What Are the Ten Commandments? List in Order from Bible

The Ten Commandments appear in two biblical passages—Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:4-21—but Christian traditions organize them differently. Catholics and Protestants count the same core commands, yet they split and group them in ways that produce two distinct numbered lists.

Biblical Location: Exodus 20:1-17 · Alternative Reference: Deuteronomy 5:4-21 · Total Commandments: 10 · Given To: Moses on Mount Sinai · Core Religions: Judaism, Christianity

What are the 10 Commandments in order?

The Ten Commandments appear twice in the Bible: once in Exodus 20:1-17 and again in Deuteronomy 5:4-21. Both passages record the same core list, though Christian traditions have organized them differently. The version most Americans recognize from public monuments follows the Protestant ordering found in Exodus 20.

Protestant numbering

• 1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me
• 2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image
• 3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
• 4. Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy
• 5. Honor thy father and thy mother
• 6. Thou shalt not kill
• 7. Thou shalt not commit adultery
• 8. Thou shalt not steal
• 9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor
• 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house nor his wife nor anything that belongs to him

The Protestant numbering system separates what Catholics combine: the command against idols (second in Protestant order) gets folded into the first commandment in Catholic teaching. This arrangement traces back to Origen, a Church Father who developed this scheme around 200 A.D., according to Catholic Bridge.

Catholic numbering

• 1. I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange gods before me
• 2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain
• 3. Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day
• 4. Honor your father and your mother
• 5. You shall not kill
• 6. You shall not commit adultery
• 7. You shall not steal
• 8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour
• 9. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife
• 10. You shall not covet your neighbour’s goods

The Catholic Church groups the prohibition against worshipping false gods and the ban on idols into a single first commandment. In exchange, it splits what Protestants call the tenth commandment—against coveting—into two separate commands. The Catholic numbering system dates to St. Augustine around 400 A.D. and remains standard in Catholic and Lutheran churches today.

Modern English translation

Beyond numbering differences, language has shifted. The King James Version uses archaic wording like “Thou shalt” and “covet,” while modern translations render the same verses in plain contemporary English. The USCCB Bible Gateway offers the current Catholic translation, and various Protestant denominations publish their own modern-language versions. Both traditions agree the underlying Hebrew text in Exodus 20 remains unchanged for millennia.

What are the 10 Commandments in plain English?

For modern readers, the original King James Version wording can feel distant. Here’s what the Ten Commandments say in plain contemporary English, using the Protestant ordering that’s common in the United States.

Simplified wording

• 1. Put God first—don’t treat anything else as equally important
• 2. Don’t worship idols or created things
• 3. Don’t misuse God’s name
• 4. Set aside one day a week for rest and worship
• 5. Respect and care for your parents
• 6. Don’t murder
• 7. Don’t commit adultery
• 8. Don’t steal
• 9. Don’t lie about others
• 10. Don’t obsess over what others have

These commands read like a foundation for community life—prioritizing the divine, protecting family bonds, and prohibiting actions that harm others. Both Catholic and Protestant versions agree on the substance; they only disagree on how to count and group the commands.

KJV vs modern versions

The King James Version (1611) translated the Hebrew original into Early Modern English. “Thou shalt not kill” felt natural to 17th-century readers but sounds stiff today. Modern translations like the New International Version (NIV) and New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) use contemporary phrasing: “You shall not murder” instead of “kill,” and “shall not covet” replacing the older verb form. Catholic translations (such as the New American Bible Revised Edition) maintain the same content but adjust language to suit Catholic catechetical tradition.

Where are the full 10 commandments in the Bible?

The Ten Commandments appear in two locations in Scripture. Most English speakers know Exodus 20, but Deuteronomy records the same list with slight wording variations. Both passages come from the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) and are foundational to Jewish and Christian ethics.

Exodus 20 full text

“And God spoke all these words, saying: ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…'” — Exodus 20:1-17

Exodus 20:1-17 contains the full list as traditionally cited. Catholic Answers confirms this as the primary biblical location for the Ten Commandments across Christian traditions. The passage begins with God introducing himself to the Israelites before delivering the commands.

