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Commands in the Bible: a verse-by-verse study

This study identifies verses in which the text presents God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit giving a command. It shows who receives each command, how it is delivered, and whether it concerns one event or extends beyond that moment.

Two blank stone tablets and a shepherd’s staff on a rock ledge below a clouded desert mountain at dawn.

The short answer

2,775verses in which God gives a command: directly, through Moses, through a prophet or through an angel
478verses in which Jesus gives one, and three in which the Holy Spirit does
2,013of the 3,256 contain an instruction that extends beyond one event; the rest concern one moment

The study identifies 2,775 verses in which a command is attributed to God. Of these, 696 present God speaking directly. Another 1,543 deliver a command through Moses, mostly in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy; 473 deliver one through a later prophet, and 96 through an angel. Thirty-three verses use two forms of delivery and therefore appear in both categories. The study also identifies 478 verses in which Jesus gives a command and three in which the Holy Spirit does, all three in Acts.

Altogether, the study identifies 3,256 verses with at least one command. In 2,013, the instruction extends beyond one event; the others concern one moment. Of the 2,775 verses in the God category, 2,706 are in the Old Testament and 69 are in the New Testament. Most command verses in the New Testament portion of the study are spoken by Jesus.

How the commands come

Each command is placed by how it reaches the one who must carry it out: from God Himself, through Moses, through another prophet, or through an angel; or from Jesus, or from the Holy Spirit.

  • Direct from God

    696 verses, 21% of all

    God speaks the command to the one who must carry it out: to Adam, Noah and Abraham, to Moses and the prophets about their own tasks, to all Israel at Sinai, to Job, and to creation.

    Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you. Genesis 12:1

  • Through Moses

    1,543 verses, 47% of all

    The laws God gives Moses to pass on (“Speak to the Israelites and tell them…”), His messages for Pharaoh, and Moses passing on the LORD's commands, as in Deuteronomy.

    And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5

  • Through a prophet

    473 verses, 15% of all

    God's commands carried by the prophets after Moses to a people, a king or the nations, His words in the books of the prophets, and His words to the people in a psalm.

    Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:17

  • Through an angel

    96 verses, 3% of all

    Commands brought by the angel of the LORD, by Gabriel and other angels, and by heavenly voices the text does not give as God's own.

    Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:20

  • From Jesus

    478 verses, 15% of all

    Jesus' commands in the Gospels, Acts and Revelation, and at the Last Supper as Paul quotes Him (1 Corinthians 11:24 to 25): to His disciples, the crowds, one person, a spirit, or the wind and the sea.

    A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another. John 13:34

  • From the Holy Spirit

    3 verses, under 1% of all

    The Holy Spirit's commands in Acts, to Philip, to Peter and to the church at Antioch.

    Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Acts 13:2

A few verses bring a command two ways at once. God tells Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Let My people go’” (Exodus 8:1): the going is God's command to Moses, and the release His command to Pharaoh, through Moses. Thirty-three verses are like this, half of them in Exodus, and each counts in both channels.

A blank scroll and walking staff resting beside the open gate of an ancient hill city
A carried word at an open gate: an editorial reflection on commands delivered through prophets.

Instructions beyond one event and for one moment

An instruction beyond one event is presented as applying beyond the immediate situation: “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15), a rule for an offering or “Love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44). An instruction for one moment asks for one act in one situation, such as God's direction to Moses to go to Pharaoh (Exodus 7:15) or Jesus' direction to stretch out a hand (Matthew 12:13). These labels describe the command in its original setting. They do not decide which commands a Jewish or Christian community understands as binding today.

Instructions beyond one event and for one moment, by how they come
Instruction beyond one eventFor one moment
  1. Direct from GodDirect from God: 101 verses with an instruction beyond one eventDirect from God: 601 verses for one moment696
  2. Through MosesThrough Moses: 1,386 verses with an instruction beyond one eventThrough Moses: 159 verses for one moment1,543
  3. Through a prophetThrough a prophet: 234 verses with an instruction beyond one eventThrough a prophet: 244 verses for one moment473
  4. Through an angelThrough an angel: 10 verses with an instruction beyond one eventThrough an angel: 88 verses for one moment96
  5. From JesusFrom Jesus: 288 verses with an instruction beyond one eventFrom Jesus: 193 verses for one moment478
  6. From the Holy SpiritFrom the Holy Spirit: 3 verses for one moment3

A verse with both a law and a command for the moment is in both parts of its bar, so a bar can run a little past its number.

