for YHWH will not clear him
that takes up his name for emptiness.

Remember
the Sabbath day, to hallow it.
For six days, you are to serve, and to make all your work,
but the seventh day
is Sabbath for YHWH your God:
you are not to make any kind of work,
(not) you, nor your son, nor your daughter,
(not) your servant, nor your maid, nor your beast,
nor your sojourner that is within your gates.
For six days
YHWH made
the heavens and the earth,
the sea and all that is in it,
and he rested on the seventh day;
therefore YHWH gave the Sabbath day his blessing,
and he hallowed it.

Honor
your father and your mother,
in order that your days may be prolonged
on the soil that YHWH your God is giving you.

You are not to murder.

You are not to adulter.

You are not to steal.

You are not to testify
against your fellow as a false witness.

You are not to desire
the house of your neighbor,
you are not to desire the wife of your neighbor,
or his servant, or his maid, or his ox, or his donkey,
or anything that is your neighbor's.

Now all of the people were seeing
the thunder-sounds,
the flashing-torches,
the shofar sound,
and the mountain smoking:
when the people saw,
they faltered
and stood far off.
They said to Moshe:
You speak with us, and we will hearken,
but let not God speak with us, lest we die!

Moshe said to the people:
Do not be afraid!
For it is to test you that God has come,
to have awe of him be upon you,
so that you do not sin.
The people stood far off,
and Moshe approached the fog where God was.

YHWH said to Moshe:
Say thus to the Children of Israel:
You yourselves have seen
that it was from the heavens that I spoke with you.
You are not to make beside me
gods of silver, gods of gold you are not to make yourselves!