Exodus 20:17
ESV
"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."
NIV
"You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
NASB
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male slave, or his female slave, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.'
CSB
Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
NLT
You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.'
KJV
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
NKJV
“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 is your neighbor’s.”
What does Exodus 20:17 mean?
After freeing Israel from slavery (Exodus 1:11–14; 12:40–41), the Lord brought them to Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:1–2). There, He delivered the tenets of His covenant with Israel (Exodus 19:5–6; 2 Chronicles 5:10). The first of these are the Ten Commandments: a foundation for the rest of the law of Moses (Exodus 20:2–16). God's laws for Israel prohibited things like idolatry as well as crimes such as murder or theft. The final commandment has extremely broad application: the people are not to "covet."To "covet" goes beyond a simple wish. Both Hebrew and Greek words used in the Bible indicate that coveting is an inappropriate level of desire. Coveting and lust are the sinful expressions of the legitimate impulses of desire and attraction. When craving something corrupts a godly mind, or when the desire is for something you are forbidden to have, it becomes covetous. This imbalanced priority is why the New Testament closely relates coveting to idolatry (Colossians 3:5).
Desiring a better job, larger home, luxury item, or improving one's life are not automatically examples of coveting. Nor is it always sinful to aspire to have something, or to experience something. Mankind cannot fulfill God's commands unless we legitimately desire marriage (Genesis 1:27–28; 2:24–25), evangelism (Matthew 28:19–20), and other good things (Romans 10:1; 1 Corinthians 12:31; 2 Timothy 3:12). "Coveting" is an active desire for something to which you have no right. Desiring a good spouse is not coveting—but wanting a specific person who is already married is. Wanting to be better at a hobby becomes covetousness when that pursuit interferes with God's greater priorities. Any proper impulse becomes sin when it's unbalanced (Genesis 9:3–4; Proverbs 23:2; Deuteronomy 28:11; Ecclesiastes 5:10).
The tenth commandment pairs with others to cover many sins not explicitly listed. A prominent example is rape—something critics often complain is not directly noted in the Ten Commandments. However, rape involves illicit desire—which is coveting—as well as theft (Exodus 20:15) and sexual immorality (Exodus 20:14). As an expression of hate, it's also a spiritual cousin of murder (Exodus 20:13; Matthew 5:28). Most sins—if not all—include some incorrect desire (James 1:14–15).
Likewise, all sin is an act of defiance to the Creator. Choosing to act on our own impulses, rather than the Lord's will, fails to treat God as God. The same impulse that makes men break the first commandment makes them break the tenth. In that way, the Ten Commandments come full circle (Exodus 20:2–3).
Exodus 20:1–17 contains the Ten Commandments: the foundational laws of the ancient nation of Israel. These provide a basis for every other Mosaic law (2 Chronicles 5:10). The laws prohibit worship of other gods, idolatry, blasphemy, perjury, theft, murder, adultery, and covetousness. They command Israelites to honor parents and observe a weekly Sabbath rest. Like the rest of the old covenant, these commandments will be "fulfilled" and no longer applicable after Christ's completed work (Galatians 4:4–5; Hebrews 8:8–13). However, all these rules, other than the command to observe the Sabbath, are repeated in Christ's teachings.
At Mount Sinai, God begins declaring the laws of His covenant with Israel. The first of these are the Ten Commandments. These establish core principles intended to guide the Lord's chosen people (Deuteronomy 7:6). Further details will come in other chapters and books. This chapter ends with specifics about altars and idols. The following chapters will address various social and civil issues (Exodus 21—23)