The categories differ most here. Of the 1,543 verses delivered through Moses, 1,386 contain an instruction that extends beyond one event. Commands presented as God's direct speech are more often for one moment, 601 of 696, such as directions to go, take something or stretch out a hand. Commands delivered through the prophets divide almost evenly. Of the 478 verses spoken by Jesus, 288 contain teaching that extends beyond one event. All three commands attributed to the Holy Spirit concern one moment.

An ordered desert sanctuary courtyard beside a single trail of footprints leading toward the horizon
The lasting order of a sanctuary beside a path taken once: an editorial contrast between laws and commands for the moment.

Book by book

God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit gives a command in 38 of the Bible's 66 books. Leviticus has the most, 596 verses, nearly all of them laws through Moses, followed by Exodus, Deuteronomy and Numbers; the four books hold 1,891 of the 3,256 verses. Ezekiel comes next, with 191, more than half of them God's commands to the prophet himself, and then Matthew, with 172, nearly all of them Jesus'.

The 15 books with the most verses of command, by how the commands come
Direct from GodThrough MosesThrough a prophetThrough an angelFrom Jesus
  1. LeviticusLeviticus: Direct from God, 7 versesLeviticus: Through Moses, 590 verses596
  2. ExodusExodus: Direct from God, 256 versesExodus: Through Moses, 240 verses480
  3. DeuteronomyDeuteronomy: Direct from God, 15 versesDeuteronomy: Through Moses, 438 verses453
  4. NumbersNumbers: Direct from God, 92 versesNumbers: Through Moses, 274 versesNumbers: Through an angel, 1 verse362
  5. EzekielEzekiel: Direct from God, 104 versesEzekiel: Through a prophet, 92 verses191
  6. MatthewMatthew: Direct from God, 1 verseMatthew: Through a prophet, 4 versesMatthew: Through an angel, 7 versesMatthew: From Jesus, 160 verses172
  7. JeremiahJeremiah: Direct from God, 40 versesJeremiah: Through a prophet, 126 verses164
  8. LukeLuke: Direct from God, 1 verseLuke: Through a prophet, 4 versesLuke: Through an angel, 6 versesLuke: From Jesus, 130 verses141
  9. IsaiahIsaiah: Direct from God, 15 versesIsaiah: Through a prophet, 95 verses110
  10. MarkMark: Direct from God, 1 verseMark: Through a prophet, 1 verseMark: Through an angel, 2 versesMark: From Jesus, 85 verses89
  11. JohnJohn: Through a prophet, 1 verseJohn: From Jesus, 68 verses69
  12. GenesisGenesis: Direct from God, 53 versesGenesis: Through an angel, 10 verses63
  13. RevelationRevelation: Direct from God, 1 verseRevelation: Through an angel, 33 versesRevelation: From Jesus, 27 verses61
  14. JoshuaJoshua: Direct from God, 19 versesJoshua: Through a prophet, 10 versesJoshua: Through an angel, 1 verse29
  15. ZechariahZechariah: Direct from God, 6 versesZechariah: Through a prophet, 13 versesZechariah: Through an angel, 8 verses27
Every book with a command in it
For each book: the verses with a command, and the verses in each channel (a verse with two channels is in both)
BookVersesDirect from GodThrough MosesThrough a prophetThrough an angelFrom JesusFrom the Holy Spirit
Genesis6353––10––
Exodus480256240––––
Leviticus5967590––––
Numbers36292274–1––
Deuteronomy45315438––––
Joshua2919–101––
Judges2515–28––
1 Samuel1712–5–––
2 Samuel108–3–––
1 Kings2212172––
2 Kings91–62––
1 Chronicles86–3–––
2 Chronicles102–8–––
Job99–––––
Psalms163–13–––
Isaiah11015–95–––
Jeremiah16440–126–––
Ezekiel191104–92–––
Daniel11–––11––
Hosea216–15–––
Joel141–13–––
Amos172–15–––
Obadiah4––4–––
Jonah22–––––
Micah111–11–––
Nahum1––1–––
Habakkuk32–1–––
Zephaniah7––7–––
Haggai81–7–––
Zechariah276–138––
Malachi6––6–––
Matthew1721–47160–
Mark891–1285–
Luke1411–46130–
John69––1–68–
Acts162––563
1 Corinthians2––––2–
Revelation611––3327–

