Exodus 20:2
ESV
"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
NIV
"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
NASB
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
CSB
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.
NLT
I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
KJV
I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
NKJV
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
What does Exodus 20:2 mean?
God is about to declare the first ten of His laws for the nation of Israel (Exodus 19:5–6; 20:1). He prefaces these laws by reminding Israel of His relationship to them. The Lord used powerful supernatural signs to free Israel from Egyptian slavery (Exodus 1:8–14; 3:20; 12:29–32). He once again demonstrated His power by rescuing the people at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21–29). His love was further proven by gifts of water (Exodus 15:22–25; 17:6) and food (Exodus 16:13–15).These are not directions coming from a random earthly ruler. Nor are they the requests of a newly elected leader. These are the commands of a holy Creator with absolute power and authority. Here, the Lord uses the same name spoken to Moses at the burning bush: YHWH, or Yahweh (Exodus 3:15). His status as the one and only God leads naturally to the first commandment (Exodus 20:3) which forbids the worship of any other deities.
