The KJV Holy Bible

 

Exodus Chapter Twenty

 

1 And God spake all these words, saying,

2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

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.

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;

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

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.

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

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

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:

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.

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

13 Thou shalt not kill.

14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

15 Thou shalt not steal.

16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

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.

18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

22 And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.

23 Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.

24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.

25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.

26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

 

 

Esoteric Interpretation & Commentary

 

The Hermetic Blueprint of Exodus: The Decalogue and the Physics of the Spiritual Realm

"Exodus Chapter Twenty contains the Supreme Revelation of the Decalogue—the Ten Commandments. In Esoteric Philosophy, these are not arbitrary moral rules dictated by a tyrannical Deity, but rather the Exact, Immutable Physics of the Spiritual Realm. Just as the physical world is governed by the Laws of gravity and thermodynamics, the Internal Psychological world is governed by these Ten Divine Principles. They form the Absolute Alchemical framework necessary to maintain Spiritual Sovereignty. By strictly aligning the Internal Faculties with these Laws, the Awakened Adept ensures that the human Temple remains perfectly insulated against the chaotic, destructive gravity of the lower ego and the material matrix."

 

 

Verses 1-3: The Supreme Unity and the First Cause - "And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me." 

This is the foundational Hermetic Law of Mentalism—the Recognition of the ONE Universal Mind. The Divine Spirit reminds the Conscious Will that it was the Power of the Absolute (the "I AM"), not the earthly Intellect, that liberated the Soul from material bondage (Egypt). To have "no other gods" means the Adept must never again surrender their Psychological Sovereignty to the false authorities of the lower plane—whether that be the pursuit of wealth, the fear of physical death, or the approval of the Unawakened masses. The Universal Spirit must remain the Single, Undivided Focal Point of the Conscious Mind.

 

 

Verses 4-6: The Illusion of Form and the Rejection of Dogma - "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..." 

A "graven image" is a Profound Esoteric warning against crystallizing the Infinite into finite, material dogmas. The Divine is Fluid, Boundless, and Incomprehensible to the physical senses. When the earthly Intellect attempts to carve God into a fixed shape—whether a literal statue of gold or a rigid, unchanging religious concept in the Mind—it limits the Limitless. The Adept is commanded Never to Bow Down to Earthly Symbols, Literal Interpretations, or Material Representations of Truth, but to Constantly Seek the Formless, Living Spirit behind the symbol.

 

 

Verse 7: The Vibration of the Word and the Misuse of Power - "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." 

The "Name" of God (the Tetragrammaton, or the "I AM") represents the Supreme Vibratory Frequency of Divine Creative Power. To take this name "in vain" is not merely about uttering a curse word. Esoterically, it means claiming the authority of the Higher Self while actively operating from the low, selfish frequencies of the ego. It is the Misuse of Spiritual Energy for vain, earthly, or manipulative purposes. The Law of Karma ("will not hold him guiltless") dictates that any Adept who weaponizes Spiritual Knowledge for material gain will suffer a devastating Psychological backlash.

 

 

Verses 8-11: The Law of Rhythm and the Internal Sabbath - "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God... For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth... and rested the seventh day:" 

This enshrines the Hermetic Law of Rhythm into the foundation of the Psyche. The Conscious Mind cannot remain in a State of Perpetual, Active Spiritual Warfare or Intellectual labor without Exhausting its Vital Forces. The "six days" Represent the Active, Outward Application of the Will. The Sabbath is the mandatory, rhythmic withdrawal into total, silent meditation. By completely ceasing all earthly and Intellectual effort, the Adept allows the Superconscious to naturally replenish, heal, and recalibrate the human Temple without the interference of the noisy earthly intellect.

 

 

Verses 12-17: The Laws of Harmony and the Conservation of Energy - "Honour thy father and thy mother... Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness... Thou shalt not covet..." The remaining commandments are precise formulas for Internal Energetic Conservation.

 

Honor thy father and mother: Perfectly Balancing the Active Masculine Will and the Receptive Feminine Intuition.

 

Do not kill: Refusing to Destroy or Suppress the Vital Life Force, but rather Transmuting it.

 

Do not commit adultery: Never mixing Pure Spiritual Frequencies with base, toxic carnal lusts.

 

Do not steal or covet: The Cessation of External, Earthly Desire. The Awakened Soul Recognizes it already possesses the Infinite Divine Within; therefore, longing for the energetic possessions of others is a severe regression back into the poverty Consciousness of Egypt.

 

 

Verses 18-21: The Terror of the Unpurified Mind and the Thick Darkness - "And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die... And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was." 

As the overwhelming frequency of the Absolute descends, the lower, Unpurified Faculties of the Mind (the people) are terrified. They cannot withstand Direct Contact with raw Spiritual Fire; it would instantly obliterate their remaining sense of Individual Identity ("lest we die"). They demand that the Conscious Spiritual Will (Moses) act as their mediator. In a Supreme Act of Esoteric Courage, the Will leaves the trembling lower faculties behind and steps directly into the "thick darkness"—the Ultimate, Incomprehensible Void of the Unknown where the True Light of God Resides, Completely Hidden from the eyes of the physical world.