The Ten Commandments

Exodus 20
1Then God spoke all these words:
2“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves.
3“You must not have any other gods except me.
4“You must not make for yourselves an idol that looks like anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the water below the land. 5You must not worship or serve any idol, because I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God. If you hate me, I will punish your children, and even your grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 6But I show kindness to thousands who love me and obey my commands.
7“You must not use the name of the LORD your God thoughtlessly; the LORD will punish anyone who misuses his name.
8“Remember to keep the Sabbath holy. 9Work and get everything done during six days each week, 10but the seventh day is a day of rest to honor the LORD your God. On that day no one may do any work: not you, your son or daughter, your male or female slaves, your animals, or the foreigners living in your cities. 11The reason is that in six days the LORD made everything—the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. On the seventh day he rested. So the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12“Honor your father and your mother so that you will live a long time in the land that the LORD your God is going to give you.
13“You must not murder anyone.
14“You must not be guilty of adultery.
15“You must not steal.
16“You must not tell lies about your neighbor.
17“You must not want to take your neighbor’s house. You must not want his wife or his male or female slaves, or his ox or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.
Deuteronomy 4:13

Recommended Reading Exodus 20:1-17

In the Ten Commandments, the infinite character and holy requirements of God are reduced and recorded for our welfare. They're the foundation of ethics, and obeying them is the secret of happiness. So eternally true yet so simple! An old English verse states them like this:

Above all else love God alone;
Bow down to neither wood nor stone.
God's name refuse to take in vain;
The Sabbath rest with care maintain.
Respect your parents all your days;
Hold sacred human life always.
Be loyal to your chosen mate;
Steal nothing, neither small nor great.
Report, with truth, your neighbor's deed;
And rid your mind of selfish greed.
—McGuffey Reader

These are rules, not to hinder our happiness, but to teach us how to live our lives to the fullest.

Read His instructions with great care and you will see behind the initial "no" an eternal "yes."
Stephen V. Rexroat