The Uncensored Ten Commandments
by
John B. Hodges, jbhodges@@blacksburg.net
The theocratic Right is conducting a "Hang Ten!" crusade,
to get the
Ten Commandments posted on the walls of government buildings such as
schools and courthouses, to give government endorsement to them. But
the versions posted are usually edited and paraphrased, creating a
false impression. Perhaps people would be more wary of these efforts
if they read the original text, and understood the "divinely
ordained" penalties attached. The following quotes will help put
the
Commandments in context. -JBH
For more info check out http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com
THE UNCENSORED TEN COMMANDMENTS
The First Commandment:
Exodus 20:2, Deuteronomy 5:6
I am Yahveh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out
of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.
The First Penalty:
2 Chronicles 15:13 ...whoever would not seek Yahveh, the God of
Israel, should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman.
Exodus 22:20 Whoever sacrifices to any god, save to Yahveh only,
shall be utterly destroyed.
Deuteronomy 13:6-9 If your brother, the son of your mother, or your
daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your
own soul, entices you secretly, saying, 'let us go and serve other
gods', ... you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall
your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal
him; but you shall kill him; your hand shall be first against him to
put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
The Second Commandment:
Exodus 20:4, Deuteronomy 5:8
You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of
anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or
that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them
or serve them, for I Yahveh your God am a jealous god, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth
generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to
thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
The Second Penalty:
Exodus 32:27 Thus says Yahveh God of Israel, put every man his sword
on his side, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp,
and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and
every man his neighbor. [Who broke the above commandment.]
The Third Commandment:
Exodus 20:7, Deuteronomy 5:11
You shall not take the name of Yahveh your God in vain; for Yahveh
will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
The Third Penalty:
Leviticus 24:16 He who blasphemes the name of Yahveh shall be put to
death; all of the congregation shall stone him.
The Fourth Commandment:
Exodus 20:8, Deuteronomy 5:12
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor,
and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to Yahveh your
God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your
daughter, or your male slave, or your female slave, or your
livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates; for in six days
Yahveh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and
rested the seventh day; therefore Yahveh blessed the seventh day and
hallowed it.
The Fourth Penalty:
Exodus 31:14-15 You shall keep the sabbath, because it is holy for
you; every one who profanes it shall be put to death; whoever does
any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six
days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn
rest, holy to Yahveh; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall
be put to death.
Exodus 35:2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day you
shall have a holy sabbath of solemn rest to Yahveh; whoever does any
work on it shall be put to death; you shall kindle no fire in all
your habitations on the sabbath day.
The Fifth Commandment:
Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 5:16
Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land
which Yahveh your God gives you.
The Fifth Penalty:
Leviticus 20:9 For every one who curses his father or his mother
shall be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother, his
blood is upon him.
Matthew 15:4 For Yahveh commanded, "honor your father and your
mother", and "He who speaks evil of father or mother, let
him surely
die."
Deuteronomy 21:18 If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son, who
will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother....
Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones...
[Also relevant here is Proverbs 23:13-14. Withhold not correction
from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not
die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul
from hell.]
The Sixth Commandment:
Exodus 20:13, Deuteronomy 5:17
You shall not kill.
The Sixth Penalty:
Exodus 21:12 Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to
death.
Leviticus 24:17 He who kills a man shall be put to death.
The Seventh Commandment:
Exodus 20:14, Deuteronomy 5:18
You shall not commit adultery.
The Seventh Penalty:
Leviticus 20:10 If a man commit adultery with the wife of his
neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.
Deuteronomy 22:22 If a man is found lying with the wife of another
man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the
woman; so shall you purge the evil from Israel.
[Having multiple wives, or keeping concubines, or having sex with
prostitutes, is not adultery; adultery in the Bible consists of
creating doubt about paternity, i.e. having sex with another man's
wife.]
The Eighth Commandment:
Exodus 20:15, Deuteronomy 5:19
You shall not steal.
The Eighth Penalty:
For stealing slaves, Exodus 21:16: Whoever steals a man, whether he
sells him or is found in possession of him, shall be put to death.
For a thief caught in the act, Exodus 22:2: If a thief is found
breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no
bloodguilt for him; but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be
bloodguilt for him.
For stealing most things other than slaves, penalties involve making
restitution and paying fines. Exodus 22:1-3: If a man steals an ox or
a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for an ox,
and four sheep for a sheep... If the stolen beast is found in his
possession... he shall pay double. He shall make restitution; if he
has nothing, then he shall be sold [into slavery] for his theft.
The Ninth Commandment:
Exodus 20:16, Deuteronomy 5:20
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
The Ninth Penalty:
Prov. 19:9 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that
speaketh lies shall perish.
This seems to be more of a rhetorical warning than a law, however.
Some examples: 1 Kings 21, 2 Kings 5, those who testified falsely got
off with only a curse on themselves and their descendants.
The Tenth Commandment:
Exodus 20:17, Deuteronomy 5:21
You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your
neighbor's wife, or his male slave, or his female slave, or his ox,
or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's.
There seems to be no particular penalty specified in the Bible for
this, other than the following:
There are dire warnings of doom for those who break any of the
Commandments. Deuteronomy 28:17-68 is a great rant, very much worth
reading. Matthew 5:17 Jesus says: Think not that I have come to abolish
the
law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil
them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not
an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.
Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and
teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but
he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the
kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds
that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom
of heaven.