Irenaeus of Lyons · a new plain-English translation from the original language
And he commanded love toward God, and instilled that righteousness which is toward one's neighbor, that man might be neither unjust nor unworthy of God, building man up beforehand through the Decalogue into friendship with himself and into concord with his neighbor. These things indeed profited man himself, while God had no need of anything from man. And for this reason Scripture says: "These words the Lord spoke to the whole assembly of the sons of Israel on the mountain, and added nothing more"; for, as already noted, nothing was lacking to him from them. And Moses states elsewhere: "So now, O Israel, what is it the Lord your God seeks from you, save that you revere the Lord your God, tread every one of his paths, hold him dear, and give service to the Lord your God with your whole heart and your whole spirit?" These things indeed brought glory to man, furnishing him with what he lacked, namely friendship with God; yet they added nothing to God, since God had no need of man's affection. Man's want was for the glory of God, which he could obtain by no other means than through that submission owed toward God. It is for this reason that Moses tells them again: "Choose life, so that you and your offspring may live, by holding the Lord your God dear, heeding his voice, and clinging fast to him; for in this lies your life and the number of your days." It was toward this life that the Lord, forming man in advance, spoke the words of the Decalogue equally to all; and thus they endure equally among us too, gaining extension and growth, though not abolition, through his arrival in the flesh. But the servile precepts he laid upon the people individually through Moses, matched to their schooling or their reproof, as Moses himself states: "And at that time the Lord charged me to make known to you decrees and ordinances." These, then, granted to them for bondage and as a token, he bounded within the new covenant of freedom. But the things that are inherent, generous, and shared by all, he expanded and multiplied, granting them freely to men without grudging, through adoption, letting them know God as Father and hold him dear with the entire heart, and follow his Word unswervingly, refraining not merely from wicked acts but from the very cravings behind them. He also deepened their reverence; for sons owe greater reverence than servants, and greater affection toward a father. It is for this that the Lord states: "Men shall answer for every careless word they utter, on the day of reckoning"; and, "whoever gazes upon a woman with longing has already committed adultery with her within his heart"; and, "whoever holds anger toward his brother without cause shall be answerable to judgment" — so that we might understand we shall answer to God not merely for our deeds, as servants do, but even for our words and inward thoughts, as those granted the power of freedom, wherein a man wins greater approval the more he reveres, fears, and holds the Lord dear. It is for this that Peter states that our freedom is not held as a covering for wickedness, but as proof and display of faith.