15 Do not take the property of another.
Let him who was a thief be so no longer, but let him do good work with his hands, so that he may have something to give to him who is in need.
Do not take anyone's property or be false in act or word to another.
Do not be cruel to your neighbour or take what is his; do not keep back a servant's payment from him all night till the morning.
And this, Do not be untrue in married life, Do not put to death, Do not take what is another's, Do not have desire for what is another's, and if there is any other order, it is covered by this word, Have love for your neighbour as for yourself.
And the Lord said to Moses, Give orders to Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law for the burned offering: the offering is to be on the fire-wood on the altar all night till the morning; and the fire of the altar is to be kept burning. And the priest is to put on his linen robes and his linen trousers, and take up what is over of the offering after it has been burned on the altar, and put it by the side of the altar. Then having taken off his linen robes and put on other clothing, he is to take it away into a clean place, outside the tent-circle. The fire on the altar is to be kept burning; it is never to go out; every morning the priest is to put wood on it, placing the burned offering in order on it, and there the fat of the peace-offering is to be burned. Let the fire be kept burning on the altar at all times; it is never to go out. And this is the law for the meal offering: it is to be offered to the Lord before the altar by the sons of Aaron.
Any man who gets another into his power in order to get a price for him is to be put to death, if you take him in the act.
And he said to them, It is in the Writings, My house is to be named a house of prayer, but you are making it a hole of thieves.
Or is a thief, or the worse for drink, or makes use of strong language, or takes by force what is not his, will have any part in the kingdom of God.
(He said this, not because he had any love for the poor; but because he was a thief, and, having the money-bag, took for himself what was put into it.)
And he said to them, Do not make an attempt to get more money than the right amount. And men of the army put questions to him, saying, And what have we to do? And he said to them, Do no violent acts to any man, and do not take anything without right, and let your payment be enough for you.
Do not make false decisions in questions of yard-sticks and weights and measures. Have true scales, true weights and measures for all things: I am the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt; You are to keep all my rules and my decisions and do them: I am the Lord.
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, the taking of life, broken faith between the married, unclean desires of the flesh, taking of property, false witness, bitter words:
Then he said to me, This is the curse which goes out over the face of all the land: for long enough has every thief gone without punishment, and long enough has every taker of false oaths gone without punishment. And I will send it out, says the Lord of armies, and it will go into the house of the thief and into the house of him who takes a false oath by my name: and it will be in his house, causing its complete destruction, with its woodwork and its stones.
Their hands are made ready to do evil; the ruler makes requests for money, and the judge is looking for a reward; and the great man gives decisions at his pleasure, and the right is twisted.
Am I to let the stores of the evil-doer go out of my memory, and the short measure, which is cursed? Is it possible for me to let wrong scales and the bag of false weights go without punishment?
Give ear to this, you who are crushing the poor, and whose purpose is to put an end to those who are in need in the land, Saying, When will the new moon be gone, so that we may do trade in grain? and the Sabbath, so that we may put out in the market the produce of our fields? making the measure small and the price great, and trading falsely with scales of deceit; Getting the poor for silver, and him who is in need for the price of two shoes, and taking a price for the waste parts of the grain.
For they have no knowledge of how to do what is right, says the Lord, who are storing up violent acts and destruction in their great houses.
Scales of deceit are hated by the Lord, but a true weight is his delight.
Because he has been cruel to the poor, turning away from them in their trouble; because he has taken a house by force which he did not put up; There is no peace for him in his wealth, and no salvation for him in those things in which he took delight. He had never enough for his desire; for this cause his well-being will quickly come to an end. Even when his wealth is great, he is full of care, for the hand of everyone who is in trouble is turned against him.
Do not have in your bag different weights, a great and a small; Or in your house different measures, a great and a small. But have a true weight and a true measure: so that your life may be long in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. For all who do such things, and all whose ways are not upright, are disgusting to the Lord your God.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 20
Commentary on Exodus 20 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 20
All things being prepared for the solemn promulgation of the divine law, we have, in this chapter,
Exd 20:1-11
Here is,
Exd 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.
Exd 20:18-21
Exd 20:22-26
Moses having gone into the thick darkness, where God was, God there spoke in his hearing only, privately and without terror, all that follows hence to the end of ch. 23, which is mostly an exposition of the ten commandments; and he was to transmit it by word of mouth first, and afterwards in writing, to the people. The laws in these verses related to God's worship.