Exodus 20:14 — Word Study
WLCלֹ֣֖א תִּֿנְאָֽ֑ף׃ ס
BSAYou shall notlôʼ commit adulterynâʼaph▸ [be false to the married relation, have sex with anyone other than your spouse, unfaithfulness, breaking marriage vows]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| לֹ֣֖א | not | Particle |
| תִּֿנְאָֽ֑ף׃ ס | you must commit adultery | Verb, Qal, imperfect second person masculine singular |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | You shall not commit adultery. |
| KJV | Thou shalt not commit adultery. |
| ASV | Thou shalt not commit adultery. |
| YLT | 'Thou dost not commit adultery. |
| WEB | “You shall not commit adultery. |
| BBE | Do not be false to the married relation. |
The translations agree on the wording of the command against adultery.
The sentence is a straightforward command with a clear prohibition.
8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
verbנָאַף
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Exodus 20:14
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Ten Commandmentsgenerated
Exodus 20:14 presents one of the Ten Commandments, which outlines God's moral expectations for His people. This command specifically addresses the sanctity of marriage, highlighting the importance of faithfulness and the consequences of betrayal. It is part of a larger ethical framework that governs relationships and community conduct among the Israelites.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leviticus 18:20 | You must not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife and thus defile yourself with her. |
| 2 | Leviticus 20:10 | If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death. |
| 3 | 2 Samuel 11:4–5 | Then David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. (Now she had just purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned home. |
| 4 | Proverbs 2:15–18 | whose paths are crooked and whose ways are devious. |
| 5 | Proverbs 6:24–35 | to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 16 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — נָאַף, tne.'Afgenerated
The verb נָאַף (na'aph) means to commit adultery, specifically referring to a man engaging with another's wife. It encompasses both physical acts of unfaithfulness and the spiritual implications of idolatry, illustrating a broader concept of loyalty and fidelity.
In this command, the verb is in the imperfect tense, indicating an ongoing prohibition. It emphasizes that the act of adultery is not just a singular event but a violation of the marital covenant that has lasting consequences.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
All translations on this page agree on the rendering of the command against adultery.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The structure of this command is straightforward, consisting of a single main clause: לֹא תִּנְאָֽף, you shall not commit adultery. The verb תִּנְאָֽף is the focal point, with the negation לֹא preceding it to emphasize the prohibition.
The simplicity of the structure reflects the directness of God's command, making it clear and unambiguous for the Israelites.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
In the Septuagint, נָאַף is translated as μοιξεύσεις, which also means to commit adultery. This choice maintains the original meaning while using a term familiar to the Greek-speaking audience.
The translation choice indicates a consistent understanding of the moral implications of adultery across both Hebrew and Greek texts.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Exodus 20:14 commands, 'You shall not commit adultery.' This means that one must be faithful to their spouse and not engage in sexual relations with anyone else. This command is part of the Ten Commandments, which are essential rules for living in accordance with God's will.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
To commit adultery means to engage in sexual relations with someone who is not your spouse, violating the commitment made in marriage.
This command is important because it protects the sanctity of marriage and promotes trust and fidelity within relationships.
In addition to physical unfaithfulness, the term can also refer to idolatry, indicating that turning away from God is akin to being unfaithful in a relationship.
Yes, breaking this command can lead to significant emotional, relational, and social consequences, as it undermines trust and commitment in marriage.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- How can I ensure that I remain faithful in my relationships?
- What are some ways to strengthen the commitment in my marriage or relationships?
- In what areas of my life might I be tempted to be unfaithful, either physically or spiritually?
- How does understanding this command help me to appreciate the value of fidelity?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
Early Church Fathers reference this command to discuss moral and ethical living, emphasizing the importance of fidelity in both marriage and spiritual matters.
