For a thorough comprehension of the Book of Exodus (Emigration) chapt. 20 (vv. 1–26, King James Version used; click here [https://biblehub.com/interlinear/exodus/20.htm] for Hebrew with pronunciation and here [https://www.studylight.org/interlinear-study-bible/greek/exodus/20-1.html] for Greek Septuagint) for Liberty from Mystery Egypt.

Commentary by John McGuire (Bed 0️⃣4️⃣).

Composed on this Sabbath Day, 24 January 2026 (or 6 Shevat 5786).

Disclaimer: I will be using the neuter pronoun (“it”) with reference to “the Lord your God” in order to communicate a balance between being and doing, akin to the burning bush which is a symbolic reference to the unmistakeably self-enlivening nature of that force that is identified paradoxically (or perhaps riddlesomely) as “I am.”

• 1. And God (Power) spake all these words, saying,
• 2. I am the LORD (I am) thy God (Power), which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
• As we escape the borders of Egypt (or any controlling cult or meta system for that matter) we are instantly met with greater Indic influence (see also The Age of Enlightenment), in two of whose Vedic scriptures known as the Upanishads (namely in Chandogya and in Mandukya) we find similar expressions to the way in which Moses describes his “muse” if you will or that being or state of consciousness that takes on the role of the source of the Torah or Law (Dharma in the Sanskrit). This source then has no wish to be an inaccessible or oppressive deity (inhabiting darkness rather than light interestingly), but rather its monikers tip off the literate that it is the true nature of the world as experienced both subjectively and objectively. In brief, rather than “a catalog of restrictions because somebody said so,” the tone of the Decalog is that I can because I am. (“Tat Tvam Asi” [“That Thou Art”] in the Chandogya Upanishad, and
  “Ayam Atma Brahma” (“This Atman is Brahman”) in the Mandukya Upanishad.)
• 3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
• For an enduring freedom (and in this case specifically to keep Egypt’s tentacles off of us) the knowledge that self-awareness is power (that is that the Lord is our God) must supersede all other archetypes lest man begin to slouch back toward Egypt, back toward cultist patterns. (As you value your dignity you must keep this Law!)
• 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.
• Have nothing to do with idolatry (and be wary of symbol and jargon) because if you do it’s your children who will suffer and be messed up for quite awhile, passing on the cycle of dysfunction that you start when you get involved in the whole game of vain illusions. (As you love your children and grandchildren you must keep this Law!)
• 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.
• The name of the Lord your God is the profoundest philosophy and your key connection to the quantum nature of reality. Just as you shouldn’t minimize this name through idolatry you also shouldn’t wear it out through overuse. This is so you can keep it fresh as you go about your work and especially as we’ll see on the Sabbath day of rest.
• 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.
• Even beasts and guests shall do no chores or projects every Seventh Day according to the innate way of the world, again all about living in reference to reality rather than placing blind trust in any system.
• 12. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
• Your respect for your parents, though secondary to having a free and healthy mind, will be imitated by your children and will in other ways promote longevity in a stable environment.
• 13. Thou shalt not kill.
• Find your power in I am and not in violence.
• 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.
• Do not start down the road of mocking your neighbor’s dignity (no matter who he be): this always has a way of destroying you in the end.
• 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.
• Earth and sky (paralleling Lord and God respectively) interact beautifully and even melodically as the Great Law of Life is communicated to the newly escaped slaves of Egypt who are now Israelites through the great work of the enlightened prince that is Moses, and yet in a tragic twist they still feel the pangs of fear, not quite universally perceiving the spirit in which they are being given a whole new life independent of “some other guy’s system.”
• 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.
• Moses is begging the Israelites to adjust their attitudes or shift their souls so that they will fear weakening rather than empowering, so that they will fear enslavement instead of liberation.
• 21. And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
• The Israelites continue to have hang-ups or reservations, and Moses continues to model freedom so that perhaps at least their children can see and start on a different path in their inner beings.
• 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.
• Moses muse confirms that the sounds were indeed his voice and continues to outline how the Israelites, such as they are, may interact with it. (Note that there are no boundaries but that wherever the source of the law records its name becomes Israelite land.) Perhaps one day the whole nation will be as Moses is, but only time will tell. The heart of the law always was and will always be that there is never doing without being (resting), and in this knowledge we live on, not only surviving but connecting meaningfully to all beings.