To whom

Most commands are for a people or a group: 2,309 verses have one, and 955 have a command for a single person. The people of Israel receive by far the most, in 1,271 verses, then Moses, the priests and Jesus' disciples.

Those who receive the most commands
  1. 1Israel1,271
  2. 2Moses308
  3. 3The priests280
  4. 4The disciples224
  5. 5Ezekiel97
  6. 6Judah and Jerusalem86
  7. 7Aaron44
  8. 8Jeremiah40
  9. 9The Levites35
  10. 10Joshua27
  11. 11John26
  12. 12The crowds26

Some commands are addressed to someone or something other than a person. Fourteen verses contain commands to creation. These include commands to light, water and land in Genesis 1; to the sea in Job 38:11; to the dry bones and breath in Ezekiel's vision; to the wind and sea in Mark 4:39; and to the birds in Revelation 19:17. Thirteen verses contain a command to a spirit, and twenty contain a command to angels.

Every command to creation
  • And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Genesis 1:3 Direct from God to light
  • And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, to separate the waters from the waters.” Genesis 1:6 Direct from God to the expanse
  • And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear.” And it was so. Genesis 1:9 Direct from God to the waters
  • Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each bearing fruit with seed according to its kind.” And it was so. Genesis 1:11 Direct from God to the earth
  • And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years. Genesis 1:14 Direct from God to the lights
  • And let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth.” And it was so. Genesis 1:15 Direct from God to the lights
  • And God said, “Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.” Genesis 1:20 Direct from God to the waters and the birds
  • Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” Genesis 1:22 Direct from God to the sea creatures and the birds
  • And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, land crawlers, and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. Genesis 1:24 Direct from God to the earth
  • and I declared: ‘You may come this far, but no farther; here your proud waves must stop’? Job 38:11 Direct from God to the sea
  • And He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and tell them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! Ezekiel 37:4 Direct from GodThrough a prophet to Ezekiel and the dry bones
  • Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and tell the breath that this is what the Lord GOD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, so that they may live!” Ezekiel 37:9 Direct from GodThrough a prophet to Ezekiel and the breath
  • Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence!” He commanded. “Be still!” And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm. Mark 4:39 From Jesus to the wind and the sea
  • Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, Revelation 19:17 Through an angel to the birds flying overhead
Every command to a spirit
  • And he replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ ‘You will surely entice him and prevail,’ said the LORD. ‘Go and do it.’ 1 Kings 22:22 Direct from God to a lying spirit
  • And he replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ ‘You will surely entice him and prevail,’ said the LORD. ‘Go and do it.’ 2 Chronicles 18:21 Direct from God to a lying spirit
  • “Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “Everything he has is in your hands, but you must not lay a hand on the man himself.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. Job 1:12 Direct from God to Satan
  • “Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “He is in your hands, but you must spare his life.” Job 2:6 Direct from God to Satan
  • Jesus replied, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” Matthew 4:7 From Jesus to Satan
  • “Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus told him. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’ ” Matthew 4:10 From Jesus to Satan
  • “Go!” He told them. So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and died in the waters. Matthew 8:32 From Jesus to the demons
  • But Jesus rebuked the spirit. “Be silent!” He said. “Come out of him!” Mark 1:25 From Jesus to an unclean spirit
  • For Jesus had already declared, “Come out of this man, you unclean spirit!” Mark 5:8 From Jesus to an unclean spirit
  • When Jesus saw that a crowd had come running, He rebuked the unclean spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” He said, “I command you to come out and never enter him again.” Mark 9:25 From Jesus to a deaf and mute spirit
  • But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’ ” Luke 4:8 From Jesus to the devil
  • But Jesus answered, “It also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” Luke 4:12 From Jesus to the devil
