Exodus 20:16
BSB · Public Domain (CC0)“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
What this verse means
A short, plain-language explanation of Exodus 20:16 goes here — the kind of answer a reader (or an AI assistant) can quote in one breath. Original meaning coming soon.
Compare translations
BSBPD
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
Berean Standard Bible · Public Domain (CC0)KJVPD
“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.”
King James Version · Public DomainASVPD
“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”
American Standard Version · Public DomainYLTPD
“`Thou dost not answer against thy neighbour a false testimony.”
Young's Literal Translation · Public DomainCross references
Other passages that echo Exodus 20:16 — 19 related verses from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Exodus 23:1“You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness.
- Exodus 23:6You shall not deny justice to the poor in their lawsuits.
- Leviticus 19:11You must not steal. You must not lie or deceive one another.
- Leviticus 19:16You must not go about spreading slander among your people. You must not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 19:15A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing or sin against a man, regardless of what offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
- 1 Samuel 22:8Is that why all of you have conspired against me? Not one of you told me that my own son had made a covenant with the son of Jesse. Not one of you has shown concern for me or revealed to me that my son has stirred up my own servant to lie in wait against me, as is the case today.”
- 1 Kings 21:10But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify, ‘You have cursed both God and the king!’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”
- Psalms 15:3who has no slander on his tongue, who does no harm to his neighbor, who casts no scorn on his friend,
- Psalms 101:5Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; the one with haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not endure.
- Proverbs 10:18The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.
- Proverbs 11:13A gossip reveals a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.
- Proverbs 19:5A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies will not escape.
- Matthew 19:18“Which ones?” the man asked. Jesus answered, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness,
- Matthew 26:59Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death.
- Acts 6:13where they presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.
- Ephesians 4:31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.
- 1 Timothy 1:10for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching
- 2 Timothy 3:3unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good,
- James 4:11Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. And if you judge the law, you are not a practitioner of the law, but a judge of it.
Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain) via OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).
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