Protestants (which here refers to members of the Greek, Anglican, and Reformed traditions â€" Lutherans follow the “Catholic†Ten Commandments) usually use the form which appears in the first Exodus version from chapter 20. Scholars have identified both Exodus versions as having probably been written in the tenth century BCE.
Here is how the verses read:
Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work â€"you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.
Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. Exod. 20:1-17
Of course, when Protestants post the Ten Commandments in their home or church, they don’t typically write all of that out. It isn’t even clear in these verses which commandment is which. Thus, a shortened and concise version has been created to make posting, reading, and memorization easier.
Abbreviated Protestant Ten Commandments:
- You shall have no other gods but me.
- You shall not make unto you any graven images
- You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain
- You shall remember the Sabbath and keep it holy
- Honor your mother and father
- You shall not murder
- You shall not commit adultery
- You shall not steal
- You shall not bear false witness
- You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor
Whenever someone tries to have the Ten Commandments posted by the government on public property, it is almost inevitable that this Protestant version is chosen over Catholic and Jewish versions. The reason is likely the long-standing Protestant dominance in American public and civic life.
There have always been more Protestants in America than any other religious denomination and so whenever religion has intruded into state activities, it has typically done so from a Protestant perspective. When students were expected to read the Bible in public schools, for example, they were forced to read the King James translation favored by Protestants; the Catholic Douay translation was forbidden.
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