Bible Commentaries
Go deeper in Scripture
Browse trusted public-domain commentary alongside DiscipleDeck Bible study. References inside each commentary open Bible previews in place.
27,299 commentary entries
The Pulpit Commentary
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:5
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them. Every outward sign of honour was shown to images in the ancient world. They were not regarded as emblems, but as actual embodiments of deity. There was a special rite in Greece (…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:6
Shewing mercy unto thousands. Or, "to the thousandth generation." (Compare Deuteronomy 7:9.) In neither case are the numbers to be taken as exact and definite. The object of them is to contrast the long duration of the…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:7
The Third Commandment. Profanity forbidden. This Commandment clearly comes as an appropriate sequel to the two preceding ones. Those who are Jehovah's, and who are therefore bound to glorify and serve him alone, depend…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:7
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. It is disputed whether this is a right rendering. Shav in Hebrew means both "vanity" and,'falsehood;" so that the Third Commandment may forbid either "vain-swear…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:8-11
The Fourth Commandment: the sacred Sabbath. I. THE GROUND OF THIS COMMANDMENT. God, who had spoken to Israel as to those whom he had brought out of the house of bondage, and who had bidden Moses speak of him to the capt…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:8
Remember the sabbath day. The institution of the sabbath dates, at any rate, from the giving of the manna (Exodus 16:23). Its primeval institution, which has been thought to be implied in Genesis 2:3, is uncertain. The…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:9
Six days shalt thou labour. This is not so much a command as a prohibition'' Thou shaft not labor more than six (consecutive) clays." In them thou shelf do all thy necessary work, so as to have the Sabbath free for the…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:10
The seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God. Rather—"The seventh day shall be a sabbath to the Lord thy God;" i.e; the seventh day shall be a day of holy rest dedicated to religion. All unnecessary labour shall b…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:11
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth. Two reasons are assigned for the sanctification of the seventh day in the Pentateuch:— 1. The fact that the work of creation took six days, and that on the seventh God res…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:12
The Fifth Commandment: the commandment for children. I. LOOK AT THIS COMMANDMENT AS IT CONCERNED THE PARENTS. 1. This commandment gave the parents an opportunity for telling the children how it originated. Not only an o…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:12
Honor thy father and thy mother. The obligation of filial respect, love, and reverence is so instinctively' felt by all, that the duty has naturally found a place in every moral code. In the maxims of Ptah-hotep, an Egy…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:12
The commandment with promise. I. THE DUTY IMPOSED. 1. Its reasonableness. Reverent, loving subjection to parents is obedience to the deepest instincts of the heart. 2. Its pleasantness. This subjection is rest and joy:…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:12
Previous commandments have dealt with the object and manner of worship; this deals with the nursery and school of worship. Consider:— I. THE INJUNCTION IN ITSELF. 1. Absolute; parents to be honoured, whether living or d…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:13-17
Our threefold duty to our neighbour. I. HE IS NOT TO BE INJURED IN ACT. 1. His life is to be held sacred. It is God's great gift to him and it is God's only to take it away, by express command, or by his own judgment. T…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:13
Thou shalt not kill. Here again is a moral precept included in all codes, and placed by all in a prominent position. Our first duty towards our neighbour is to respect his life. When Cain slew Abel, he could scarcely ha…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:13-17
The individual Israelite considered in his duties towards his neighbour. Of these five commandments—namely, against murder, adultery, theft, slander and covetousness, it almost goes without saying that their very negati…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:13
The second table. Fraternal relations; the outward-looking aspect of life. May classify them either According to I. ITS BEARING ON ACTIONS. Murder, the criminal taking of life, varies in character; according to the natu…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:14
Thou shalt not commit adultery. Our second duty towards our neighbour is to respect the bond on which the family is based, and that conjugal honour which to the true man is dearer than life. Marriage, according to the o…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:14
A correspondence between the two tables: to worship a false god is to aim at the life of the true God. Idolatry is spiritual adultery. Besides this the sixth and seventh commandments are clearly related; the one guards…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:15
Thou shalt not steal. By these words the right of property received formal acknowledgment, and a protest was made by anticipation against the maxim of modern socialists—"La propriete, c'est le vol." Instinctively man fe…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:15
The eighth commandment Guards the sanctity of property. Consider:— I. PROPERTY AND THE RIGHTS OF PROPERTY. Property is that which gives expression to individual and family life. In some sort it is an extension of the bo…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:16
Connect with the preceding commandment. That guards the property, what belongs to a man outside himself. This guards the character, what belongs to a man inside himself. To steal the purse may be only to steal trash, bu…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:16-21
The ten words. "And God stake all these words." "And the people stood afar off: and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was." (Exodus 20:1, Exodus 20:21). Our subject is the law of the ten commandments, an…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 20:16
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. False witness is of two kinds, public and private. We may either seek to damage our neighbour by giving false evidence against him in a court of justice, or simpl…