EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Exodus 20:17
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.’
Exodus 20:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
- New International Version (NIV)“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's."
- New King James Version (NKJV)“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Context of Exodus 20:17
15You must not take another person's things for yourself. 16You must not say false things against your neighbour. You 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. 19They said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself. We will listen to you. But do not let God speak to us. If he does, we will die.’
Read all of Exodus 20Exodus 20:17 word by word
לֹ֥א תַחְמֹ֖ד בֵּ֣ית רֵעֶ֑ךָ לֹֽא־תַחְמֹ֞ד אֵ֣שֶׁת רֵעֶ֗ךָ וְעַבְדּ֤וֹ וַאֲמָתוֹ֙ וְשׁוֹר֣וֹ וַחֲמֹר֔וֹ וְכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר לְרֵעֶֽךָ׃ פRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thou shalt not covetחָמַדchâmad · to desireH2530
- thy neighbour’sרֵעַrêa‛ rêya‛ · neighborH7453
- houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
- wifeאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
- nor his manservantעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
- nor his maidservantאָמָה'âmâh · maidservantH519
- nor his oxשׁוֹרshôr · cattleH7794
- nor his assחֲמוֹרchămôr chămôr · donkeyH2543
Cross-references for Exodus 20:17
- Genesis 3:6The woman looked at the fruit on the tree. She saw that it would be good to eat, and it was beautiful to look at. She wanted to eat it because it would make her become wise. So she took some fruit and she ate it. Then she gave some of the fruit to her husband who was with her. He also ate it.
- Genesis 14:23I promised that I would not take anything that belonged to you. I will not take the smallest thing, not even a piece of string, or part of a shoe. Then you will never be able to say, “I made Abram become rich.”
- Genesis 34:23Then their things and their animals will all become our things. So we should agree to be circumcised, as they ask. Then they will live among us.’
- Joshua 7:21I found a beautiful coat from Babylon, and I found 200 silver coins, and a piece of gold that weighed half a kilogram. I wanted them so much that I took them for myself. I hid them in the ground in my tent. The silver coins are under the other things.’
- 1 Samuel 15:19Why did you not obey the Lord? Instead you have been greedy. You have hurried to take things for yourself. You have done something evil that does not please the Lord.’
- Psalms 10:3Not only do wicked people boast because they get the things that they want. They also praise robbers, and they curse the Lord.
- Psalms 119:36Help me to love your rules. That is better for me than riches.
- Ecclesiastes 4:8There are people who live alone. They have no friends, children or brothers. They work hard every day. They want to get more riches for themselves. But they are never happy with the things that they have. They should ask themselves, ‘Why am I working so hard? Am I helping anybody? I am not doing things that make me happy.’ Their work has no purpose. It only brings trouble to their lives.
- Ecclesiastes 5:10People who love money never have enough. They may get more and more valuable things, but they are never happy. This also has no purpose.
- Isaiah 33:15But some people can still live! Those who are honest in what they do and fair in what they say. Those who refuse to cheat other people so that they can become rich. Those who refuse to accept bribes. Those who will not listen to murderers, and who will not think about evil things.
- Isaiah 57:17I was angry with them because they were greedy, which was a sin. So I punished them. I was angry and I turned away from them. But they still refused to obey me. They continued to do what they wanted to do.
- Jeremiah 22:17‘But you always want to cheat people, so that you can get more riches for yourself. You make plans to kill people who have not done anything wrong. You hurt people in cruel ways.’
- Ezekiel 33:31They are my people and they come as a crowd to listen to you. They sit and they listen to your words. But they do not obey what you say. They say that they love me. But really they like to cheat people to get things for themselves.
- Amos 2:6The Lord says, ‘The people in Israel have done more and more wrong things. So I will certainly punish them. They sold people that did not do wrong things. They sold them for silver. And they sold poor people for only the price of shoes.
- Micah 2:2When they want fields, they take them from other people. When they want houses, they take them. These cruel people take other people's homes and fields; then those people's families have nothing.
- Habakkuk 2:9It will be very bad for anyone who cheats other people so that he can make his family rich. He thinks that his riches will make him safe. He thinks that he is too high up for any trouble to reach him.
Commentaries on Exodus 20:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house - wife, etc. - Covet signifies to desire or long after, in order to enjoy as a property the person or thing coveted. He breaks this command who by any means endeavors to deprive a man of his house or farm by taking them over his head, as it is expressed in some countries; who lusts after his neighbor's wife, and endeavors to ingratiate himself into her affections, and to lessen her husband in her esteem; and who…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. 17covet: This final principle connects back to the first, as “greed, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). Coveting is like worshiping the world, believing that possessions, especially those owned by others, will bring lasting happiness. Believing this betrays one's promise of complete loyalty to God, who alone meets our needs. See also Romans 7:7.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 20:17
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
EasyEnglish Bible 2018 — Copyright © MissionAssist 2018
Commentaries