Shocking Differences Between the Ten Commandments of God and the Traditional Ten Commandments

It might surprise you, but the Ten Commandments that we traditional know is really NOT the same with the Ten Commandments written in the Bible. When I first discovered this, I was stupefied how Satan was very successful in deceiving many people to accept a counterfeit Ten Commandments.

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God’s Version

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Traditional Ten Commandments

In this post, I will show you what the differences are that we can find and let us compare what really the Bible says.

The Ten Commandments in the Bible


The Ten Commandments can be found in two passages in the Bible. It is found in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. In both instances, there was no variation. The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 are the same and identical. By this, we can say that GOD is truly CONSISTENT with His words. For this purpose, let us see what Exodus 20 has to say. I strongly encouraged you to review the Ten Commandments. Read and understand.

Exo 20:1  And God spake all these words, saying,

Exo 20:2  I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Exo 20:3  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Exo 20:4  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

Exo 20:5  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

Exo 20:6  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Exo 20:7  Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Exo 20:8  Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Exo 20:9  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

Exo 20:10  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Exo 20:12  Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Exo 20:13  Thou shalt not kill.

Exo 20:14  Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Exo 20:15  Thou shalt not steal.

Exo 20:16  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Exo 20:17  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s. 

Traditional Version

God’s Version

I. I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image. I. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
II. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. II. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
III. Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day. III. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
IV. Honor your father and mother. IV. Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.
V. You shall not kill. V. Honor thy father and thy mother.
VI. You shall not commit adultery. VI. Thou shalt not kill.
VII. You shall not steal VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
VIII. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. VIII. Thou shalt not steal.
IX. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. IX.  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
X. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods X. Thou shalt not covet.

What’s the Difference?


Have you already noticed the difference? If you are observant, you will see that the traditional and God’s version agrees on Commandment numbers 1 and 2 only! The rest, they don’t coincide! So what happened?

In the traditional version, they eliminated the SECOND COMMANDMENT of God for obvious reasons, of course. If they include the second commandment, their followers will start to ask why they have statues and graven image as part of their worship while the BIBLE CONDEMNS THIS PRACTICE! For God, using images to represent Him is VERY ABOMINABLE. We, humans, do not have the right to reduce God into a mere lifeless stone.

So if they eliminate something, surely, they have to add something, right? You will notice that the TENTH COMMANDMENT of God was divided by people who thought they are better than God. So instead of simply “thou shalt not covet” they divided that portion to make it two – making their commandment back to ten. Sounds cunning right? Just like Satan is cunning.

If the traditional version that splits the tenth commandment into two is right, it will not make sense because there is already a commandment telling us about adultery which is somewhat similar to “thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife”. Surely, THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE TRADITIONAL TEN COMMANDMENTS!

Your Decision

Let God be true and every man a liar. It is evident that humans are in error and not God. The decision is up to you. Will you follow the correct version of Ten Commandments as it was mentioned in the Bible? Or will you follow the devices of men motivated by Satan himself? Will you follow God or Satan?

Additional Reading:

Did the Ten Commandments Exist Before Moses?

Do I need to obey the Ten Commandments?

The Ten Commandments in the New Testament

Free Booklet:

The Ten Commandments


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7 thoughts on “Shocking Differences Between the Ten Commandments of God and the Traditional Ten Commandments

  1. Actually, the real and only 10 Commandments, inscribed by God’s finger, as brought down from the mount are as follow:

    I. Thou shalt worship no other god.

    II. Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.

    III. The feast of unleavened bread thou shalt keep.

    IV. Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest.

    V. Thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest,
    and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.

    VI. Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord God.

    VII. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven.

    VIII. Neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.

    IX. The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God.

    X. Thou shalt not seethe a kid [ie, a young goat] in his mother’s milk.

    • Are you sure with this? Please give me scriptural reference. I know all the points you mentioned is found in the Bible but I am not sure when they were called the Ten Commandments.

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  4. The alleged commandment of not making any graven images is actually taken out of context. “Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image,” is taken out of context. Actually, the full quote says

    “Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

    Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

    Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; ”

    This is all to say that “God doesn’t want any other God’s besides him.”

