十诫：「我是耶和华你的神，曾将你从埃及地为奴之家领出来。
　　
　　1. 除了我以外，你不可有别的神；
　　2. 不可为自己雕刻偶像；
　　3. 不可妄称耶和华你神的名；
　　4. 当记念安息日，守为圣日；
　　5. 当孝敬父母；
　　6. 不可杀人；
　　7. 不可奸淫；
　　8. 不可偷盗；
　　9. 不可作假见证陷害人；
　　10. 不可贫恋人的房屋，也不可贪恋人的妻子，仆婢，牛驴，并他一切所有的。」

    不同译文

 

“除了我以外，你不可有别的奴隶主。”

    “不可为自己雕刻偶像，不可跪拜那些像，也不可侍奉他……”

    “爱我、守我诫命的，我必向他们发慈爱，直到千代。”

    “当记念安息日，守为圣日。”

    “当孝敬父母，使你的日子在你神所赐你的地上得以长久。”

    “不可杀人。”

    “不可奸淫。”

    “不可偷盗。”

    “不可作假见证陷害人。”

“不可贪邻居的房屋，也不可贪邻居的妻子、仆婢、牛驴，和他一切所有。”

问题：什么是十诫？

回答： 十诫是圣经中的十条律法，神在以色列民族刚离开埃及之后赐给他们的。十诫基本上是对旧约律法中六百多条戒律的总结。前四条诫命是关于我们跟神的关系。后六条诫命是如何处理我们彼此间的关系。十诫纪录在圣经出埃及记20：1-17和申命记5：6-21，如下文：

（1）“除了我以外，你不可有别的神。”这条诫命反对敬拜除了真神以外的其他神。所有其他的神都是假神。

（2）“不可为自己雕刻偶像；也不可作什么形像仿佛上天、下地和地底下、水中的百物。不可跪拜那些像；也不可侍奉它，因为我耶和华你的神，是忌邪的神。恨我的，我必追讨他的罪，自父及子，直到三四代；爱我、守我诫命的，我必向他们发慈爱，直到千代。”这条诫命反对制造偶像，用偶像代替神。我们制造不出任何能精确描绘神的像。造偶像代表神就是敬拜假神。

（3）“不可妄称耶和华你神的名；因为妄称耶和华名的，耶和华必不以他为无罪。”这是一条反对妄用主名的诫命。我们不要轻慢神的名。我们提到神时要充满尊敬和荣耀来表示我们对神的敬畏。

（4）“当记念安息日，守为圣日。六日要劳碌作你一切的工，但第七日是向耶和华你神当守的安息日。这一日你和你的儿女、仆婢、牲畜，并你城里寄居的客旅，无论何工都不可作，因为六日之内，耶和华造天、地、海和其中的万物，第七日便安息，所以耶和华赐福与安息日，定为圣日。”这条诫命是要守安息日（星期六，一周的最后一天），作为献给主的日。

（5）“当孝敬父母，使你的日子在耶和华你神所赐你的地上得以长久。”这条诫命是孝顺和尊敬父母。

（6）“不可杀人。” 这条诫命反对预谋杀害他人。

（7）“不可奸淫。”这条诫命反对与除配偶之外的人发生性关系。

（8）“不可偷盗。”这条诫命反对未征得别人的许可不能拿走任何不属于我们的东西。

（9）“不可作假见证陷害人。”这条诫命反对为别人做不真实的见证。实质上是一条反对撒谎的诫命。

（10）“不可贪恋人的房屋；也不可贪恋人的妻子、仆婢、牛驴，并他一切所有的。”这条诫命反对要求得到不属于你的东西。贪婪可导致上面诫命所说的：谋杀、奸淫、和偷窃。如果做某件事是错的，那么有做那件事的欲望也是错的。

What are the Ten Commandments?

Question: "What are the Ten Commandments? What is the Decalogue?"

Answer: The Ten Commandments (also known as the Decalogue) are ten laws in the Bible that God gave to the nation of Israel shortly after the exodus from Egypt. The Ten Commandments are essentially a summary of the 613 commandments contained in the Old Testament Law. The first four commandments deal with our relationship with God. The last six commandments deal with our relationships with one another. The Ten Commandments are recorded in the Bible in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21 and are as follows:

1) “You shall have no other gods before me.” This command is against worshipping any god other than the one true God. All other gods are false gods.

2) “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” This command is against making an idol, a visible representation of God. There is no image we can create that can accurately portray God. To make an idol to represent God is to worship a false god.

3) “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name.” This is a command against taking the name of the Lord in vain. We are not to treat God’s name lightly. We are to show reverence to God by only mentioning Him in respectful and honoring ways.

4) “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” This is a command to set aside the Sabbath (Saturday, the last day of the week) as a day of rest dedicated to the Lord.

5) “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.” This is a command to always treat one’s parents with honor and respect.

6) “You shall not murder.” This is a command against the premeditated murder of another human being.

7) “You shall not commit adultery.” This is a command against have sexual relations with anyone other than one’s spouse.

8) “You shall not steal.” This is a command against taking anything that is not one’s own, without the permission of the person to whom it belongs.

9) “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” This is a command prohibiting testifying against another person falsely. It is essentially a command against lying.

10) “You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” This is a command against desiring anything that is not one’s own. Coveting can lead to breaking one of the commandments listed above: murder, adultery, and theft. If it is wrong to do something, it is wrong to desire to do that same something.

Many people mistakenly look at the Ten Commandments as a set of rules that, if followed, will guarantee entrance into heaven after death. In contrast, the purpose of the Ten Commandments is to force people to realize that they cannot perfectly obey the Law (Romans 7:7-11), and are therefore in need of God’s mercy and grace. Despite the claims of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16, no one can perfectly obey the Ten Commandments (Ecclesiastes 7:20). The Ten Commandments demonstrate that we have all sinned (Romans 3:23) and are therefore in need of God’s mercy and grace, available only through faith in Jesus Christ.