Third Commandment

This, of course, was a violation of the third commandment and a serious matter in Manning’s world, where the word of God is inerrant.

Crum had preached a few Sundays before about the Third Commandment — “Thou shalt not take the Lord’s name in vain” — but as Misty saw it, Trump belittled God and all of God’s creation when he called people names like “loser” and “stupid.”

The boy hesitated for just an instant, then said, “By resisting the gleaning, she has violated the third commandment. I therefore am obliged to glean the rest of her family.”

He learnt the Ten Commandments by heart, so whenever I heard him use a swear word I made him repeat the third commandment.

The third commandment might be rendered, “Thou shalt not utter the name of the Lord thy God vainly,” but it is possible that the meaning is that Yahweh’s name is not to be used for purposes of sorcery.