ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Deuteronomy 5

Deut. 5:1–21 These verses restate the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:1–17). The detailed laws recorded later, in Deuteronomy 12–26, follow the general pattern of these ten laws. This suggests that they are a summary of God’s requirements for his people. All but the Sabbath commandment (5:12–15) and the commandment against carved images (vv. 8–10) are explicitly reinforced in the NT.

Deut. 5:1 Statutes and the rules covers all the ethical teaching of Deuteronomy.

Deut. 5:3 Not with our fathers . . . but with us. God made his covenant at Horeb (Exodus 19–24) with the previous generation of Israel. However, it applies to the current generation just as it did to their parents. See notes on Deut. 1:20–21 and 1:29–31.

Deut. 5:5 you were afraid. See vv. 22–27.

Deut. 5:6 The Ten Commandments begin by taking note of Israel’s preexisting relationship with the Lord (your God). Obedience to the laws does not earn the relationship but is in response to it.

Deut. 5:7 no other gods. Exclusive worship of the Lord is the logical response to the fact that there is no other god like him (4:35, 39; Isa. 46:9).

Deut. 5:8 God’s people shall not worship any carved image of him (see 4:12, 15–19, 23). At Horeb, God’s revelation of himself was audible but not visible.

Deut. 5:9–10 jealous. See 4:24 and note on 4:23–24. visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the . . . fourth generation. This punishment is not for those who follow the Lord but for those who hate him. Such people may suffer the effects of their ancestors’ sins or even continue in the same sins. See also Ex. 34:6–7. For those who love God, his steadfast love far outlasts the effects of sin on future generations.

Deut. 5:11 To take the name of the Lord is to utter it, as in an oath. In vain means “for a worthless purpose.” For example, one should not use God’s name when making a vow or an oath that he or she does not intend to fulfill. The commandment also prohibits assigning the wrong character or motive to God (such as in 1:27).

Deut. 5:12–14 Sabbath rest also applies to domestic animals and to the sojourner who is within your gates. These were foreigners who became permanent residents in Israel and followed its rules but who could not own land (see note on 1:16–17). The work prohibited on the Sabbath is not defined here, but see Ex. 34:21; 35:3; Num. 15:32–36.

Deut. 5:15 In Ex. 20:11, Israel is told to keep the Sabbath as an imitation of God’s rest after the creation (see Gen. 2:1–3; compare Ex. 31:17). Here, the motivation for keeping the Sabbath is Israel’s liberation from slavery.

Deut. 5:16 that your days may be long. See also 4:40; 6:2. This does not mean merely a long life, but a life filled with God’s presence and favor: that it may go well with you.

Deut. 5:17 You shall not murder. The verb used here includes both intentional and accidental killing (compare 19:4–6; Num. 35:22–25). However, this verb is never used in the OT to describe killing in war.

Deut. 5:18 you shall not commit adultery. This specific law forbids having sexual relations with a person married to someone else. A later section (21:10–23:14) gives more detailed laws about other kinds of sexual sin.

Deut. 5:20 you shall not bear false witness. The term “bear witness” suggests a legal trial in which false testimony could lead to unfair punishment for the neighbor. For detailed laws concerning false witness, see 19:16–21; 25:1–16. For the importance of telling the truth, see Lev. 19:11.

Deut. 5:32–33 not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. God’s way is a straight path. See also 17:11; 28:14. walk in all the way. See also 10:12; 30:16.