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I was reading a Tampa Bay Times article published on 5 March 2005, Jewish, Catholic, Protestant commandments differ, which prompted my question: Why is Judaism's ten commandments different from Catholicism's?

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    I think we need more than a newspaper article as a credible source of information. Apart from that, I couldn't actually read it because I refuse to allow them access to my personal information. Your question demands an honest answer but you need to edit it with evidence of research that Christians can take seriously. Have you read our tour guide which explains what we look for in a well-researched question? christianity.stackexchange.com/tour
    – Lesley
    Commented Nov 19, 2022 at 18:12

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Why is Jewish 10 commandments different from Catholic?

It is not only the Catholic Church’s Ten Commandments that are different from the Jewish Ten Commandments; the Protestant Ten Commandments are also different from the Jewish Ten Commandments!

Catholics and Lutherans follow St. Augustine’s numeration of the Sacred Text concerning the Ten Commandments.

Protestants usually, use the form which appears in the first Exodus version from chapter 20. Scholars have identified both Exodus versions as having probably been written in the tenth century BC.

Abbreviated Protestant Ten Commandments

You shall have no other gods but me.

You shall not make unto you any graven images

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain You shall remember the Sabbath and keep it holy

Honour your mother and father

You shall not murder

You shall not commit adultery

You shall not steal

You shall not bear false witness

You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbour

Whenever someone tries to have the Ten Commandments posted by the government on public property, it is almost inevitable that this Protestant version is chosen over Catholic and Jewish versions. The reason is likely the long-standing Protestant dominance in American public and civic life.

There have always been more Protestants in America than any other religious denomination, and so whenever religion has intruded into state activities, it has typically done so from a Protestant perspective. When students were expected to read the Bible in public schools, for example, they were forced to read the King James translation favored by Protestants; the Catholic Douay translation was forbidden. - Comparing the Ten Commandments

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