English Standard Version
Exodus 20:16
16"You shall not bear false witness 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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
Context of Exodus 20:16
14"You shall not commit adultery. 15"You shall not steal. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17"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." 18Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off
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 shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit.
- Leviticus 19:11"You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another.
- Deuteronomy 19:15"A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.
- 1 Samuel 22:8that all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day."
- 1 Kings 21:10And set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge 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 and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
- Psalms 101:5Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure.
- Proverbs 10:18The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool.
- Proverbs 11:13Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.
- Matthew 26:59Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death,
- Acts 6:13and they set up false witnesses who said, "This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law,
- Ephesians 4:31Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
- 1 Timothy 1:10the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,
- 2 Timothy 3:3heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,
- James 4:11Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But 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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Commentaries