Deuteronomy parallel

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me…” — Deuteronomy 5:4-21

Deuteronomy 5:4-21 repeats the same ten commands in a different context: Moses addressing a new generation of Israelites who didn’t witness the original Sinai revelation. Catholic Answers notes that Deuteronomy offers a parallel account rather than a contradiction. The USCCB Bible Gateway presents both passages as authentic Scriptural sources for the same moral framework.

What are the Catholic Ten Commandments?

The Catholic Church uses a numbering system that differs from the Protestant standard. This isn’t a theological dispute about right and wrong—it’s a difference in how each tradition groups related commands. Most Americans encounter the Protestant numbering on public monuments, but Catholic parishes and schools use the Augustinian system.

Catholic numbering differences

Catholics and Lutherans combine the first two Protestant commands (no other gods, no idols) into a single first commandment, according to Teaching the Word. In exchange, the Catholic system splits the tenth command—against coveting—into two separate commands: one addressing coveting a neighbor’s spouse, the other addressing coveting a neighbor’s possessions. This produces a total of ten commands but with different group boundaries.

The practical effect: what Protestant churches call “the second commandment” (against idols) becomes part of the first in Catholic teaching. Teaching the Word confirms that the Vatican eliminates the second commandment against idolatry in its numbering system. Some Catholic materials list the prohibition on worshipping false gods and the ban on images as a single concern tied to monotheism.

From catechism sources

The Catholic Catechism (officially codified in 1992, revised in 1997) presents the Ten Commandments using the Augustinian numbering. Got Questions provides the full Catholic list, which Catholic Bridge cross-references with Exodus 20. The content remains biblical—the Catholic Church doesn’t add or remove commands—but the grouping reflects Catholic theological priorities.

Lutheran churches typically adopt the Catholic numbering system rather than the Protestant one, per Teaching the Word. Anglican, Greek Orthodox, and Reformed churches count verses 1-6 of Exodus 20 as two separate commands and verse 17 as one command, per the USCCB Bible Gateway. This means the variations multiply beyond just Catholic versus Protestant: multiple traditions exist within Christianity.

What are the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20?

Exodus 20 serves as the standard reference for the Ten Commandments in English-speaking churches. The chapter divides naturally into an introduction (verses 1-2), the commands themselves (verses 3-17), and a brief narrative note about the people’s reaction (not included in the numbered list).

Verse-by-verse breakdown

The following table maps each verse to its corresponding command and category, showing how Exodus 20 structures the ethical framework.

The commands divide roughly into two clusters: the first four address the vertical relationship between humans and God, while the last six address horizontal relationships between people. Catholic and Protestant traditions agree on this basic structure—they simply draw the boundaries differently when counting to ten.

KJV order

The King James Version (1611) shaped how English-speaking Protestants memorized the list. Its wording—using “thee,” “thou,” and “covet”—remains iconic in American culture. The Protestant numbering system aligns with how the KJV organizes the verses, which is why public monuments in the United States typically display the Protestant order.

Protestant vs. Catholic: Side-by-side comparison

The table below summarizes how the two traditions diverge in their approach to numbering and grouping the same biblical material.

The implication: both traditions teach the same biblical ethics. The disagreement is organizational, not substantive. Catholic Answers confirms that both churches draw from the same Exodus 20 text.

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Exodus 20 outlines the commandments whose numbering varies between Protestant KJV list and Catholic version, as explored in KJV list and Catholic version.

Frequently asked questions

Summary

Both Catholic and Protestant traditions teach the same biblical ethics from Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, but they organize the commands differently. The Protestant numbering (developed by Origen around 200 A.D.) separates the prohibition on idols from the command to put God first, producing ten distinct commands. The Catholic numbering (developed by St. Augustine around 400 A.D.) combines those two into one and splits the prohibition on coveting into two commands.

Church members who understand which numbering system their tradition uses can better follow catechesis and liturgical life. Public monument viewers and anyone comparing notes across traditions now see that the same biblical passage produces different lists depending on who’s counting. The substance remains constant: love God, respect others, live honestly.