Therefore whatsoever things God commands (and one of these is “You shall not commit adultery”) and whatsoever things are not positively ordered but are strongly advised as good spiritual counsel (and one of these is,Early Church Fathers on Exodus 20 →
It is written in the law, “You shall not commit fornication.” This is required in a beneficial way according to the simple sound of the letter by the person who is still entangled in the passions of fleshly impurity.Early Church Fathers on Exodus 20 →
The law cuts away sins of the flesh, but our Redeemer condemns even unlawful thoughts. If therefore they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe if someone rises from the dead,Early Church Fathers on Exodus 20 →
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Exodus 20:14 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleThou 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
Read John Gill on Exodus 20 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryThou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not commit adultery , [ lo' (H3808) tin'aap (H5003)] - a word used with reference both to man and woman (cf.
Read Robert Jamieson on Exodus 20 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleHere is mentioned one kind of uncleanness, as being eminently sinful, and unjust, and pernicious to human society. But under this are comprehended and forbidden all other kinds of filthiness, as bestiality, sodomy, whoredom, fornication, &c., and all means, occasions, and appearances of them; as it appears, 1. From other scriptures that forbid those things, which either belong to this command, or to none of the ten, which is very improbable. 2. From the large extent of the other commands, noted before. 3. From our Saviour’ s explication, . And contrariwise, all chastity and sobriety in thoughts, affections, words, habits, and gestures, is here prescribed. See ,4 Hebrews 13:4.
Read Matthew Poole on Exodus 20 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsExodus 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.Ver. 14. Thou shalt not commit adultery.] Adultery only is named; because bestiality, sodomy, and other unclcannesses, though more heinous, yet they do not directly fight against the purity of posterity and human society, which the law mainly respects.
Read John Trapp on Exodus 20 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(14) Thou shalt not commit adultery.—Next to the duty of respecting a man’s life is placed that of respecting his domestic peace and honour. Adultery is an invasion of the household, a destruction of the bond which unites the family, a dissolution of that contract which is the main basis of social order. It was forbidden by all civilised communities, and in uncivilised ones frequently punished with death. The Mosaic enactments on the subject are peculiar chiefly in the absolute equality on which they place the man and the woman. Adulterers are as hateful as adulteresses, and are as surely to be put to death (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22-24, &c.). The man who acts treacherously against…
Read Charles John Ellicott on Exodus 20 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleTHE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT Against adultery and uncleanness. Verse 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. 1. It robs a man of his right by taking from him the affection of his wife. 2. 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 every thing leading to the act, is prohibited by this commandment; for our Lord says, Even he who looks on a woman to lust after her, has…
Read AdamClarke on Exodus 20 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges14. The seventh commandment. The purity of the married state to be maintained (cf. Genesis 2:24 J). Cf. Leviticus 18:20 (H), Job 31:9-12, and Matthew 5:27-32. For the penalty for adultery, see Leviticus 20:10 (H), Deuteronomy 22:22. In LXX. (B, and several cursives,—both here and in Dt.), and the Nash papyrus, the seventh commandment comes before the sixth: the same order is found in Mark 10:19 (Text. Rec.), Luke 18:20, Romans 13:9, James 2:11, in Philo, and in many of the Fathers (Kn.).
Read Cambridge on Exodus 20 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the BibleTHE SEVENTH , Exodus 20:14. 14. Thou shalt not commit adultery — Next to the criminal blood-guiltiness of him who assaults God’s image by destroying human life is that of him or her who violates the
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Exodus 20 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not commit adultery.
Tyndale line
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not commit adulterie.
Strictly literal
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
'Thou dost not commit adultery.
You do not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
You must not commit adultery.
From the Latin
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Simplified
You must not commit adultery.
Do not be false to the married relation.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text and the Samaritan Pentateuch agree word for word on this command: לֹ֣֖א תִּֿנְאָֽף׃ ס. The Septuagint matches two of the two words, showing a strong alignment in the core message across these ancient witnesses.
לֹ֣֖א תִּֿנְאָֽ֑ף׃ ס
2 of the 2 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
לא תנאף
Agrees with the Masoretic Text here, word for word.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Exodus 20:14
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
לֹא (lo') is a Hebrew word meaning 'not' or 'no.' It serves as a simple negation and can imply absence or prohibition. The word can also be used in various contexts, often combined with other particles for emphasis or clarification. Its Aramaic equivalent is לָא (la), which also means 'not.'
