God’s Word Translation
Deuteronomy 5:21
21“Never desire to take your neighbor’s wife away from him. “Never long for your neighbor’s household, his field, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey, or anything else that belongs to him.”
Deuteronomy 5:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
- New International Version (NIV)“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)"'And you shall not covet your neighbor's wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.'
- New King James Version (NKJV)‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife; and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’
Context of Deuteronomy 5:21
19“Never steal. 20“Never avoid the truth when you testify about your neighbor. “Never desire to take your neighbor’s wife away from him. “Never long for your neighbor’s household, his field, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey, or anything else that belongs to him.” 22These are the commandments the Lord spoke to your whole assembly on the mountain. He spoke in a loud voice from the fire, the cloud, and the gloomy darkness. Then he stopped speaking. He wrote the commandments on two stone tablets and gave them to me. 23But when you heard the voice coming from the darkness and saw the mountain blazing with fire, all the leaders and heads of your tribes came to me.
Read all of Deuteronomy 5Deuteronomy 5:21 word by word
וְלֹ֥א תַחְמֹ֖ד אֵ֣שֶׁת רֵעֶ֑ךָ ס וְלֹ֨א תִתְאַוֶּ֜ה בֵּ֣ית רֵעֶ֗ךָ שָׂדֵ֜הוּ וְעַבְדּ֤וֹ וַאֲמָתוֹ֙ שׁוֹר֣וֹ וַחֲמֹר֔וֹ וְכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר לְרֵעֶֽךָ׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Neither shalt thou desireחָמַדchâmad · to desireH2530
- thy neighbour’sרֵעַrêa‛ rêya‛ · neighborH7453
- wifeאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
- neither shalt thou covetאָוָה'âvâh · to desireH183
- houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
- his fieldשָׂדֶהώâdeh ώâday · land: countryH7704
- or his manservantעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
- or his maidservantאָמָה'âmâh · maidservantH519
- his oxשׁוֹרshôr · cattleH7794
- or his assחֲמוֹרchămôr chămôr · donkeyH2543
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 5:21
- Exodus 20:17“Never desire to take your neighbor’s household away from him. “Never desire to take your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey, or anything else that belongs to him.”
- 1 Kings 21:1This is what happened next. Naboth from Jezreel had a vineyard in Jezreel next to the palace of King Ahab of Samaria.
- Micah 2:2They desire ⌞other people’s⌟ fields, so they seize them. They desire ⌞people’s⌟ houses, so they take them. They cheat a man and his family, a man and his inheritance.
- Habakkuk 2:9“ ‘How horrible it will be for the one who uses violence to get things for his own household in order to set his nest up high and save himself from disaster.’
- Luke 12:15He told the people, “Be careful to guard yourselves from every kind of greed. Life is not about having a lot of material possessions.”
- Romans 7:7What should we say, then? Are the laws in Moses’ Teachings sinful? That’s unthinkable! In fact, I wouldn’t have recognized sin if those laws hadn’t shown it to me. For example, I wouldn’t have known that some desires are sinful if Moses’ Teachings hadn’t said, “Never have wrong desires.”
- Romans 13:9The commandments, “Never commit adultery; never murder; never steal; never have wrong desires,” and every other commandment are summed up in this statement: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
- 1 Timothy 6:9But people who want to get rich keep falling into temptation. They are trapped by many stupid and harmful desires which drown them in destruction and ruin.
- 1 Timothy 6:10Certainly, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people who have set their hearts on getting rich have wandered away from the Christian faith and have caused themselves a lot of grief.
- Hebrews 13:5Don’t love money. Be happy with what you have because God has said, “I will never abandon you or leave you.”
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 5:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21His field - This clause is not in the tenth commandment as it stands in Exodus 20:17.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6-21Verses 6-21 Compare Mark 10:19 and Paul Ephesians 6:2-3 deal similarly with the same subject. Speaker and hearers recognized, however, a statutory and authoritative form of the laws in question, which, because it was familiar to both parties, needed not to be reproduced with verbal fidelity. Deuteronomy 5:12-15 The exhortation to observe the Sabbath and allow time of rest to servants (compare Exodus 23:12) is pointed by reminding the people that they too…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-22Verses 6-22 There is some variation here from Ex 20 as between the Lord's prayer in Mt 6 and Lu 11. It is more necessary that we tie ourselves to the things, than to the words unalterably. The original reason for hallowing the sabbath, taken from God's resting from the work of creation on the seventh day, is not here mentioned. Though this ever remains in force, it is not the only reason. Here it is taken from Israel's deliverance out of Egypt; for that…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21covet: This commandment is different because it addresses a desire, not an action. An evil desire is as offensive to God as an evil deed (see Matthew 5:27–28).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, ... house, his field--An alteration is here made in the words (see Ex 20:17), but it is so slight ("wife" being put in the first clause and "house" in the second) that it would not have been worth while noticing it, except that the interchange proves, contrary to the opinion of some eminent critics, that these two objects are included in one and the same commandment.Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 5:21
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 5
- 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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