Bible Verse Lookup
Dt 5,15
Chapter 5
The Ten Commandments
Moses gathered the whole of Israel and said to them: “Listen, Israel, to the laws and norms which I teach you this day. Learn them and be careful to put them into practice.
The Lord, our God, made a Covenant with us in Horeb, and his Covenant
was not only with our fathers but with us as well, who are all alive here today.
The Lord spoke with us face to face from the midst of the fire in the mountain.
And I stood between the Lord and you to transmit his word to you since you could not go up the mountain for fear of the great fire. These were his words:
I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of slavery.
Do not have other gods before me.
Do not have idols; do not make any figure of things in heaven or below on the earth or in the waters under the earth.
Do not kneel before them or worship them, because I, the Lord, am your God, a jealous God who punishes the children until the third and fourth generation for the wickedness of their parents who hate me.
But I am merciful to the thousandth generation to those who love me and obey my commandments.
Do not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain because the Lord will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain.
Keep holy the Sabbath day, as the Lord, your God, commands you.
You have six days to work and do your tasks.
But the seventh day is the Day of Rest in honor of the Lord, your God. Do not do any work, you or your child, your servant, your ox, your donkey, or any of your animals. Neither will the foreigner who lives in your land work. Your servant will rest just like you.
Remember that you were once enslaved in the land of Egypt, from where the Lord, your God, brought you out with his mighty hand and outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord, your God, commands you to observe the Sabbath.
Honor your father and mother as the Lord, your God, has commanded, and you will live long. It will be well with you in the land which the Lord, your God, gives you.
Do not kill.
Do not commit adultery.
Do not steal.
Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Do not desire your neighbor’s wife. Do not covet your neighbor’s house, field, servant, ox, donkey, or anything else that is his.
These are the words the Lord said to the whole assembly on the mountain when he spoke from the midst of the fire and the thick cloud. He said only this and wrote these words on the two tablets of stone he gave me.
Fear of the People
You heard that voice amid darkness while the mountain was becoming resplendent. Then all the heads of the tribes, together with the elders, gathered around me
and said: ‘See, the Lord, our God, has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice from the midst of the fire. We now know that the word of the Lord is life for man.
We are, nevertheless, going to be devoured by this terrible fire if we keep listening to the voice of the Lord, our God.
For who can remain alive after listening to the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as he has now done for us?
Better that you go nearer to hear everything that the Lord, our God, will say to you. Then tell these to us that we may put them into practice.’
The Lord heard your words and said, “I have heard what this people said, and they have spoken well.
May they always have the same spirit, fear me, and observe all my precepts that all may go well with you and your children for all time.
Rise and tell them to return to their tents in the fields.
But as for you, remain here with me that I may teach you all the commandments, precepts, and laws that you have to teach so that they may put them into practice in the land that I will give them for their possession.
Observe and carry out the things that the Lord has commanded us. Do not turn aside from them, either to the right or to the left.
Follow all the way the Lord has marked out for you, and you will live and be happy and live long in the land you will conquer.
Chapter 15
Law on the Forgiveness of Debts
Every seven years, you shall pardon debts.
You shall do this in the following manner: the creditor shall pardon any debt of his neighbor or brother and stop exacting it of him because the Lord’s pardon has been proclaimed.
You may demand that a foreigner repay his debts, but you shall pardon your brother’s debt.
However, you should have no poor in your midst, for the Lord will give you prosperity in the land you have conquered.
If you listen to the voice of the Lord, your God, and obey all that he has commanded you, which I now remind you of, he will bless you as he promised.
You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall drive away many nations, and they shall not have dominion over you.
If there is anybody poor among your brothers, who live in your cities in the land that the Lord gives you, do not harden your heart or close your hand,
but be open-handed and lend him all that he needs.
Be careful not to harbor these perverse thoughts in your heart: “The seventh year, the year of pardon, is near,” so you look coldly at your poor brother and lend him nothing. He may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty.
When you give anything, give it willingly, and the Lord, your God, will bless you for this in all your work and all that you undertake.
The poor will not disappear from this land. Therefore, I give you this commandment: You must be open-handed to your brother, the needy, and the poor in your land.
Law on Slaves
If your fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, sells himself to you as a slave, he shall serve you for six years, and in the seventh, you shall set him free.
When you set him free, do not let him go empty-handed,
but give him something from your flock, from your store of wheat and wine, something from the good things that the Lord has blessed you with.
Remember that you, too, were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord, your God, has given you freedom. Because of this, I give you this commandment.
But if your slave says: “I do not want to leave,” because he loves you and your household and knows that he will be well off with you,
you shall then take an awl and thrust it through his ear into the door of your house, and he will serve you forever. You shall do likewise with your maidservant.
Do not think it hard on you to give him freedom because, for six years, you have gained twice as much from him as from a hired servant.