לֹא or לוֹא adv. not
base
H3808 לֹא or לוֹא not
3808 lo' lo
or lowi {lo}; or loh (Deut. 3:11) {lo}; a primitive particle;
not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often
used with other particles (as follows):--X before, + or else,
ere, + except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never,
no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (X as though...,(can-), for) not (out
of), of nought, otherwise, out of, + surely, + as truly as, +
of a truth, + verily, for want, + whether, without.
לֹא (lo) — not.
1) not, no
1a) not (with verb-absolute prohibition)
1b) not (with modifier-negation)
1c) nothing (subst)
1d) without (with particle)
1e) before (of time)
Aramaic equivalent: la (לָא "not" H3809)
Part — ParticleHTn
נָאַף (na'aph) is a Hebrew verb meaning to commit adultery, typically referring to a man with another's wife. It can also denote idolatrous worship in a figurative sense. The root encompasses both the act of adultery and its implications, including the role of women in this context.
[נָאַף] vb. commit adultery
base
H5003 נָאַף commit adultery
5003 na'aph naw-af'
a primitive root; to commit adultery; figuratively, to
apostatize:--adulterer(-ess), commit(-ing) adultery, woman
that breaketh wedlock.
נָאַף (na.aph) — to commit adultery.
1) to commit adultery
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to commit adultery
1a1a) usually of man
1a1a1) always with wife of another
1a1b) adultery (of women) (participle)
1a2) idolatrous worship (fig.)
1b) (Piel)
1b1) to commit adultery
1b1a) of man
1b1b) adultery (of women) (participle)
1b2) idolatrous worship (fig.)
V-Qal-Imperf-2ms — Verb · Qal · imperfect second person masculine singularHVqi2ms
a-dul'-ter-i: In Scripture designates sexual intercourse of a man, whether married or unmarried, with a married woman.
1. Its Punishment:
It is categorically prohibited in the Decalogue (seventh commandment, Ex 20:14; De 5:18): "Thou shalt not commit adultery." In more specific language we read: "And thou shalt not he carnally with thy neighbor's wife, to defile thyself with her" (Le 18:20). The penalty is death for both guilty parties: "And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death" (Le 20:10). The manner of death is not particularized…
Adultery
Conjugal infidelity. An adulterer was a man who had illicit intercourse with a married or a betrothed woman, and such a woman was an adulteress. Intercourse between a married man and an unmarried woman was fornication. Adultery was regarded as a great social wrong, as well as a great sin.
The Mosaic law (Num. 5:11-31) prescribed that the suspected wife should be tried by the ordeal of the “water of jealousy.” There is, however, no recorded instance of the application of this law. In subsequent times the Rabbis made various regulations with the view of discovering the guilty party, and of bringing about a divorce. It has been inferred from John 8:1-11 that this sin became very common during the age preceding the destruction of Jerusalem.
(Exodus 20:14) The parties to this crime, according to Jewish law, were a married woman and a man who was not her husband. The Mosaic penalty was that both the guilty parties should be stoned, and it applied as well to the betrothed as to the married woman, provided she were free. (22:22-24) A bondwoman so offending was to be scourged, and the man was to make a trespass offering. (Leviticus 19:20-22) At a later time, and when owing, to Gentile example, the marriage tie became a looser bond of union, public feeling in regard to adultery changed, and the penalty of death was seldom or never inflicted. The famous trial by the waters of jealousy, (Numbers 5:11-29) was probably an ancient custom, which Moses found deeply seated…
Is a criminal connection between persons who are engaged, one or both, to keep themselves wholly to others; and thus it exceeds the guilt of fornication, which is the same intercourse between unmarried persons. As the highest sin of its kind, and son including all other sins of the flesh, it is forbidden in the seventh commandment. Where polygamy was allowed, as among the ancient Jews, illicit intercourse between a married man and a woman who was married, nor betrothed, constituted not adultery, but fornication.
Fornication may be, in some sense, covered by a subsequent marriage of the parties; but adultery cannot be so healed. Hence God often compares himself to a husband jealous of his honor, Jer 31:32; and hence the forsaking of the true God is compared to fornication and adultery of the vilest kind,