An Explanation of Luther's Small Catechism · Martin Luther
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT.
Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy. [Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; 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 man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 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.] _What is meant by this Commandment?_ _Ans._ We should so fear and love God as not to despise His Word and the preaching of the Gospel, but deem it holy, and willing to hear and learn it. Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. _What is meant by this Commandment?_ _Ans._ We should so fear and love God as not to despise nor displease our parents and superiors, but honor, serve, obey, love, and esteem them. Thou shalt not kill. _What is meant by this Commandment?_ _Ans._ We should so fear and love God as not to do our neighbor any bodily harm or injury, but rather assist and comfort him in danger and want.
Thou shalt not commit adultery. _What is meant by this Commandment?_ _Ans._ We should so fear and love God as to be chaste and pure in our words and deeds, each one also loving and honoring his wife or her husband. Thou shalt not steal. _What is meant by this Commandment?_ _Ans._ We should so fear and love God as not to rob our neighbor of his money or property, nor bring it into our possession by unfair dealing or fraudulent means, but rather assist him to improve and protect it. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. _What is meant by this Commandment?_ _Ans._ We should so fear and love God as not deceitfully to belie, betray, slander, nor raise injurious reports against our neighbor, but apologize for him, speak well of him, and put the most charitable construction on all his actions. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house. _What is meant by this Commandment?_ _Ans._ We should so fear and love God as not to desire by craftiness to gain possession of our neighbor's inheritance or home, or to obtain it under the pretext of a legal right, but be ready to assist and serve him in the preservation of his own.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.