Exodus 20:13-18

13 ¹“You shall not murder. ^[a]

14 ²“You shall not commit adultery.

15 ³“You shall not steal.

16 ⁴“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

17 ⁵“You shall not covet ⁶your neighbor’s house; ⁷you 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. ”

18 Now when all the people saw ⁸the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid^[b] and trembled, and they stood far off

Exodus 20:13-18 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 20

In this chapter we have an account of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai; the preface to it, Ex 20:1,2, the ten commandments it consists of, Ex 20:8-17, the circumstances attending it, which caused the people to remove at some distance, Ex 20:18, when they desired of Moses, that he would speak to them and not God, who bid them not fear, since this was for the trial of them; but still they kept at a distance, while Moses drew nigh to God, Ex 20:19-21 who ordered him to caution the children of Israel against idolatry, and directed what sort of an altar he would have made whereon to offer their sacrifices, promising that where his name was recorded he would grant his presence and blessing, Ex 20:22-26.

Cross References

• 1. 20:13 Cited Matt. 5:21; 19:18; Rom. 13:9; [Gen. 9:5, 6; 1 John 3:15]
• 2. 20:14 Lev. 18:20; Deut. 22:22; Prov. 6:32; 1 Cor. 6:9; Heb. 13:4; Cited Matt. 5:27; Rom. 13:9
• 3. 20:15 Lev. 19:11; Eph. 4:28; Cited Matt. 19:18; Rom. 13:9
• 4. 20:16 ch. 23:1; Prov. 19:5, 9; 21:28; 24:28; 25:18; Cited Matt. 19:18; See Deut. 19:16-20
• 5. 20:17 Luke 12:15; Eph. 5:3, 5; Cited Rom. 7:7; 13:9; [Col. 3:5; Heb. 13:5]
• 6. 20:17 Mic. 2:2
• 7. 20:17 Jer. 5:8; Matt. 5:28
• 8. 20:18 Heb. 12:18

Footnotes

• [a] 20:13 The Hebrew word also covers causing human death through carelessness or negligence
• [b] 20:18 Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Masoretic Text 'the people saw'