  • But Jesus rebuked the demon. “Be silent!” He said. “Come out of him!” At this, the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without harming him. Luke 4:35 From Jesus to a demon
Every command to angels
  • Rejoice, O heavens, with Him, and let all God’s angels worship Him. Rejoice, O nations, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His children. He will take vengeance on His adversaries and repay those who hate Him; He will cleanse His land and His people. Deuteronomy 32:43 Through Moses to God's angels and the nations
  • But when the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!” At that time the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 2 Samuel 24:16 Direct from God to the destroying angel
  • Then God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but as the angel was doing so, the LORD saw it and relented from the calamity, and He said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!” At that time the angel of the LORD was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 1 Chronicles 21:15 Direct from God to the destroying angel
  • Then I heard Him call out in a loud voice, saying, “Draw near, O executioners of the city, each with a weapon of destruction in hand.” Ezekiel 9:1 Direct from God to the executioners
  • “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem,” said the LORD, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men sighing and groaning over all the abominations committed there.” Ezekiel 9:4 Direct from God to the man clothed in linen
  • And as I listened, He said to the others, “Follow him through the city and start killing; do not show pity or spare anyone! Ezekiel 9:5 Direct from God to the executioners
  • Slaughter the old men, the young men and maidens, the women and children; but do not go near anyone who has the mark. Now begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple. Ezekiel 9:6 Direct from God to the executioners
  • Then He told them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go forth!” So they went out and began killing throughout the city. Ezekiel 9:7 Direct from God to the executioners
  • And the LORD said to the man clothed in linen, “Go inside the wheelwork beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in. Ezekiel 10:2 Direct from God to the man clothed in linen
  • When the LORD commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from within the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel. Ezekiel 10:6 Direct from God to the man clothed in linen
  • And I heard the voice of a man calling from between the banks of the Ulai: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.” Daniel 8:16 Through an angel to Gabriel
  • Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow because their wickedness is great. Joel 3:13 Direct from God to the LORD's mighty ones
  • I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Topple them on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the rest with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape. Amos 9:1 Direct from God to an unnamed agent in the vision
  • and said to him, “Run and tell that young man: ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the multitude of men and livestock within it. Zechariah 2:4 Through an angel to the angel who talked with Zechariah
  • So the angel said to those standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have removed your iniquity, and I will clothe you with splendid robes.” Zechariah 3:4 Through an angel to those standing before the angel
  • As the strong horses went out, they were eager to go and patrol the earth; and the LORD said, “Go and patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. Zechariah 6:7 Direct from God to the four spirits of heaven
  • “Do not harm the land or sea or trees until we have placed a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” Revelation 7:3 Through an angel to the four angels
  • saying to the sixth angel with the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” Revelation 9:14 Through an angel to the sixth angel
  • Still another angel, with authority over the fire, came from the altar and called out in a loud voice to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the vine of the earth, because its grapes are ripe.” Revelation 14:18 Through an angel to the angel with the sharp sickle
  • Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out on the earth the seven bowls of God’s wrath.” Revelation 16:1 Through an angel to the seven angels

The Ten Commandments, twice

The traditional Ten Commandments appear in two closely related passages. At Sinai, Exodus says that “God spoke all these words” (Exodus 20:1) to the people from the mountain. In Deuteronomy's account, Moses addresses the next generation on the plains of Moab and retells them: “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances that I declare in your hearing this day” (Deuteronomy 5:1). This study therefore places Exodus 20 under direct speech from God and Deuteronomy 5 under commands delivered through Moses.

