📜 Old Testament
The Ten Commandments
Exodus 20
Three months after leaving Egypt, the Israelites camped at the foot of Mount Sinai. The mountain was covered with smoke and fire, and God's voice thundered from it like a trumpet. The people trembled. God called Moses up the mountain to meet with Him face to face.
God gave Moses ten holy commandments — rules for how to love God and how to love people. Love God with all your heart. Do not make idols. Keep the Sabbath holy. Honor your father and mother. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not wish for what belongs to others. These commandments were written by God's own finger on two stone tablets.
These laws were not meant to be a burden but a gift — a guide for living a holy, joyful, and just life. Jesus later said He did not come to destroy the Law but to fulfill it. He summed up all the commandments in two: love God completely, and love your neighbor as yourself. The Coptic Church teaches us these commandments as the foundation of our moral life, helping us live as God's holy people in the world.