1 And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.
2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
3 The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.
4 The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire,
5 (I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to shew you the word of the Lord: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying,
6 I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
7 Thou shalt have none other gods before me.
8 Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:
9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,
10 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
11 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee.
13 Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:
14 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.
16 Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
17 Thou shalt not kill.
18 Neither shalt thou commit adultery.
19 Neither shalt thou steal.
20 Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.
21 Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's.
22 These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.
23 And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;
24 And ye said, Behold, the Lord our God hath shewed 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 doth talk with man, and he liveth.
25 Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall die.
26 For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?
27 Go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.
28 And the Lord heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the Lord said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken.
29 O that there were such an 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 for ever!
30 Go say to them, Get you into your tents again.
31 But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.
32 Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
33 Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.
Also see Part 1 in Deuteronomy 4, and Part 2 in Leviticus 18. Also, now that you have read thus far, please see the commentary in the Christian Scriptures on the verses, listed in Matthew 19.
What is the intent of the author when discussing how to keep the law, in the following verses?
And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments,
That we should keep them diligently.
Who seek Him with all their heart.
But a babbling fool will be ruined.
And observe His laws, Praise the Lord!
h.לא את אבתינו NOT WITH OUR FATHERS — i.e. not with them alone, כרת ה׳ וגו׳ DID THE LORD MAKE [THIS COVENANT], כי אתנו BUT WITH US etc.
h.פנים בפנים FACE TO FACE — R. Berechia said: Thus did Moses, in effect, say: Do not think that I am misleading you with something which does not exist at all, as an agent does acting between the vendor and the purchaser; behold, the seller Himself is speaking to you (God who transmitted the Torah to you) (cf. Pesikta Rabbati 21: Pesachim Rabbah פ' י' הדברות קמייתא).
h.לאמר SAYING — This is to be connected with (v. 4), דבר ה' עמכם בהר מתוך האש “[face to face] the Lord spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire”, — לאמר, אנכי וגו׳, saying. “I am the Lord, etc.“, ואנכי עמד בין ה׳ וביניכם WHILST I STOOD BETWEEN THE LORD AND YOU.
h.על פני BEFORE ME — i.e. in any place where I am, and that is the entire world. Another explanation: so long as I exist (i.e. always) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 20:3:2). — The Ten Commandments — I have already explained them (Exodus 20:1-14).
h.שמור OBSERVE [THE SABBATH DAY] — But in the former Ten Commandments (i.e. where they were first promulgated, in Exodus XX.), it states, “Remember [the Sabbath day]”! The explanation is: Both of them (זכור and שמור) were spoken in one utterance and as one word, and were heard in one hearing (i.e. were heard simultaneously) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 20:8:1).
h.כאשר צוך [OBSERVE THE SABBATH DAY TO SANCTIFY IT] AS [THE LORD THY GOD] COMMANDED THEE before the giving of the Law, at Marah (Shabbat 87b).
h.וזכרת כי עבד היית וגו׳ AND THOU SHALT REMEMBER THAT THOU WAST A SLAVE [IN THE LAND OF EGYPT … AND THE LORD BROUGHT THEE FORTH FROM THERE … THEREFORE HE COMMANDS THEE TO KEEP THE SABBATH DAY] — On that condition He freed you — that you should be a servant to Him and observe His commandments.
h.כאשר צוך [HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER] AS THE LORD THY GOD HATH COMMANDED THEE — Also regarding honouring parents they received command at Marah, as it is said, (Exodus 15:25) “There He appointed for them a statute and a judgement” (cf. Rashi on that passage and Note p. 243) (Sanhedrin 56b).
h.ולא תנאף AND THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY — The term ניאוף, “adultery”, is technically only applicable in the case of a married woman.
h.ולא תתאוה — The Targum renders this by ולא תירוג which, too, is an expression denoting “desiring” (חמד the word used in the preceding part of this verse), just as (Genesis 2:9) “נחמד to the eyes”, we render in the Targum by “desirable (רגג) to behold”.
h.ולא יסף — We render this in the Targum by ולא פסק “and He did not cease”, — [Because it is characteristic of human beings that they are unable to utter all their words in one breath (but must make pauses) and it is characteristic of the Holy One, blessed be He, that this is not so, therefore He did not pause, and since He did not pause, He did not have to resume], — for His voice is strong and goes on continuously (Sanhedrin 17a). Another explanation of ולא יסף: He did not again ever reveal himself with such publicity.
h.ואת תדבר אלינו AND SPEAK THOU (את the feminine form of the pronoun) TO US — you weakened my strength as that of a woman, (cf. Rashi on Numbers 11:15), for I was distressed because of you (because of your words) and you weakened my hands, since I saw that you were not anxious to approach Him out of love. Indeed, was it not better for you to learn from the mouth of the Almighty God, and not to learn from me?!