    When looking at a “graven image,” the commandment doesn’t specifically indicate that this is only for “images of God” as you claim

    “”In the traditional version, they eliminated the SECOND COMMANDMENT of God for obvious reasons, of course. If they include the second commandment, their followers will start to ask why they have statues and graven image as part of their worship while the BIBLE CONDEMNS THIS PRACTICE! For God, using images to represent Him is VERY ABOMINABLE. We, humans, do not have the right to reduce God into a mere lifeless stone.”””

    BTW, God reduced himself to a MERE HUMAN (Jesus, the God/also a human) so from Infinity GOD SO HUMBLED himself that he gave his only son up on the cross, the death of a criminal. So I think God is okay with humility.

    but actually specifically says “of any thing that is in heaven or above, or that is in the earth beneath.” This is directly speaking to creating golden calf for worship or in a modern day sense, idolatry can be the television or computers or even sports- essentially something that replaces God in one’s life.

    Let me ask you something, can God contradict himself? The answer is No. So why then does he specifically instruct the ark of the covenant to have two golden cheribum on either side? Wouldn’t that be a graven image of something in heaven?

    Exodus Chapter 25 vs 18-20

    18 You shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work [l]at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub [m]at one end and one cherub [n]at the other end; you shall make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends. 20 The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and [o]facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the mercy seat.”

    This detailed description of ‘an image’ was constructed according to the will of God.

    We have another description of an image of something from earth made for purposes God specifically outlines in The book of Numbers:

    Numbers Chapter 21 vs 7-9

    7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

    8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.”

    Here again is a description that God gives to create an object, thus essentially filling what may be considered a ‘graven image” How is this possible?

    WELL

    The reason is that graven images used directly as objects of worship (such as a golden calf) are what offend God, NOT human artwork that can help one with prayer. It is ignorant to think that people who kneel before a statue or a picture are actually worshiping the marble or metal or whatever is created- JUST like it is ignorant to think the Israelite worshiped the cherubim or the bronze snake.

    Take the FULL QUOTE in order to understand the 1 commandment

    I. Even what you have written is incorrect. The first traditional commandment should read as follows

    “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God.”

    This essentially eliminates the false idea of a separate commandment just for images, because God would contradict himself shortly thereafter (Chapter 25, see above)

    Do you see? We are not to serve the images we create, but images CAN AND ARE and HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY instructed to be instruments of prayer and worship, BUT NEVER THE ACTUAL receiver of those worship. Remember, its used as a tool to enhance the prayer, but the commandment strictly says to never worship the actual METAL or the False GOD that it displays.

    Now what’s wrong with having a picture (or statue) of Jesus? Or the disciples as role models and examples? This is a practice seen in Catholic and Orthodox churches and frankly helps tell the Bible’s Stories and enhances prayer. Good for them for continuing the practice and not being closed minded.

    Now… as far as the second to last and last commandments go…. Let me ask you… is one’s wife his property?

    NO…. correct?

    Wives are not property to be passed around. If I covet my neighbor’s house or his Ox or Cow or House or his goods…. why would WIFE be considered the same category as his material possession? Wouldn’t the relationship of his family, his wife, and his marriage take precedence over any possessions he may have?
    Say, instead of me coveting the man’s house, I approach him and offer him a very large sum of money, perhaps 2 or 3 times what he paid for it years prior. It would be a legitimate return on his investment. It would make some sense for the Man to sell his land and it would be a legitimate business proposition and not coveting if I professionally approached him. And for a wife? Would the same be okay? Why would there be no difference?

    A woman (or husband) is not cattle. We do not own our spouses. To categorize a wife and not differentiate her into a separate commandment belittles the unit of society as family. Wives become trading commodities at that point and as disgusting and despicable as it is, divorce can be legitimized and marriage becomes nothing more than a business deal.

