What does Exodus 20:14 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Adultery is sexual intercourse when one or both partners are married (or engaged, under Israelite law; cf. Deuteronomy 22:23-29) to someone else. Adultery destroys marriage and the home, the foundations of society (cf. Matthew 5:27-28; 1 Corinthians 6:9-20). Adultery is an Acts , not a state. People commit adultery; they do not live in adultery, except in the sense that they may continually practice it. [source][source]

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Context Summary

The Law was given by the disposition of angels, through the medium of Moses. See John 1:17; Acts 7:53. It tells us, not what God is, for that is only shown in Jesus Christ, but what man should be. It combines in a concise form that moral code which is part of the nature of things, and is written on man's conscience. See Romans 2:5. Even the Fourth Commandment is deeply graven on our physical nature. These laws are mostly negative, but their positive side is stated in Matthew 5:1-48. For practical purposes this divine code consists of two divisions or tables; the first, of our duties toward God; the second, of those to man; but these are summed up in the one great law of love. See Mark 12:29-31; Romans 13:8-10 and Galatians 5:14. Our Lord Jesus stands surety for us at the bar of Sinai. By His righteousness imputed and imparted, by His obedience and death, by the gracious indwelling of His Spirit, He comes "not to destroy, but to fulfill." See Matthew 5:17; Romans 8:4. [source]

Chapter Summary: Exodus 20

¹  The ten commandments are spoken by Jehovah
¹⁸  The people are afraid, but Moses comforts them
²¹  Idolatry is forbidden
²³  Of what sort the altar should be