Exodus 20:17 Meaning and Explanation
“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.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Every command before this one can be obeyed outwardly by someone whose heart is elsewhere. This one closes that door. Nothing here can be verified by a witness or judged at a gate, which means the final commandment is enforceable only between a person and God, and it quietly reveals what the other nine were always after.
The tenth word reaches inside a person. Desire that fastens on what belongs to a neighbour is named as sin before any hand moves, and the list given covers house, wife, workers, animals, and anything else.
The Context of Exodus 20:17
This is the last of the ten words spoken by God at Sinai, following the prohibitions of killing, adultery, stealing, and false testimony. Verse eighteen immediately reports the response of the people, who saw the thunderings and the lightnings, heard the trumpet, saw the mountain smoking, and stood far off. Verse nineteen has them asking Moses to speak with them instead of God. Deuteronomy 5:21 restates this commandment for a later generation with the wife named first and fields added to the inventory.
What Does Exodus 20:17 Mean?
The possessive phrase drives the sentence: some form of 'thy neighbour's' appears at the start, in the middle, and at the close. The repetition keeps a second person present in every clause, so the desire under scrutiny is always desire for what has already been given to someone else. The list runs from the house to the wife, then to servants, then to the ox and the ass, then widens to 'any thing that is thy neighbour's,' which shuts every remaining gap. The verb appears twice for emphasis. And no action is described anywhere in the sentence, which sets this command apart from the nine before it.
Standing at the end, this word turns the second table inward and reconnects it to the first, since misplaced desire is where idolatry begins. The pattern shows up in Israel's own story. Achan in Joshua 7:21 says he saw, then coveted, then took, giving the sequence in three words. Micah 2:2 describes people who covet fields and then seize them, moving from the tenth commandment to the eighth in a single line. James 1:14 and 1:15 trace the same progression, with desire conceiving and bringing forth sin. Coveting is presented throughout Scripture as the quiet root that later grows into visible harm.
Paul singles out this exact commandment in Romans 7:7, saying he would not have known sin except the law had said thou shalt not covet. Of all ten words, this is the one that exposed him, precisely because it could not be satisfied by outward performance. Jesus works in the same direction in Luke 12:15, warning against covetousness and adding that a life does not consist in the abundance of possessions, then telling the parable of the rich man with full barns. Contentment is offered as the answer, learned rather than assumed, and grounded in the God who supplies what his people actually need.
Exodus 20:17 in the Original Language
chamad (חָמַד), 'covet' -- to find something desirable and set the heart on having it. Achan uses this same verb in Joshua 7:21 to describe what happened between seeing the spoil and taking it, which shows the word's forward motion toward action.
Bible Verses Related to Exodus 20:17
“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”
- Romans 7:7
“When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.”
- Joshua 7:21
“And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.”
- Micah 2:2
“And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”
- Luke 12:15
Where Exodus 20:17 Echoes in Scripture
Romans 7:7 quotes this commandment by name, and it is the only one of the ten Paul cites in that argument. He explains that the law made sin known to him, and this word in particular, because coveting is invisible and therefore cannot be managed by appearances. The rest of Romans 7 describes the struggle that followed. Read together, Exodus 20:17 and Paul's account show a command that works like a lamp, revealing what lives under conduct that otherwise looked orderly.
How to Apply Exodus 20:17 Today
Comparison is the modern engine of coveting, and it now arrives all day on a screen. A first practical step is noticing the trigger: whose house, whose career, whose family, whose ease reliably unsettles us. Naming it drains some of its power. Beyond that, gratitude works as an active discipline, listing specific gifts rather than waiting to feel thankful. Generosity works even better, since giving something away breaks the grip of accumulation. We can also celebrate a friend's good news out loud, which is a small and costly act that trains the heart in the direction this commandment points.
Reflection & Prayer
Whose life do I quietly measure my own against, and what does that tell me about where my trust rests? Father, you see the wanting that no one else can see. Teach us to receive what you have given with open hands, to rejoice when our neighbours prosper, and to find in you the satisfaction we keep looking for in what belongs to someone else.