The words God speaks from the mountain (Exodus 20:2 to 17), and the same words as Moses retells them forty years later (Deuteronomy 5:6 to 21)
Exodus 20At SinaiRetold
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.Exodus 20:2 not a commandDeuteronomy 5:6 not a command
You shall have no other gods before Me.Exodus 20:3 Direct from GodDeuteronomy 5:7 Through Moses
You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.Exodus 20:4 Direct from GodDeuteronomy 5:8 Through Moses
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,Exodus 20:5 Direct from GodDeuteronomy 5:9 Through Moses
but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.Exodus 20:6 not a commandDeuteronomy 5:10 not a command
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.Exodus 20:7 Direct from GodDeuteronomy 5:11 Through Moses
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.Exodus 20:8 Direct from GodDeuteronomy 5:12 Through Moses
Six days you shall labor and do all your work,Exodus 20:9 Direct from GodDeuteronomy 5:13 Through Moses
but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates.Exodus 20:10 Direct from GodDeuteronomy 5:14 Through Moses
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.Exodus 20:11 not a commandDeuteronomy 5:15 Through Moses
Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.Exodus 20:12 Direct from GodDeuteronomy 5:16 Through Moses
You shall not murder.Exodus 20:13 Direct from GodDeuteronomy 5:17 Through Moses
You shall not commit adultery.Exodus 20:14 Direct from GodDeuteronomy 5:18 Through Moses
You shall not steal.Exodus 20:15 Direct from GodDeuteronomy 5:19 Through Moses
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.Exodus 20:16 Direct from GodDeuteronomy 5:20 Through Moses
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”Exodus 20:17 Direct from GodDeuteronomy 5:21 Through Moses

The two passages are similar, with several meaningful differences. The Sabbath command has the clearest change in emphasis. Exodus points to creation: “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth” (Exodus 20:11). Deuteronomy points to Israel's slavery and deliverance: “Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 5:15).

The opening words, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt” (Exodus 20:2), give no instruction under this study's definition, so the page does not count them. Jewish tradition counts them as the first of the Ten and joins the commands against other gods and idols as the second; Maimonides counts them as the first of the 613, the command to believe in God. The Bible calls them “the Ten Commandments” (Exodus 34:28) without numbering them. Catholic and Lutheran traditions generally join the commands against other gods and idols, then divide the command against coveting in two. Orthodox and Reformed traditions generally count other gods and idols separately6. The Catholic7, Lutheran8 and Orthodox9 sources cited below show these arrangements directly.

Two blank stone tablets, one in mountain shade and one catching the first light above a river valley
One in shadow and one in morning light: an editorial reflection on the commandments spoken at Sinai and retold in Moab.

Commands given again and again

Some commands come back again and again. The call to listen is the most frequent, in 100 verses, 67 of them through the prophets, often in the words “Hear the word of the LORD”. Next comes “Do not be afraid”, in 72, from God's word to Abram in a vision (Genesis 15:1) to the risen Jesus' word to the church in Smyrna (Revelation 2:10). It comes through every channel but the Spirit's: most often through the prophets, then from Jesus, and from God directly, through Moses and by angels.

Commands given again and again, by the verses that give them
Direct from GodThrough MosesThrough a prophetThrough an angelFrom Jesus
  1. 1Listen, hearListen, hear: Direct from God, 18 versesListen, hear: Through Moses, 10 versesListen, hear: Through a prophet, 67 versesListen, hear: Through an angel, 1 verseListen, hear: From Jesus, 8 verses100
  2. 2Do not be afraidDo not be afraid: Direct from God, 13 versesDo not be afraid: Through Moses, 9 versesDo not be afraid: Through a prophet, 23 versesDo not be afraid: Through an angel, 9 versesDo not be afraid: From Jesus, 18 verses72
  3. 3Return, repentReturn, repent: Direct from God, 1 verseReturn, repent: Through a prophet, 19 versesReturn, repent: From Jesus, 6 verses25
  4. 4Keep watchKeep watch: Direct from God, 1 verseKeep watch: Through Moses, 1 verseKeep watch: From Jesus, 23 verses25
  5. 5RememberRemember: Direct from God, 1 verseRemember: Through Moses, 12 versesRemember: Through a prophet, 6 versesRemember: Through an angel, 1 verseRemember: From Jesus, 3 verses23
  6. 6Keep My commandmentsKeep My commandments: Direct from God, 1 verseKeep My commandments: Through Moses, 19 versesKeep My commandments: Through a prophet, 2 versesKeep My commandments: From Jesus, 1 verse23
  7. 7LoveLove: Through Moses, 6 versesLove: Through a prophet, 3 versesLove: From Jesus, 11 verses20
  8. 8Follow MeFollow Me: From Jesus, 17 verses17
  9. 9WriteWrite: Direct from God, 11 versesWrite: Through Moses, 3 versesWrite: From Jesus, 2 verses16
  10. 10Rejoice, sing, praiseRejoice, sing, praise: Through Moses, 2 versesRejoice, sing, praise: Through a prophet, 7 versesRejoice, sing, praise: Through an angel, 3 versesRejoice, sing, praise: From Jesus, 3 verses15
  11. 11Be holyBe holy: Through Moses, 8 verses8
  12. 12Seek the LORDSeek the LORD: Through a prophet, 7 versesSeek the LORD: From Jesus, 1 verse8

