The Ten Commandments, Catholic version: the list and why the numbering differs

The Catholic version of the 10 Commandments is the same text from Exodus and Deuteronomy that every Christian reads, divided and numbered the way St Augustine did. The Church teaches them in a short form: from "I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me" to "You shall not covet your neighbor's goods." The full list is below, with why Protestant lists number them differently and how Jesus summed them all up.

What are the Ten Commandments in the Catholic version?

This is the short form the Catechism prints, as "a traditional catechetical formula," before its teaching on the commandments begins (before CCC 2052):

1. I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
3. Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day.
4. Honor your father and your mother.
5. You shall not kill.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.

This is the form most Catholics learn as children and the one used in most examinations of conscience. It shortens the biblical text so it can be memorized. Nothing is removed from the faith. The rest of each commandment is still taught under its heading.

Where are the Ten Commandments in the Bible?

They appear twice. In Exodus 20:2-17, God gives them to Moses on Mount Sinai. In Deuteronomy 5:6-21, Moses repeats them to the people before they enter the promised land. The two texts are nearly the same, with small differences in wording.

Scripture calls them "the ten words" (Exodus 34:28), which is what "Decalogue" means (CCC 2056). But the Bible never numbers them. The text contains more than ten commands and prohibitions, so different traditions have grouped them in different ways. That is the whole reason the numbering varies.

Why is the Catholic numbering different from the Protestant one?

The Catechism says so plainly: the division and numbering "have varied in the course of history." The Catholic Church follows the division established by St Augustine, which Lutherans also use. A slightly different division, worked out by the Greek Fathers, is used by the Orthodox Churches and Reformed communities (CCC 2066). Most Protestant lists you see today follow that second pattern.

The two systems differ in only two places:

• Images. Catholics keep "you shall not make for yourself a graven image" inside the first commandment, as part of having no other gods. The Reformed list makes it a separate second commandment.
• Coveting. Catholics split coveting into two: your neighbor's wife (ninth) and your neighbor's goods (tenth). The Reformed list keeps all coveting as one tenth commandment.

Everything in between shifts by one. The Catholic second commandment (the Lord's name) is the Protestant third. The Catholic fourth (honor your parents) is the Protestant fifth, and so on down to the eighth, false witness, which is the Protestant ninth. Same text, same God, different counting.

Did Catholics remove the commandment against images?

No. The prohibition is part of the first commandment, and the Catechism teaches it there (CCC 2129-2132). What it forbids is making an idol, something worshipped in place of God.

The same book of Exodus has God commanding images: two golden cherubim over the ark of the covenant (Exodus 25:18-20; CCC 2130). And when God became man in Jesus, he made himself visible. So the Church honors images of Christ, Mary and the saints without worshipping them. The honor shown to an image passes to the person it represents (CCC 2132). A photo of your mother on the fridge works the same way. You love her, not the paper.

Why is coveting split into two commandments?

Look at Deuteronomy 5:21. It puts "your neighbor's wife" first, in a clause of its own, and then lists his house, field, servants, ox and donkey separately, with a different verb: "you shall not desire." Augustine read this as two commandments.

They also govern two different desires. In Catholic teaching, the ninth commandment forbids carnal concupiscence, the disordered desire of the flesh, and the tenth forbids coveting what belongs to others (CCC 2514). Both commandments reach past actions to the heart. Jesus said the same about lust: looking at a woman with lust is already adultery in the heart (Matthew 5:28).

What about the Sabbath?

The Exodus text says "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." The Catholic short form says "the Lord's Day," meaning Sunday. Christians keep Sunday because Jesus rose on the first day of the week. For Christians, Sunday fulfills the Sabbath and its ceremonial observance replaces that of the Sabbath (CCC 2175). In practice, the third commandment asks you to go to Mass on Sundays and holy days and to keep the day for God, rest and family. Here is what the Church says about missing Mass.

How did Jesus sum up the Ten Commandments?

When a lawyer asked him which commandment is the greatest, Jesus answered:

The Ten Commandments follow the same shape. The first three are about love of God, and the other seven are about love of neighbor (CCC 2067). They aren't a list of rules standing between you and God. They describe what love looks like when it is real: worship, honesty, faithfulness, respect for life and for what belongs to others.

Jesus didn't set them aside. When a rich young man asked how to gain eternal life, Jesus told him, "If you would enter life, keep the commandments," and then invited him further, to follow him (Matthew 19:16-21).

How do I use the Ten Commandments before Confession?

The commandments are the classic outline for an examination of conscience. Go through them one at a time and ask where you have kept each one and where you haven't. Each commandment covers more than its few words suggest. "You shall not kill" includes anger and cruelty. "You shall not steal" includes wasted work hours and unpaid debts.

• For questions under each commandment, use our examination of conscience on the Ten Commandments.
• For something shorter that explains the method, start with the basic examination of conscience.
• For work, money, marriage and life online, try the examination of conscience for adults.

You don't need to memorize the list before you start. Keep it open on your phone, take two or three commandments a night, and let them show you both where to ask forgiveness and where you have already been faithful.