The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments could be the best known words from the Bible.  When God gave us His laws, He needed something that would get attention and be remembered – ergo the Ten Commandments.  However, when I read the words from Exodus [Chapter 20] there seems to be more than ten.  Hmmmm!

Using a secular translation from The World Almanac, the Ten Commandments are listed but asterisks indicate that different religions break them up differently.  The Jews have a different first commandment than the Christians.  The Catholics have a different ninth and tenth commandment than other Christians or the Jews.  There are also other differences.  The words are the same.  The meaning is the same.  But, the verses and paragraphs end differently.  Further, the Ten Commandments are repeated in Deuteronomy 5:6-5:18 with some subtle differences.  Following, is a table I extrapolated from Exodus 20:2-14.

Next time someone wants to post the Ten Commandments in a public place, maybe you should ask “which version?”  I won’t.  You can’t win talking about religion.  Also, religion is probably not something I should write about, either, so I am stopping here.  Hopefully I gave you something to think about.