The call to repent or return belongs mostly to the prophets, and Jesus takes it up: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17). “Follow Me” is Jesus' alone and “Keep watch” nearly so; “Be holy” is given only through Moses, and “Write” is mostly God's word to Moses and the prophets. Each bar counts the verses in which the words of that command appear.

The 613 commandments

A longstanding rabbinic tradition counts 613 commandments in the Torah, the five books of Moses. Makkot 23b records Rabbi Simlai's teaching that 613 commandments were given to Moses: 365 prohibitions, corresponding to the days of the solar year, and 248 positive commands, corresponding to the parts of the human body3. The passage then explains the number through the numerical value of the Hebrew word Torah: 611 commands taught through Moses, plus the first two of the Ten Commandments, which Israel is said to have heard directly from God.

Later scholars listed the 613 one by one. The best known list is the Book of the Commandments by Maimonides, the twelfth-century rabbi and philosopher4, which begins with the command to believe in God, from “I am the LORD your God” (Exodus 20:2). The lists do not always agree, because the Torah does not number its laws, and a single verse can be read as one commandment or several.

The Talmud goes on to show David and the prophets gathering the commandments into fewer principles: David into eleven (Psalm 15), Isaiah into six (Isaiah 33:15), Micah into three, “to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8), Isaiah into two, “Maintain justice and do what is right” (Isaiah 56:1), and Amos into one, “Seek Me and live!” (Amos 5:4). Another rabbi gives the one as Habakkuk's “the righteous will live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). In the Sifra, an early rabbinic commentary on Leviticus, Rabbi Akiva calls “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18) a great principle of the Torah5. Asked which commandment in the Law is the greatest, Jesus answered with two, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37) and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39), and added, “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:40).

This page counts something else. The 613 are the laws of the five books of Moses, each counted once, as the tradition reads them. This page counts verses from Genesis to Revelation in which God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit gives a command, laws and commands for the moment alike. Nor are its 1,386 verses with a law given through Moses a count of laws: one law can run over several verses, and one verse can hold several laws.

A small burning clay lamp and folded fishing net on the shore of a lake at morning
From the mountain to the lakeshore, the directory below gathers every command counted on this page.

Browse the command verses

Explore every verse included in this study, book by book. Each entry shows how the command is delivered, whether it extends beyond one event and who receives it. Choose a book, then narrow the list by delivery or kind.

Command verses, book by book

The list needs JavaScript. Every verse included in the study is also in the data file.

    How this was made

    What this study counts as a command. A verse counts when it presents a speaker telling someone to do something or not to do it. This includes direct instructions, obligations and prohibitions, penalties, commands phrased in the third person and verses that state the conditions of a law. Statements, promises and predictions do not count merely because they use shall. Blessings, curses, questions, permissions, headings, words inside a parable, quoted speech, model prayers and commands that are only reported are also excluded. The study does include instructions to know or consider something, and questions that directly state a requirement, such as Micah 6:8.

    The prophets' poetry. Here the reading takes most judgment. A call to God's own people to act, to flee, to sound the alarm or to mourn counts. Words addressed to places and things that cannot answer (the mountains of Israel, a sword, the heavens called as witnesses) do not, unless the text shows creation obeying, and neither do taunts, irony, or a doom pronounced in the imperative on another nation, like “Wail, O ships of Tarshish” (Isaiah 23:1).

