Exodus 20:17

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

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 belongs to your neighbor.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

לֹ֥א תַחְמֹ֖ד בֵּ֣ית רֵעֶ֑ךָ לֹֽא־תַחְמֹ֞ד אֵ֣שֶׁת רֵעֶ֗ךָ וְעַבְדּ֤וֹ וַאֲמָתוֹ֙ וְשׁוֹר֣וֹ וַחֲמֹר֔וֹ וְכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר לְרֵעֶֽךָ׃

Transliteration

lōʾ ṯaḥmōḏ bêṯ rēʿeḵā lōʾ-ṯaḥmōḏ ʾēsheṯ rēʿeḵā wə-ʿaḇdô wa-ʾămāṯô wə-shôrô wa-ḥămōrô wə-ḵōl ʾăsher lə-rēʿeḵā

Grammar Details

• *lōʾ ṯaḥmōḏ*: negative particle + qal imperfect, 2nd masculine singular - you shall not covet
• *bêṯ*: masculine singular construct - house of
• *rēʿeḵā*: masculine singular noun with 2nd masculine singular suffix - your neighbor
• *lōʾ-ṯaḥmōḏ*: negative particle + qal imperfect, 2nd masculine singular - you shall not covet
• *ʾēsheṯ*: feminine singular construct - wife of
• *wə-ʿaḇdô*: conjunction + masculine singular noun with 3rd masculine singular suffix - or his male servant
• *wa-ʾămāṯô*: conjunction + feminine singular noun with 3rd masculine singular suffix - or his female servant
• *wə-shôrô*: conjunction + masculine singular noun with 3rd masculine singular suffix - or his ox
• *wa-ḥămōrô*: conjunction + masculine singular noun with 3rd masculine singular suffix - or his donkey
• *wə-ḵōl*: conjunction + noun construct - or anything
• *ʾăsher*: relative pronoun - that
• *lə-rēʿeḵā*: preposition + masculine singular noun with 2nd masculine singular suffix - [belongs] to your neighbor

Word Meanings

• *ṯaḥmōḏ*: covet/desire strongly/lust after/scheme to acquire
• *bêṯ*: house/household/dwelling place/family
• *ʾēsheṯ*: wife/woman

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  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.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  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.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  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.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's.

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  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.

• Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

  Thou shalt not couet thy neghbours housse: nether shalt couet thy neghbours wife, his maservaunte, his mayde, his oxe, his asse or oughte that is his.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Thou shalt not lust after yi neghbours house. Thou shalt not lust after thy neghbours wife, ner his seruaut, ner his mayde, ner his oxe, ner his Asse, ner all that thy neghboure hath

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  Thou shalt not couet thy neighbours house, neither shalt thou couet thy neighbours wife, nor his man seruant, nor his mayde, nor his oxe, nor his asse, neyther any thing that is thy neighbours.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  Thou shalt not couet thy neyghbours house, neyther shalt thou couet thy neyghbours wyfe, nor his man seruaut, nor his mayde, nor his oxe, nor his asse, or whatsoeuer thy neighbour hath.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  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.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  `Thou dost not desire the house of thy neighbour, thou dost not desire the wife of thy neighbour, or his man-servant, or his handmaid, or his ox, or his ass, or anything which `is' thy neighbour's.'

• American Standard Version (1901)

  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  Let not your desire be turned to your neighbour's house, or his wife or his man-servant or his woman-servant or his ox or his ass or anything which is his.

• World English Bible (2000)

  "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."

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  “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 belongs to your neighbor.”

Referenced Verses

• Rom 13:9 : 9 For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this statement: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
• Luke 12:15 : 15 Then He said to them, "Watch out, and be on guard against every form of greed, because one’s life is not defined by the abundance of possessions."
• Rom 7:7 : 7 What shall we say then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, 'You shall not covet.'
• Heb 13:5 : 5 Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have, for He has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'
• Col 3:5 : 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.
• Eph 5:3 : 3 But sexual immorality, all impurity, or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper for saints.
• Matt 5:28 : 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
• Mic 2:2 : 2 They covet fields and seize them; they take houses and rob them. They oppress a man and his house, a person and their inheritance.
• Jer 5:8 : 8 They were like well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbor's wife.
• Jer 22:17 : 17 But your eyes and heart are set only on your dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, and on oppression and violence.
• Ezek 33:31 : 31 They come to you as people come, and they sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express love, but their hearts pursue unjust gain.
• Amos 2:6-7 : 6 This is what the LORD says: 'For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals.' 7 'They trample on the dust of the earth on the heads of the poor and obstruct the way of the afflicted. A man and his father go to the same girl, so that they profane My holy name.'
• Hab 2:9 : 9 Woe to the one who gains unjust wealth for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of calamity!
• Matt 20:15 : 15 'Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'
• Eph 5:5 : 5 For you know this with certainty, that no sexually immoral, impure, or greedy person—who is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
• 1 Cor 6:10 : 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
• Luke 16:14 : 14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and sneered at him.
• Acts 5:4 : 4 'Did it not remain yours while it was unsold? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to people, but to God.'
• Acts 20:33 : 33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver, gold, or clothing.
• Gen 3:6 : 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.
• Gen 14:23 : 23 'that I will not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that belongs to you, lest you should say, “I have made Abram rich.”'
• Gen 34:23 : 23 Won't their livestock, their property, and all their animals be ours? Only let us agree to them, and they will dwell with us."
• Josh 7:21 : 21 When I saw among the spoil a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath."
• 1 Sam 15:19 : 19 Why then did you not obey the LORD? Why did you rush for the spoil and do what is evil in the eyes of the LORD?
• 2 Sam 11:2-4 : 2 One evening, David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house. From the roof, he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful. 3 David sent someone to inquire about the woman, and it was reported to him, 'Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?' 4 So David sent messengers, took her, and she came to him. He slept with her while she was purifying herself from her uncleanness. Then she returned to her house.
• Job 31:1 : 1 I made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a young woman?
• Job 31:9 : 9 If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor's door,
• Ps 10:3 : 3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his heart, and the greedy man curses and spurns the Lord.
• Ps 119:36 : 36 Turn my heart toward Your testimonies and not toward selfish gain.
• Prov 4:23 : 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
• Prov 6:24-25 : 24 They will keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the foreign woman. 25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her captivate you with her eyes.
• Eccl 4:8 : 8 There was a man all alone. He had no son or brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. 'For whom am I toiling,' he asked, 'and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?' This too is meaningless—a miserable business!
• Eccl 5:10-11 : 10 As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them? 11 The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether they eat little or much, but the abundance of the rich permits them no sleep.
• Isa 33:15 : 15 The one who walks in righteousness, speaks what is right, rejects gain from extortion, shakes his hands to refuse bribes, stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from looking at evil.
• Isa 57:17 : 17 Because of their sinful greed, I was angry; I struck them and turned away in anger, yet they continued in their willful ways.
• 1 Tim 6:6-9 : 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 If we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
• Phil 3:19 : 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their appetite, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.