Christian Standard Bible
Exodus 20:16
16Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Exodus 20:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
- New International Version (NIV)“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Context of Exodus 20:16
14Do not commit adultery. 15Do not steal. Do not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. 18All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the ram’s horn, and the mountain surrounded by smoke. When the people saw it they trembled and stood at a distance.
Read all of Exodus 20Exodus 20:16 word by word
לֹֽא־תַעֲנֶ֥ה בְרֵעֲךָ֖ עֵ֥ד שָֽׁקֶר׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 20:16
- Exodus 23:6“You must not deny justice to a poor person among you in his lawsuit.
- Leviticus 19:11“Do not steal. Do not act deceptively or lie to one another.
- Deuteronomy 19:15“One witness cannot establish any iniquity or sin against a person, whatever that person has done. A fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
- 1 Samuel 22:8That’s why all of you have conspired against me! Nobody tells me when my own son makes a covenant with Jesse’s son. None of you cares about me or tells me that my son has stirred up my own servant to wait in ambush for me, as is the case today.”
- 1 Kings 21:10Then seat two wicked men opposite him and have them testify against him, saying, “You have cursed God and the king!” Then take him out and stone him to death.
- Psalms 15:3who does not slander with his tongue, who does not harm his friend or discredit his neighbor,
- Psalms 101:5I will destroy anyone who secretly slanders his neighbor; I cannot tolerate anyone with haughty eyes or an arrogant heart.
- Proverbs 10:18The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.
- Proverbs 11:13A gossip goes around revealing a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.
- Matthew 26:59The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death,
- Acts 6:13They also presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and the law.
- Ephesians 4:31Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice.
- 1 Timothy 1:10for the sexually immoral and males who have sex with males, for slave traders, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching
- 2 Timothy 3:3unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good,
- James 4:11Don’t criticize one another, brothers and sisters. Anyone who defames or judges a fellow believer defames and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
Commentaries on Exodus 20:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Thou shalt not bear false witness, etc. - Not only false oaths, to deprive a man of his life or of his right, are here prohibited, but all whispering, tale-bearing, slander, and calumny; in a word, whatever is deposed as a truth, which is false in fact, and tends to injure another in his goods, person, or character, is against the spirit and letter of this law. Suppressing the truth when known, by which a person may be defrauded of his property or his…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-17Verses 1-17 The Hebrew name which is rendered in our King James Version as the ten commandments occurs in Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 4:13; Deuteronomy 10:4. It literally means “the Ten Words.” The Ten Commandments are also called the law, even the commandment Exodus 24:12, the words of the covenant Exodus 34:28, the tables of the covenant Deuteronomy 9:9, the covenant Deuteronomy 4:13, the two tables Deuteronomy 9:10, Deuteronomy 9:17, and, most…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-17Verses 12-17 The laws of the SECOND table, that is, the last six of the ten commandments, state our duty to ourselves and to one another, and explain the great commandment, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, Lu 10:27. Godliness and honesty must go together. The fifth commandment concerns the duties we owe to our relations. Honour thy father and thy mother, includes esteem of them, shown in our conduct; obedience to their lawful commands; come when…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16Choosing not to tell a lie can sometimes be a private act. A person might even feel proud about being honest. However, this command is more specific. It forbids giving false testimony against your neighbor. This refers especially to lying in court or in a public setting where someone’s reputation or life may be at risk. Refusing to testify falsely is an unselfish act. It shows that you care more about your neighbor’s reputation and well-being than about…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-261. And God spake all these words--The Divine Being Himself was the speaker (De 5:12, 32, 33), in tones so loud as to be heard--so distinct as to be intelligible by the whole multitude standing in the valleys below, amid the most appalling phenomena of agitated nature. Had He been simply addressing rational and intelligent creatures, He would have spoken with the still small voice of persuasion and love. But He was speaking to those who were at the same…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 20:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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