Article May 25, 1998 Issue

The Ten Commandments

These Commandments have also been called the Decalogue or the Ten Words. In Hebrew several of the Commandments are expressed in two or three words, while other Commandments are longer.

The short ten lines of Hebrew below helped people remember the words of the Commandments.

Begin reading at the top right to read the Hebrew. (These Hebrew letters reflect the style often shown in paintings of the Ten Commandments.) Below each line is an English translation.

The first line identifies God and is not counted as a Commandment. Which line do you think would remind people of the Second Commandment about not making images or bowing down to them?