Deuteronomy 5:21-23

5:21 You must not desire another man’s wife, nor should you crave his house, his field, his male and female servants, his ox, his donkey, or anything else he owns.”

The Narrative of the Sinai Revelation and Israel’s Response

5:22 The Lord said these things to your entire assembly at the mountain from the middle of the fire, the cloud, and the darkness with a loud voice, and that was all he said. Then he inscribed the words on two stone tablets and gave them to me. 5:23 Then, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness while the mountain was ablaze, all your tribal leaders and elders approached me.


tn The Hebrew verb used here (חָמַד, khamad) is different from the one translated “crave” (אָוַה, ’avah) in the next line. The former has sexual overtones (“lust” or the like; cf. Song of Sol 2:3) whereas the latter has more the idea of a desire or craving for material things.

tn Heb “your neighbor’s.” See note on the term “fellow man” in v. 19.

tn Heb “your neighbor’s.” The pronoun is used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

tn Heb “or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

tn Heb “and he added no more” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NLT “This was all he said at that time.”

tn Heb “them”; the referent (the words spoken by the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.