Exodus 20:16 (DRB)

Passage

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Nearby Context

Exodus 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Exodus 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.

Exodus 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Exodus 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house; neither shalt thou desire his wife, nor his servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his.

Exodus 20:18 And all the people saw the voices and the flames, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mount smoking; and being terrified and struck with fear, they stood afar off,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "shalt", "bear", "false", "witness", "against", and "neighbour". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "shalt", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "Thou shalt not steal..." into verse 17's "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house...", so "thou" and "shalt" belong inside that flow. In Exodus context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "thou" and "shalt" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.