What are the ten commandments of God:
In the Bible, there are the Ten Commandments or Decalogue, which consist of 10 rules that were given by God to His people, so that they would have a happier and more prosperous life. God gave these commandments to Moses, who wrote them on tablets of stone. The 10 Commandments are found in Exodus 20.
The word commandment comes from the verb manda, which means order or rule. A commandment is a voice of command, precept, or mandate.
Ten Commandments of God
You will have no other gods besides me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or an image of anything in heaven, on earth, or in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the sins of their fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who despise me, but dealing kindly to a thousand. generations to those who love me and keep my commandments.
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not let anyone who takes his name in vain go unpunished.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall work and do all your work on them, but the seventh day is the Sabbath to the Lord your God. You shall not do any work on that day, you, nor your sons or daughters, nor your male or female servants, nor your livestock, nor the foreigners who dwell in your cities. For in six days, the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them, but on the seventh day, he rested. Therefore, the Lord blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.
Honor your father and mother, that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male or female servants, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to him.
Meaning of each of the 10 Commandments
1. Thou shalt have no other gods besides me
The greatest of all commandments says that God is unique and must be loved above all. For those who follow this commandment, one should not put God in second place, which means living according to his law and never looking outside of it (either in superstitions or other beliefs) for the answers to the questions of existence.
2. Thou shalt not make for thyself any idol
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or an image of anything in heaven, on earth, or in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of their fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who despise me.
Exodus 20:4-5
This commandment says that nothing replaces God, and therefore idols are not to be worshiped in his place.
There is a divergence here between the Catholic Church and the Protestant denominations which, taking the commandment literally, do not make use of images. Catholics defend themselves by saying that the veneration of images (icons) cannot be confused with the worship of God. The veneration of images of saints, for example, would be a way of accessing God, not its replacement.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
Exodus 20:7
This commandment calls attention to respect for God and sacred things. Abusing God's name and playing with him are considered disrespectful attitudes.
4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy
This commandment says that one day a week must be kept for rest and for worshiping God. For Jews, the weekly day of inactivity is Shabbat ("rest"). Christianity in general (with rare exceptions) considers Sunday as the Lord's Day because it is the day of Christ's resurrection. In Christianity, the commandment has to do with the importance of rest.
5. Honor your father and mother.
Honor your father and mother, that you may live long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
Exodus 20:12
The commandment that one must honor father and mother is justified by the fact that it is the parents who give life and transmit the knowledge of God. Parents, to some extent, are the figure of the divine presence in the life of the individual.
6. Thou shalt not kill
This commandment, which is found in Exodus 20:13, deals with a fundamental value: life. Therefore, implicit in this commandment is the idea that human life is sacred because it was created by God.
You have heard what was said to your ancestors: 'Thou shalt not kill,' and 'whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.'
But I say to you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Also, whoever says to his brother, 'Rakka', will be taken to court. And anyone who says, 'Crazy!' runs the risk of going to hellfire.
Matthew 5:21,22
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery
This commandment, which is found in Exodus 20:14, speaks of the prohibition of adultery (extramarital relationship) and the protection of marriage, the sacrament that gives rise to the family. For Christians, adultery is a serious offense, as it violates the sacred covenant made before God.
In Matthew 5:27,28, it is seen that sin can exist in thought, even before adultery is committed:
Ye have heard that it was said to those of old, Thou shalt not commit adultery.
But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust after she has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Matthew 5:27,28
8. Thou shalt not steal
This commandment is found in Exodus 20:15. It expressly says that it is wrong to take possession of another's property, which includes any kind of theft, robbery, fraud, extortion, kidnapping, or act of corruption.
In Mark 10:19, some of the commandments are recovered, including the one that forbids theft:
Thou knowest the commandments: Thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not bear false witness; thou shalt not defraud anyone; honor your father and mother.
Mark 10:19
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor
This commandment forbids accusing a person of what he has not done. Therefore, it can be said that he deals with slander, lying, gossip and slander. Failing the truth is a serious moral fault before God.
10. Thou shalt not covet
This commandment, which is in Exodus 20:17, deals with the sin of envy or covetousness - dissatisfaction with what you have and the desire to have what is not yours. This is what we read in Deuteronomy 5:21:
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, and thou shalt not desire thy neighbor's house, nor his field, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's.
Deuteronomy 5:21
the most important commandment
The Bible reveals an episode where Jesus is questioned about the most important commandment of all. Jesus replied that the most important thing is, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37).
The second most important is:
"Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39).
These two commandments are also known as the golden rule because whoever manages to fulfill them will surely also fulfill the 10 commandments expressed in the Old Testament.
The second, which speaks of love among others, is also often described as the new commandment, thanks to the biblical passage in John 13:34.
