The Ten Commandments (1956) - Quotes

Questioning Power and Loyalty in Leadership

Baka: Will you lose a throne because Moses builds a city?

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Loyalty and Power in Leadership

Seti: With so many slaves, you could build…an army.

Moses: But I have built a city. Sixteen of these lions of Pharaoh will guard its gates. And it shall be the city of Seti's glory.

Seti: Mm. Are these slaves loyal to Seti's glory, or to you, Moses?

Moses: The slaves worship their God, and I serve only you.

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Power Struggles in Love and Desire

Rameses: I know you, my sweet. You're a sharp-clawed, treacherous little peacock. But you're food for the gods, and I'm going to have all of you.

Nefretiri: None of me. Did you think my kiss was a promise of what you'll have? No, my pompous one, it was to let you know what you will not have. I could never love you.

Rameses: [He leaves; Nefretiri wipes her lips in disgust] Does that matter? You will be my wife. You will come to me whenever I call you. And I will enjoy that very much. Whether you enjoy it or not is your own affair. But I think you will.

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Ambition Overrides Familial Bonds

Seti: Do you mean to tell me he would turn the slaves against me? I've been his father!

Jannes: Ambition knows no father.

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The Need for Rest and Relief

Rameses: Difficulty with the slaves, my brother?

Moses: None that could not be cures by a ration of grain and a day of rest.

Rameses: A day of rest?

Moses: When your horses tire, they're rested. When they hunger, they're fed.

Rameses: Slaves draw brick and stone. My horses draw the next Pharaoh.

Moses: Is there any grain stored here in Goshen?

Rameses: None that you would dare take, my brother.

Joshua: The temple granaries are full.

Moses: [to Joshua] Bring the push-pole men and some women with baskets.

Joshua: I will...great prince.

Rameses: I warn you, Moses, the temple grain belongs to the gods.

Moses: What the gods can digest will not sour in the belly of a slave.

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Confrontation Over a Life-Saving Decision

Moses: You know it is death to strike an Egyptian.

Joshua: I know it.

Moses: Yet you struck him. Why?

Joshua: To save the old woman.

Moses: What is she to you?

Joshua: An old woman.

Egyptian Guard: Lord Moses, send him to his death!

Moses: The man has courage. You do not speak like a slave.

Joshua: God made man. Man made slaves.

Moses: Which god?

Joshua: The God of Abraham, the Almighty God!

Moses: If your God is Almighty, why does He leave you in bondage?

Joshua: He will choose the hour of our freedom and the man who will deliver us!

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The Value of Labor and Sacrifice

Baka: We use the old ones for greasing the stones. If they are killed it is no loss.

Moses: Are you a master builder or a master butcher?

Baka: If we stop moving stones for every grease woman who falls, the city will not rise.

Overseer: If the slaves are not driven they will not work.

Joshua: If their work lags it is because they are not fed.

Moses: You look strong enough.

Joshua: I am a stone cutter. The pharaoh likes his images cut deep.

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Strength and Burdens in Divine Guidance

Yochabel: My noble one, it caught. I had not the strength to free myself.

Moses: [begins cutting her loose] Your shoulder should not bear a burden, old woman.

Yochabel: The Lord has renewed my strength and lightened my burdens.

Moses: He would have done better to remove them.

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Wisdom in Leadership and Relationships

Nefretiri: You will be king of Egypt and I will be your footstool!

Moses: The man stupid enough to use you as a footstool isn't wise enough to rule Egypt.

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Building the City for Pharaoh's Will

Seti: Would you please your Pharaoh, Moses?

Moses: Your wish is my will.

Seti: Then you build the city

Rameses: [to Moses] A wise decision. Noble task.

Seti: Rameses, do you believe this slave deliverer is a myth?

Rameses: What I believe is of no account. What matters is the slaves believe in him.

Seti: Of course, of course. Then you, too, shall go to Goshen. Learn if this deliverer be a myth or a man. If a myth, bring him to me in a bottle. If a man, bring him to me in chains.

Rameses: So let it be written, so let it be done.

