The Ten Commandments · piece 10 of 26
The Tenth Commandment
From Luther’s Small Catechism, 1529
Practice mode shows the first letter of each word. Say the line, then tap it to check.
You must not desire your neighbor's wife, servant, maid, animals or anything that belongs to him. (Exodus 20:17)
What does this mean?
We must fear and love God, so that we will not release our neighbor's cattle, take his employees from him or seduce his wife, but urge them to stay and do what they ought to do.
In plain words
Do not try to take away the people or animals that belong to someone else’s household. This includes their husband or wife, their workers, and their animals. Instead, encourage them to stay and do their work well. God cares about what you want inside, not only what you do.
Our summary of Luther’s explanation, for reading after his words, not instead of them.
Where Jesus says it
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Mark 7:21–23 Jesus teaches that greedy and wrong desires start inside a person’s heart.
Read Mark 7:21–23
21 For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts, 22 covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”
World English Bible, public domain. The whole chapter on Free Scripture → · Read in the NRSVue, the ELCA’s standard translation →
Translated by Robert E. Smith for Project Wittenberg (revised 2004) and placed in the public domain by the translator. How we checked it, and the whole Catechism on one page