Christians and Jews have historically aided memorization of the Ten Commandments by using an abbreviation of the commandments. By definition, an abbreviation is shorter than the original by leaving out details that are contained in the original. An abbreviated version of the Ten Commandments may be obtained by citing the beginning of each commandment, and leaving it as implied that the rest of the commandment follows. Referring to the way the Catholics group together the 17 statements to form ten commandments, and taking the beginning of each commandment, the resulting abbreviated version becomes:

1. You shall not have other gods before [or besides] 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 murder.
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.

It may appear from the above abbreviated version that the Catholics have omitted the statement about not making idols, but in reality the statement about not making idols is still a part of the Catholic's first commandment.

Notice from the table that the Jews also combine the "You shall not have other gods besides me" statement with all the statements about not making false idols the same way the Catholics do. It is only the Protestants who combine and group the statements in such a way that the statement, "You shall not have other gods besides me," is separate from the statements about not making idols.

The Ten Commandments: They're Not What You Think

Commentary On The Ten Commandments

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