    How speakers were identified. The starting point is Faith Comes By Hearing's speaker list, created for dramatized Bible recordings1. It is a production dataset, not a scholarly judgment about authorship. In prophetic books, the study includes commands that the text presents as God's message whether the dataset assigns the line to God, the prophet or no named speaker. In Psalms, only lines assigned to God are considered. Commands spoken in Moses' or a prophet's own voice, and words attributed to false prophets, are excluded. The longer ending of Mark, which appears in the Berean Standard Bible, is included when the text identifies Jesus as the speaker. These rules produced 11,056 verses for review in the Berean Standard Bible2.

    Retellings. A command is counted where the list gives it to God, Jesus or the Spirit. Where Moses or a prophet repeats a command of God, it counts again in the retelling, as the Ten Commandments do in Deuteronomy 5. A command known only from someone else's retelling does not count: Jesus' words to Paul as Paul later tells them (Acts 22:18 to 21; 26:16 to 18) are Paul's lines in the list. Nor do the letters' quotations of earlier commands, which are counted where first given, as Hebrews 3:7 to 8 gives the warning of Psalm 95:8 as the Holy Spirit's.

    How a command comes. A command God speaks to the one who must carry it out is direct: to Moses or a prophet about their own tasks, to all Israel at Sinai, to Job, to creation, and through the voice from heaven. The laws God gives Moses to pass on, His messages for Pharaoh, and Moses' teaching of the LORD's commands in Deuteronomy come through Moses; the relay itself, “Speak to the Israelites and tell them” (Leviticus 1:2), is part of the delivery, not a command of its own. God's word carried by the prophets after Moses comes through a prophet, and so do Joshua's relays of the LORD's commands and John the Baptist's call to repent, since “the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness” (Luke 3:2). The angel of the LORD, Gabriel and the other angels, and the heavenly voices of Revelation that the text does not give as God's own, bring commands through an angel.

    The reading. Every verse in scope was read against a written rubric with worked examples. Where similar verses had been classified differently, the rules were clarified in writing. The 803 verses affected by those rules were then read again, and 179 decisions changed. A separate consistency review resolved seventeen more cases one at a time, with a reason recorded for each:

    • Deuteronomy 6:11 Through MosesThe middle of the setting that 6:10 begins and 6:12 completes (“be careful not to forget the LORD”), counted with them as the rule for conditions asks.
    • Deuteronomy 8:17 Through Moses“You might say in your heart” sets up the command of 8:18 (“But remember”), as 7:17 and 18:21 set up theirs, and is counted with it in the same way.
    • Jeremiah 9:17 Through a prophetA call to God's own people to mourn, counted like Jeremiah 4:8 and 7:29. Calls to wail addressed to other nations under judgment are not counted.
    • Jeremiah 9:18 Through a prophetA call to God's own people to mourn, counted like Jeremiah 4:8 and 7:29. Calls to wail addressed to other nations under judgment are not counted.
    • Jeremiah 22:10 Through a prophetA call to God's own people to mourn, counted like Jeremiah 4:8 and 7:29. Calls to wail addressed to other nations under judgment are not counted.
    • Jeremiah 22:20 Through a prophetA call to God's own people to mourn, counted like Jeremiah 4:8 and 7:29. Calls to wail addressed to other nations under judgment are not counted.
    • Jeremiah 26:15 not countedJeremiah's own words in his defense before the officials, like 26:14, not the LORD's message, so they are left out like the other prophets' own words.
    • Ezekiel 20:47 not countedThe message is addressed to the forest of the Negev. Words addressed to places and things, like the mountains of Israel in 6:3 and 36:4, are not counted; the command to prophesy against the forest is counted in 20:46.
    • Daniel 4:27 not countedDaniel gives this as his own counsel (“may my advice be pleasing to you, O king”), not as the LORD's word, so it is left out like the other prophets' own instructions.
    • Micah 1:10 Through a prophetA call to God's own people to mourn, counted like Jeremiah 4:8 and 7:29. Calls to wail addressed to other nations under judgment are not counted.
    • Micah 1:16 Through a prophetA call to God's own people to mourn, counted like Jeremiah 4:8 and 7:29. Calls to wail addressed to other nations under judgment are not counted.
    • Zephaniah 1:11 Through a prophetA call to God's own people to mourn, counted like Jeremiah 4:8 and 7:29. Calls to wail addressed to other nations under judgment are not counted.
    • Zechariah 6:7 Direct from GodThe Berean Standard Bible gives these words to the LORD (“and the LORD said”); the speaker data gives them to the angel who talked with Zechariah.
    • Acts 10:13 Direct from GodThe voice in Peter's vision, which he later calls a voice from heaven (Acts 11:9). The speaker data gives it to the Holy Spirit, and also offers God or Jesus; the page counts it, like the other voices from heaven, as direct from God.
    • Acts 10:15 Direct from GodThe voice in Peter's vision, which he later calls a voice from heaven (Acts 11:9). The speaker data gives it to the Holy Spirit, and also offers God or Jesus; the page counts it, like the other voices from heaven, as direct from God.
    • Revelation 12:12 Through an angelThe call to rejoice counts for those who dwell in heaven; the heavens themselves are not counted as hearers, as in Deuteronomy 32:43.
    • Revelation 18:20 Through an angelThe call to rejoice counts for the saints, apostles and prophets; heaven itself is not counted as a hearer, as in Deuteronomy 32:43.

