Exodus 20:12-16

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 20:12-17

We have here the laws of the second table, as they are commonly called, the last six of the ten commandments, comprehending our duty to ourselves and to one another, and constituting a comment upon the second great commandment, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. As religion towards God is an essential branch of universal righteousness, so righteousness towards men is an essential branch of true religion. Godliness and honesty must go together. I. The fifth commandment concerns the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 20:12

Honour thy father and thy mother , &c.; Which is the fifth commandment of the decalogue, but is the first commandment with promise, as the apostle says, Ephesians 6:2 and is the first of the second table: this, though it may be extended to all ancestors in the ascending line, as father's father and mother, mother's father and mother, &c.; and to all such who are in the room of parents, as step-fathers and step-mothers, guardians, nurses, &c.; and to all superiors in dignity and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 20:13

Thou shalt not kill. Not meaning any sort of creatures, for there are some to be killed for the food and nourishment of men, and others for their safety and preservation; but rational creatures, men, women, and children, any of the human species, of every age, sex, condition, or nation; no man has a right to take away his own life, or the life of another; by this law is forbidden suicide, or self-murder, parricide or murder of parents, homicide or the murder of man; yet killing of men in... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 20:14

Thou shall not commit adultery, Which, strictly speaking, is only that sin which is committed with another man's wife, as Jarchi observes; but Aben Ezra thinks the word here used signifies the same as another more commonly used for whoredom and fornication; and no doubt but fornication is here included, which, though it was not reckoned a crime among some Heathens, is within the reach of this law, and forbidden by it, it being an impure action, and against a man's body, as the apostle says, ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 20:15

Thou shall not steal. Which is to take away another man's property by force or fraud, without the knowledge, and against the will of the owner thereof. Thefts are of various kinds; there is private theft, picking of pockets, shoplifting, burglary, or breaking into houses in the night, and carrying off goods; public theft, or robbing upon the highways; domestic theft, as when wives take away their husbands' money or goods, and conceal them, or dispose of them without their knowledge and will,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 20:16

Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Neither publicly in a court of judicature, by laying things to his charge that are false, and swearing to them, to his hurt and damage; nor privately, by whispering, tale bearing, backbiting, slandering, by telling lies of him, traducing his character by innuendos, sly insinuations, and evil suggestions, whereby he may suffer in his character, credit, and reputation, and in his trade and business; Aben Ezra thinks the words describe... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 20:12

Honor thy father and thy mother - There is a degree of affectionate respect which is owing to parents, that no person else can properly claim. For a considerable time parents stand as it were in the place of God to their children, and therefore rebellion against their lawful commands has been considered as rebellion against God. This precept therefore prohibits, not only all injurious acts, irreverent and unkind speeches to parents, but enjoins all necessary acts of kindness, filial respect,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 20:13

Thou shalt not kill - This commandment, which is general, prohibits murder of every kind. All actions by which the lives of our fellow creatures may be abridged. All wars for extending empire, commerce, etc. All sanguinary laws, by the operation of which the lives of men may be taken away for offenses of comparatively trifling demerit. All bad dispositions which lead men to wish evil to, or meditate mischief against, one another; for, says the Scripture, He that hateth his brother... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 20:14

Thou shalt not commit adultery - Adultery, as defined by our laws, is of two kinds; double, when between two married persons; single, when one of the parties is married, the other single. One principal part of the criminality of adultery consists in its injustice. It robs a man of his right by taking from him the affection of his wife. It does him a wrong by fathering on him and obliging him to maintain as his own a spurious offspring - a child which is not his. The act itself, and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 20:15

Thou shalt not steal - All rapine and theft are forbidden by this precept; as well national and commercial wrongs as petty larceny, highway robberies, and private stealing: even the taking advantage of a seller's or buyer's ignorance, to give the one less and make the other pay more for a commodity than its worth, is a breach of this sacred law. All withholding of rights and doing of wrongs are against the spirit of it. But the word is principally applicable to clandestine stealing, though... read more

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