Exodus 20:17 (LSB)

Passage

“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.”

Nearby Context

Exodus 20:15 “You shall not steal.

Exodus 20:16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Exodus 20:17 “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.”

Exodus 20:18 And all the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and the people perceived it, and they shook and stood at a distance.

Exodus 20:19 Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself, and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "covet", "neighbor", "house", and "wife". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "covet", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "You shall not bear false witness against..." into verse 18's "And all the people perceived the thunder...", so "shall" and "covet" 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 "shall" and "covet" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.