Consecration of the Firstborn
You shall consecrate to the Lord all the male firstlings born of your cattle or sheep. You shall not use the firstling of your cattle for work, nor shear the firstling of your sheep.
You shall eat them year after year in the presence of the Lord with all your family in the place the Lord has chosen.
You shall not sacrifice an animal to the Lord if it has any defect, if it is lame or blind,
but shall eat it in your house; the clean and the unclean may eat of it, as you would eat a gazelle or a deer.
Only take care that you do not eat the blood; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.
Commentaries
The Ten Commandments.
Verses 1-5 reaffirm the people’s commitment to the Lord (3). Verses 6-21, with slight variations, repeat the same decalogue found in Exodus 20:1-17. It begins with God’s self-revelation, and the response of the people to this God is outlined in the Decalogue.
The first commandment affirms the absolute supremacy of the one who alone can save, free, and give life. The second commandment highlights this idea. God’s name must not be used in vain because it is a sacred name.
The other commandments, from the third to the tenth, stress the importance of ethical and moral behavior among people. The third commandment (12-15), which may seem religious, actually reflects a sense of social justice (14b); the reason for observing the Sabbath stems from the oppression in Egypt, showing that this experience acts as a real obstacle to the proper fulfillment of individuals and the community. In Egypt, Israel is not yet a nation; it is a group of slaves who begin to develop their identity only after escaping slavery. Therefore, this commandment, along with the two previous ones, lays the groundwork for building a society that values and protects life in all its forms: primarily that of our closest relatives, like our parents (16), and later that of those in our community and society (17-21).
Fear of the People.
Moses reminds the people of the fear and dread they experienced at Sinai when God spoke to them. They could not bear to listen to the Lord’s voice, which led them to decide that Moses should serve as their mediator (cf. Ex 20:18-26). This role as mediator with full authority is endorsed by God himself, who commands Moses to take the people aside so that God may be alone with Moses, to instruct him, and so that he may then share God’s law with the people (30f).
The religious tradition of Israel, emphasizing Moses’ mediatorial role, is especially emphasized here by the Deuteronomist school (D) to support the authority of the additions and extensions made by this school in the 8th century B.C. The people who have willingly chosen to focus on Moses’ mediating role (27ab) are committed to listening and obeying (27c), which is exactly why Moses delivers this exhortation (32f).
Law on the Forgiveness of Debts.
This chapter is divided into three sections: the first covers the law regarding debt forgiveness (1-11), the second discusses the law on slaves (12-18), and the third relates to the law about the consecration of the firstborn males of animals (19-23).
Many scholars view verses 1-11 as one of the most revolutionary laws in the entire Old Testament. The forgiveness of debts may not be exclusive to Israel; it appears that whenever a new king took the throne in Mesopotamia, he would forgive his subjects’ debts to gain their favor. What is unique to Israel is the regulation that requires the Israelites to forgive debts among themselves every seventh year. This law, although originating in tribal times, reflects the social disparities of the monarchy period, when the gap between the rich and the poor widened. Its main goal is to prevent permanent poverty in Israel (4).
Law on Slaves.
This law also reminds us that we are not dealing with people who are about to “cross the Jordan,” but with individuals already settled in the Promised Land who have faced all kinds of injustices, including slavery.
Unfortunately, the Deuteronomist current (D) does not condemn slavery or the system that creates it, but it at least attempts to suggest something that, in part, seems fair to those who had to sell themselves into slavery. This was the most it could do at that point in history, and it might have been “good news” for the unfortunate slaves and “bad news” for the slaveholders. This law governs the relationship between masters and their slaves; although it reiterates Exodus 21:1-11, it expands the law by addressing slaves and female slaves separately. In both cases, the Lord’s call is one of generosity. The law also allows that a slave might not want to leave in the seventh year; in such cases, the master will mark him as property “forever.”
Slavery might not be a common form of production in any country today. However, aren’t the starvation wages and inhumane conditions that millions of men and women endure to make a living comparable to, or even worse than, those of a slave?
Consecration of the Firstborn.
Since ancient times, Israel, like many other peoples, recognized that everything belonged to the divine (cf. Ps 50:10f); therefore, they consistently practiced dedicating the first fruits of their crops and livestock to God. There was also a common tendency, shared by other nations, to offer the firstborn of the family to the Lord (cf. 2 Kgs 16:3). This passage does not mention the first fruits of the harvest or human firstborns. Only the firstborn of cattle is referenced because when the first male was consecrated, the entire flock was considered consecrated as well. The animal had to be perfect, as nothing faulty is offered to the Lord (21). The communal aspect of this offering, as a feast to be eaten in the presence of the Lord, is also emphasized (20). The text highlights God’s complete ownership of all creation, leaving no room for hoarding or depriving others of their rightful share. This passage can serve as a fitting conclusion to the laws regarding debt forgiveness and the release of slaves.