EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Exodus 20:16
16You must not say false things against your neighbour.
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
14You must not have sex with another person's husband or wife. 15You must not take another person's things for yourself. You must not say false things against your neighbour. 17You must not want to take your neighbour's house for yourself. You must not want to take his wife, or his servants, male or female. You must not want to take his ox, or his donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbour.’ 18The people heard the loud thunder and they saw the bright lightning. They heard the noise of the trumpet. They saw the smoke on the mountain. They were so afraid that their bodies were shaking. They would not come near.
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 23:6Always do what is right for your poor people when they stand in front of a judge.
- Leviticus 19:11You must not take something that belongs to another person. You must not say something that is not true. You must obey my rules.
- Deuteronomy 19:15If only one person says that he has seen someone do something wrong, that is not enough. There must be at least two or three people who saw the sin. Then the judge may say that the person is guilty.
- 1 Samuel 22:8So why are you trying to deceive me? None of you told me when my own son promised to be a friend of this son of Jesse. You do not feel sorry for me. Now my son is helping one of my own servants to attack me! Yes, he is waiting for his chance to kill me!’
- 1 Kings 21:10Put two wicked men in seats near him. Tell them to accuse Naboth that he has insulted God and the king. Then take him out. Throw stones at him until he is dead.’
- Psalms 15:3He says nothing bad against other people. He does nothing that will hurt his friends, nor does he insult them.
- Psalms 101:5If anyone secretly speaks against his friend, I will destroy them. If anyone is proud and they boast about themselves, I will send them away from me.
- Proverbs 10:18If you hate somebody but you try to hide it, you are telling lies. And if you say false things about other people, you are a fool.
- Proverbs 11:13If a person talks too much about other people, he will soon tell their secrets. But someone that you can trust will not tell your secrets to other people.
- Matthew 26:59The leaders of the priests and all the Jewish leaders wanted to punish Jesus with death. So they tried to find some people who would say things against Jesus that were not true.
- Acts 6:13Then they brought in some men to say bad things about Stephen. The things that these men said were not true. They said about Stephen, ‘This man is always saying bad things about the temple. He says bad things against God's Law.
- Ephesians 4:31Do not be jealous of other people. Do not become angry or shout at them. Do not quarrel with other people or insult them. Do not do anything or say anything that will hurt other people.
- 1 Timothy 1:10people who have sex in a wrong way; men who have sex with other men; people who catch other people to sell them; people who tell lies; people who do not speak the truth in court; people who do any wrong things that are against God's true message.
- 2 Timothy 3:3They will not be kind to other people, but they will like to quarrel. They will tell lies to hurt other people. They will be unable to control themselves properly. They will be cruel and they will hate anything that is good.
- James 4:11My Christian friends, do not say bad things against each other. If you speak against another believer, you are really speaking against God's Law. If you judge another believer, then you are judging the law too. When you do that, you are not obeying the Law. You are giving yourself authority to decide what the Law says.
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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