Exodus 20:16-19

16 ¹"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

17 ²"You shall not covet ³your neighbor's house; ⁴you 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 ⁵the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid^[a] and trembled, and they stood far off

19 and said to Moses, ⁶"You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die."

Exodus 20:16-19 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. Exodus 23:1; Proverbs 19:5, 9; Proverbs 21:28; Proverbs 24:28; Proverbs 25:18; Cited Matthew 19:18; See Deuteronomy 19:16-20
• 2. Luke 12:15; Ephesians 5:3, 5; Cited Romans 7:7; Romans 13:9; [Colossians 3:5; Hebrews 13:5]
• 3. Micah 2:2
• 4. Jeremiah 5:8; Matthew 5:28
• 5. Hebrews 12:18
• 6. Deuteronomy 5:25, 27; Deuteronomy 18:16; Galatians 3:19, 20; Hebrews 12:19

Footnotes

• [a]. Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Masoretic Text the people saw