The Ten Commandments are the moral basis of Western culture. They are so basic that even atheists accept most of these ideas without thinking clearly about where they come from. This 2007 cartoon version of the Bible story is an easy way to start learning about the Ten Commandments:
These are some of the important people at the beginning of the story:
Moses
Leader of the Hebrews
Yocheved
Mother of Moses
Miriam
Sister of Moses
Aaron
Brother of Moses
Ramses
Son of Pharaoh
Zipporah
Wife of Moses
Jethro
Zipporah's father
Unfortunately, the YouTube version does not have provide English
subtitles (captions). Some of the dialog appears below, followed by a summary of the first twenty-odd minutes.
Many people think that the 1956 Ten Commandments movie is the best version ever made. The spoken English in this version is not so easy to understand (people speak using old-fashioned words from an old translation of the Bible), but the movie is quite beautiful to look at and the acting is excellent. They don't make movies like this anymore! These are clips that show important scenes from the movie:
Pharaoh tried to kill all of the baby boys of the Hebrews, but Yocheved saved her son Moses. She put him in a basket and sent it down the River Nile. Pharaoh's daughter took the basket out of the water and raised Moses as her own son.
As a young man, Moses saw a slavemaster beating a Hebrew. Although he was now a prince of Egypt, Moses knew in his bones that letting the slavemaster do this was very wrong. Moses killed the slavemaster, so Pharaoh sent him far away to die in the desert without food or water.
Many years later, God spoke to Moses from a burning bush. He told Moses to return to Egypt to free his people, the Hebrew slaves.
Moses showed signs that God had sent him, but Pharaoh thought these were simple tricks. Moses then asked Pharaoh to let God's people go, but Pharaoh refused.
God brought Ten Plagues to Egypt, each one worse than the other. He started by turning the waters of the Nile into blood. In the last plague, the firstborn son of each Egyptian family died. Pharaoh finally let the Hebrews go free.
Because
the Ten Commandments have been the basis for Western culture for almost
1700 years, students of English should definitely know what they say and what they
mean. The Ten Commandments appear in two slightly different versions, once in Exodus and once in Deuteronomy.
因為長達1700年以來西方文化以十誡為基礎，所以學英文不可不知道其內容與含義。
The following English and Chinese text is taken from Deuteronomy (申 命 記) 5:6~5:21 in the NET
Bible, a completely new translation that can be downloaded for free:
"I am the Lord your God" is the basis for ethical monotheism, the idea that there is only one true God (Greek roots: mono = one, the = God), the God that created this world and that God wants us, his children, to behave ethically (= to not do evil to each other): 單神論與自由息息相關。
The Second Commandment does not seem relevant or useful in today's world. However, Dennis Prager explains that this opinion is mistaken: 第二誡表面上與現代生活毫無關係。這個想法其實是錯誤的。比如說「萬般皆下品，唯有讀書高」和第二誡有關係。請看影片介紹：
Dennis Prager speaks very clearly, but you might need help with unfamiliar words. When you watch, be sure to click on the captions box to see all the words he says. Five questions to think about (provided by Prager University) appear below.
"Misusing God's name" sounds a little odd to modern ears, so it is often misunderstood. Dennis Prager explains what this commandment really means and why it is important: 『妄稱神的名』對現代人來說不容易理解，甚至容易誤會：
Please look at the following five questions provided by Prager University.
In today's world, almost everybody knows about weekends. Most people work (or go to school) from Monday to Friday, then they spend a day or two resting. But where did this idea come from? Why not work seven days a week? The answer lies in the Fourth Commandment。安息日使希伯來奴才得以解放，有機會全面休息。週末的觀念來自第四誡，但某些人偏偏不想休息。那種人算不算自由呢？其實，他們只不過是『金錢的奴才』啊！
