New English Translation
Exodus 20:16
16“You shall 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
14“You shall not commit adultery. 15“You shall not steal. “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17“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 belongs to your neighbor.” 18All the people were seeing the thundering and the lightning, and heard the sound of the horn, and saw the mountain smoking – and when the people saw it they trembled with fear and kept their 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 turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits.
- Leviticus 19:11“‘You must not steal, you must not tell lies, and you must not deal falsely with your fellow citizen.
- Deuteronomy 19:15A single witness may not testify against another person for any trespass or sin that he commits. A matter may be legally established only on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
- 1 Samuel 22:8For all of you have conspired against me! No one informs me when my own son makes an agreement with this son of Jesse! Not one of you feels sorry for me or informs me that my own son has commissioned my own servant to hide in ambush against me, as is the case today!”
- 1 Kings 21:10Also seat two villains opposite him and have them testify, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”
- Psalms 15:3He does not slander, or do harm to others, or insult his neighbor.
- Psalms 101:5I will destroy anyone who slanders his neighbor in secret. I will not tolerate anyone who has a cocky demeanor and an arrogant attitude.
- Proverbs 10:18The one who conceals hatred utters lies, and the one who spreads slander is certainly a fool.
- Proverbs 11:13The one who goes about slandering others reveals secrets, but the one who is trustworthy conceals a matter.
- Matthew 26:59The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were trying to find false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death.
- Acts 6:13They brought forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop saying things against this holy place and the law.
- Ephesians 4:31You must put away every kind of bitterness, anger, wrath, quarreling, and evil, slanderous talk.
- 1 Timothy 1:10sexually immoral people, practicing homosexuals, kidnappers, liars, perjurers – in fact, for any who live contrary to sound teaching.
- 2 Timothy 3:3unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, opposed to what is good,
- James 4:11Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters. He who speaks against a fellow believer or judges a fellow believer speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but its 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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