CHAPTER 5 Apr. 22 
The Ten Commandments
Moses called to all Israel and said to them, Hear, Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I speak in your ears this day, that you may learn them and observe to do them. 2Yahweh our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3Yahweh didn’t make this covenant with our fathers but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. 4Yahweh spoke with you face to face on the mountain out of the midst of the fire, 5(I stood between Yahweh and you at that time to show you the word of Yahweh, for you were afraid because of the fire, and didn’t go up onto the mountain) saying, 6I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 7You must have no other gods before Me. 8You must not make an engraved image for yourself, any likeness of what is in heaven above, or what is in the earth beneath, or what is in the water under the earth. 9You must not bow down yourself to them nor serve them, for I Yahweh your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me, 10and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments. 11You must not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. 12Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as Yahweh your God commanded you. 13You shall labour six days and do all your work, 14but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God in which you must not do any work, 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 the stranger who is within your gates; so 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 Yahweh your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm, therefore Yahweh your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. 16Honour your father and your mother as Yahweh your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land which Yahweh your God gives you. 17You must not murder. 18Neither must you commit adultery. 19Neither must you steal. 20Neither must you give false testimony against your neighbour. 21Neither must you covet your neighbour’s wife, neither shall you desire your neighbour’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour’s. 22These words Yahweh spoke to all your assembly on the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud and the thick darkness, with a great voice; and He added no more. He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. 23When you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness as the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders, 24and you said, Behold, Yahweh our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire. We have seen this day 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 voice of Yahweh our God any more, then we shall die. 26For who is there of all humanity that has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire as we have, and has lived? 27Go near and hear all that Yahweh our God shall say, and tell us all that Yahweh our God shall tell you, and we will hear it and do it. 28Yahweh heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me and Yahweh 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! 30Go, tell them, Return to your tents. 31But as for you, stand here by Me and I will tell you all the commandments, 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 must observe to do therefore as Yahweh your God has commanded you; you must not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33You must walk in all the way which Yahweh your God has commanded you, in order 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.

Commentary

5:1 Learn them and observe... them- Learning / understanding God’s principles is the way towards being obedient to them. None of His laws are mere senseless tests of our obedience or submission to Him; they have specific intention.
5:3 Didn’t make this covenant with our fathers- We must read in an ellipsis here; clearly the idea is that what God had done at Sinai wasn’t only between Him and the people there at that time, but also with all His subsequent people. In our Bible study we must be aware that we are reading translations of languages which often rely on understanding the idiom for their real meaning to be delivered to us the readers. In Hebrew especially, we often have to read in an ellipsis; and this verse is a parade example.
5:5 The way Moses in his spiritual maturity in Deuteronomy sees Israel as far more righteous than they were reflects the way the Lord imputes righteousness to us. He says here that Israel didn't go near the mountain because they were afraid of the fire, whereas Ex. 19:21-24 teaches that Israel at that time were not so afraid of the fire, and were quite inclined to break through the dividing fence and gaze in unspiritual fascination at a theophany which was beyond them. Counting others as righteous rather than endlessly holding them to their failings is the way of grace and is the mark of maturity.
5:9 Visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children- Throughout Ez. 18 God clarifies that He doesn’t punish children for the sin of their parents; He deals with people on an individual level. However, the effect of sin is often felt in the society of subsequent generations, and in the process of how that works out, God is there enabling and permitting it to happen; in the same way as we all suffer the consequence of Adam’s sin and yet can still be God’s acceptable children. 
5:11 We take on the Name of the Lord in baptism into that Name, just as Israel carried God’s Name as a people in Old Testament times. Our relationship with Him is not be a vain thing to us, a mere social club we joined, a casual association- it is to be our life, at the very core of our being. 
5:21 The Law of Moses was the only legal code to as it were criminalize internal attitudes; nobody knows who covets what in their hearts, and there was no legal apparatus to punish this particular transgression of law. But the Law of Moses was a direct covenant between God and every individual amongst His people, and to Him they were personally responsible and answerable.
5:22 When Moses commented about the commandments that God “added no more”, he foresaw his people’s tendency to add the Halachas of their extra commandments… In this his time of spiritual maturity he could foresee the spiritual problems they would have in their hour by hour life, he appreciated how both their nature and their disobedience would be such a problem for them, and Moses foresaw that they would not cope well with it. Sensitivity to others’ likely failures and concern for them is another indicator of spiritual maturity.
5:27 We too have a tendency to shy away from a direct relationship with God through His word, and prefer a system of human mediators to bring God to us- as we see in the established churches. But God wants to have direct contact with us through the medium of His word.