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Moses' Triumphant Return to Egypt

Announcer: The Lord Moses, Prince of Egypt, son of the Pharaoh's sister, beloved of the Nile god, commander of the Southern Host!

Egyptian 1: Welcome home!

Egyptian 2: Prince Moses!

Jannes: The blessing of the god Amun-Ra be upon you, Great Prince! He has brought down the pride of Ethiopia. Yes, that is...

Seti: [as Jannes continues on] The old windbag.

Nefretiri: I agree with him.

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A Power Struggle Between Brothers

Moses: [Trumpets play, Ethiopians step forward] Great one, I bring you Ethiopia.

Rameses: Command them to kneel before Pharaoh.

Moses: Command what you have conquered my brother.

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Royal Robe Identification in Conversation

Memnet: [about the Hebrew cloth Moses lies in] Do you know the pattern of this cloth?

Bithiah: If my son is wrapped in it, it is a royal robe!

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A Prayer for a Son

Memnet: What have you found?

Bithiah: The answer to my prayers!

Memnet: You prayed for a basket?

Bithiah: No, I prayed for a son.

Memnet: Your husband is in the house of the dead.

Bithiah: And he has asked the Nile God to bring me this beautiful boy.

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Naming and Divine Providence in Conversation

Miriam: But Mother, we have not even given him a name.

Yochabel: God will give him a name.

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Bithiah's Prophecy for Moses' Greatness

Bithiah: [holding Baby Moses in her arms; playfully and quietly; giggles] You will be the glory of Egypt, my son. Mighty in words and deeds. Kings shall bow before you. Your name will live on when the pyramids are dust. And...because I drew you from the water, you shall be called Moses. Moses! Moses!

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The Consequences of Power and Pride

Nefretiri: Does a Pharaoh harden his heart against his son? If you let the Hebrews go, who will build his cities? You told Moses to make bricks without straw. Now he tells you to make cities without bricks. Who is the slave, and who is the Pharaoh? Do you hear laughter, Rameses? Yes. The laughter of kings in Babylon, in Cannan, in Troy, as Egypt surrenders to the god of slaves.

A Love Cursed by Betrayal

Nefretiri: I cursed you. Each time Rameses took me in his arms, I cursed you, not him, because I loved you.

A Man of Mud and Titles

Nefretiri: First friend of the Pharaoh, Keeper of the Royal Seal, Prince of On, Prince of Memphis, Prince of Thebes, Beloved of the Nile god, Conqueror of Ethiopia, General of Generals, Commander of the Egyptian host...a man of mud!

Pharaoh's Decree to Capture Moses Alive

Ramses II: This is work for a butcher, not a Pharaoh. Destroy them all. But bring Moses to me alive.

Ramses II on Divine Judgment and Accountability

Ramses II: [banishing Moses to the desert] I commend you to your Hebrew god who has no name. If you die, it will be by His hand, not by mine.

Possession and Trust in Relationships

Ramses II: [To Nefretiri] You will be mine, like my dog, or my horse, or my falcon, except that I shall love you more - and trust you less.

Leadership is a Legacy, Not a Birthright

Seti I: The man best able to rule Egypt will follow me. I owe that to my fathers, not to my sons.

Divine Support in Times of Battle

Moses: The Lord of Hosts will do battle for us! BEHOLD HIS MIGHTY HAND!!!

Moses Calls Israel to Remember Their Liberation

Moses: Hear, O Israel! Remember this day, when the strong hand of the Lord leads you out of bondage!

Moses Asserts Authority Through Divine Command

Moses: You gave me this staff to rule over scorpions and serpents, but God made it a rod to rule over kings. Hear His word, Rameses, and obey.

Moses Commands the Release of His People

Moses: Thus sayeth the Lord God of Israel: "Let my people go!

The Essence of Inner Beauty

Moses: There is a beauty beyond the senses, Nefretiri. Beauty like the quiet of green valleys and still waters. Beauty of the spirit that you cannot understand.

A Man's Resolve Against Oppression

Moses: It would take more than a man to lead the slaves from bondage. It would take a god. And I am no god, I am but a man. A man who asks by what right any man may enslave another of a different race or creed. But if I could free these people, I would.