Exodus 20:17 (WEB)

Passage

“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.”

Nearby Context

Exodus 20:15 “You shall not steal.

Exodus 20:16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

Exodus 20:17 “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.”

Exodus 20:18 All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance.

Exodus 20:19 They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with 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 give false testimony against..." into verse 18's "All the people perceived the thunderings the...", 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.