    Where is the sanctity of family?
    Where is the honor of a father and a mother if the mother is but something that can be traded off at equal value of a house, or if marriage is something that is just as contractually binding as a bill of sale or a proof of purchase or my ‘ownership, where ‘possession is 9/10th of the law. Is this to say I OWN MY WIFE??”

    NONSENSE

    Traditional Commandants make sense.

    Thank you for your time.

    • Hi Dominus Vobiscum,

      Thanks for taking time in reading my post and for your comment. This can be a lengthy topic.
      1. Actually, the second commandment is not taken out of context. If you will try to read all the commandments, all of them starts with “Thou shalt not” except for the fourth commandment. If you argue that the first and second should be fused, then you are making a mistake. They are completely different commandment. The first commandment is a commandment prohibiting the worship of anything in the place of God. The second commandment is altogether different, forbidding making, bowing down to, serving, or otherwise using statues in the worship of God.

      If you look into the history, the true Ten Commandments were accepted up until the fourth century AD until Augustine (Catholic bishop of Hippo in North Africa, 354-430) devised a new way of presenting the Ten Commandments in order to allow the use of images and statues in religious worship. He dropped the second commandment altogether, divided the tenth into two “commandments,” and then renumbered his revised list of ten.
      2. I agree with you that the graven image does not only refer to the “images of God”. However, I think it is wrong for you to assume that I don’t agree to this.
      3. I agree with you that God is humble to the point that His Son became a human being. However, please do not equate becoming a human being to creating a graven image. It is totally different. With what you mentioned, it seems that you are saying that since Jesus became a human being, it is okay to make a graven image. This is an irrational way of thinking.
      4. God cannot contradict himself. Yes, that’s true. My understanding to this is that it is okay to create a graven image but not to the point that you will worship, bow down and make it your center of worship. God’s purpose for the Israelites to make the cherubim is to give them an idea of what the tabernacle looks like, but its purpose is not to worship the images. Furthermore, it is God who commanded it. He put it in the hearts of the artisans the exact form of the cherubim. Unlike for uninspired people now who just form the face of Jesus or God according to their perception.
      5. Regarding the bronze serpent. Again, God commanded for it to be created, but not be worshipped. As a matter of fact, in later years, the Israelites will view the bronze serpent as a holy relic of veneration and begin worshiping it. For this reason, it will wisely be destroyed by righteous King Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:4).
      6. We need to call sin as it is. Kneeling or praying to graven image is a sin. Why would you use a graven image to worship God? Tell me? Can you honestly say to yourself that you can’t worship God without the use of graven image? It is very clear in John 4:24 that says “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” So if you want to worship God, worship Him in SPIRIT, not by using physical images like statues or picture. Let us stop rationalizing things. Instead of worshiping God according to our rules, we need to start worshiping Him ACCORDING TO HIS REQUIREMENTS!
      7. You asked, what’s wrong with having a picture or statue of Jesus? One reason is mentioned in John 4:24, second is that no one today knows the exact face and form of Jesus Christ! Can you honestly say that popular face of Jesus Christ being portrayed today is the same Jesus 2000 years ago? Of course not. As a matter of fact, I Corinthians 11:14-15 mentioned that it is shameful for a man to have a LONG hair. This automatically disqualified the effeminate, weak, and long-haired Jesus that we commonly see.
      8. Regarding the final commandment. Here’s the full quote:

      Exo 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

      Tell me, did Exodus 20:17 said that the wife is a property? I think this is just your inference. It is unnecessary to divide the tenth commandment since all of this talks about COVETING. Even the whole commandment is contained in one verse. Surely, the early translators and writers recognized that this is a single commandment. No one is categorizing the wife and property. It is only people’s mistaken assumption.
      Final words, traditional ten commandments is a direct attempt of the Catholic church to tamper with the Word of God. Instead of changing their ways to conform with the plain truth God reveals, they would rather change God’s commandment and bend Him to their capricious demand. Let us not twist scriptures here and put our own interpretation. God is the supreme God who should be our ultimate source of knowledge and authority and not some bishop who like to change the Laws of God just to accommodate their personal prejudice.

      Thank you for your time as well. 🙂

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