    The counts. A verse counts once, however many commands it holds, and once in each channel through which a command comes in it. Thirty-three verses have two, like Exodus 8:1, where “Go to Pharaoh” is God's command to Moses and “Let My people go” His command to Pharaoh through Moses, so the channels add up to a little more than the verses. A verse can also hold both a law and a command for the moment.

    The data. Every verse counted, with how its command comes, its kind and who receives it, is in commandments.json.

    This page was made with AI assistance and human review.

    Corrections are welcome through the contact page.

    Sources
    1. Glyssen character data (CharacterVerse.txt), SIL and Faith Comes By Hearing, MIT licence, copyright 2014 to 2020 SIL LSDev and Faith Comes By Hearing.
    2. The Berean Standard Bible, released into the public domain, read on this site at /bible/bsb/.
    3. Babylonian Talmud, tractate Makkot 23b to 24a, read at Sefaria in Hebrew and Aramaic with the William Davidson English translation; paraphrased here, not quoted.
    4. Moses Maimonides, Sefer HaMitzvot (The Book of the Commandments), read at Sefaria.
    5. Sifra, Kedoshim, chapter 4:12, read at Sefaria with Rabbi Shraga Silverstein's English; paraphrased here.
    6. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2066, which describes the Catholic and Lutheran numbering and the arrangement used in Orthodox and Reformed traditions.
    7. Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, questions 527 to 531, for the Catholic ninth and tenth commandments.
    8. Martin Luther, Small Catechism, The Ten Commandments, for the Lutheran ninth and tenth commandments.
    9. Orthodox Church in America, The Ten Commandments, including its treatment of the prohibition of idols as the second commandment.

    Questions people ask

    How many commands does God give in the Bible?

    Counted verse by verse, God gives a command in 2,775 verses: 696 directly, 1,543 through Moses, 473 through the prophets and 96 through an angel (a verse with two channels is counted in each). Jesus gives a command in 478 verses, and the Holy Spirit in three. The traditional count of 613 commandments is of the laws in the five books of Moses only, and counts them differently.

    What are the 613 commandments?

    The Talmud (Makkot 23b) records Rabbi Simlai's teaching that 613 commandments were given to Moses: 365 prohibitions, as many as the days of the solar year, and 248 positive commands, as many as the parts of the human body. Later scholars, most famously Maimonides in his Book of the Commandments, listed them one by one. The lists differ in places, since the Torah does not number its laws.

    What is the first command in the Bible?

    Under this study's definition, the first command is “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3), spoken to creation. The first command to people is “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28), and the first prohibition is “you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:17).

    What is the greatest commandment?

    Asked which commandment in the Law is greatest, Jesus answered with two: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37), from Deuteronomy 6:5, and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39), from Leviticus 19:18. “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:40).

    Where do the Ten Commandments appear in the Bible?

    The traditional Ten Commandments appear in two closely related passages. Exodus 20 presents God speaking them from Mount Sinai, while Deuteronomy 5 presents Moses retelling them to the next generation. This study therefore places the first passage under direct speech from God and the second under commands delivered through Moses.

    Which book of the Bible has the most commands?

    Leviticus, with a command in 596 verses. God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit gives a command in 38 of the Bible's 66 books.

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