The Catholic church changed the Ten Commandments for its followers. They removed the second commandment (“no idols”) and replaced it by splitting the 10th Commandment (“You must not covet”) into two separate Commandments:
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Biblical Ten Commandments |
Catholic Ten Commandments |
| 1 | I am the Lord thy God, you must not have any other gods before me. | I am the Lord your God: You shall not have strange Gods before me. |
| 2 | You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them | You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. |
| 3 | You must not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. | Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day. |
| 4 | Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. | Honor your mother and father. |
| 5 | You must honor your mother and father. | You must not kill (kill replaces the word murder). |
| 6 | You must not murder. | You must not commit adultery. |
| 7 | You must not commit adultery. | You must not steal. |
| 8 | You must not steal. | You must lie (falsely testify against your neighbor). |
| 9 | You must lie (falsely testify against your neighbor). | You must not covet your neighbor’s wife. |
| 10 | You must not covet. | You must not covet your neighbor’s goods. |
The Ten Commandments are first referenced in the Old Testament:
The Ten Commandments are also referenced in the New Testament:
- Do not worship any other gods (1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 Timothy 2:5)
- Do not make idols (1 John 5:21)
- Do not misuse the name of the Lord (1 Timothy 6:1)
- Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. (There are many references to the Sabbath day in the New Testament, including the assumption that Jews under the law in the time of Christ would be observing the Sabbath. But there is no direct or indirect command for believers in the church age to observe the Sabbath as a day of rest or of worship. In fact, Colossians 2:16 releases the believer from the Sabbath rule. Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, has become for us our Sabbath rest, according to Hebrews 4:1–11.)
- Honor your father and your mother (Ephesians 6:1–2)
- Do not murder (Romans 13:9; 1 Peter 4:15)
- Do not commit adultery (1 Corinthians 6:9–10)
- Do not steal (Ephesians 4:28)
- Do not give false testimony (Revelation 21:8)
- Do not covet (Colossians 3:5)
