Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
This verse is the tenth and final commandment God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai for the people of Israel. After leading them out of slavery in Egypt, God gave them a set of laws to govern how they lived — with Him and with each other. "Covet" means to intensely desire something that belongs to someone else — not just admiring it, but wanting it for yourself. The verse lists specific things people were tempted to crave: a neighbor's house, spouse, servants, or working animals. What makes this commandment unique among the ten is that it targets not an action but a desire — the secret hunger of the heart that no one else can see.
Lord, I confess the quiet hunger that rises when I see what others have. Teach me to hold my own life with open, grateful hands instead of clenched ones. Help me believe — really believe — that what you've given me is not a mistake. Set me free from the treadmill of wanting more. Amen.
You don't have to be on social media to understand coveting. It lives in the quiet tightening in your chest when a friend announces a promotion you wanted. It shows up when someone else gets the house, the relationship, the version of life you've been picturing for yourself — and suddenly everything you have feels slightly wrong-sized. Coveting is insidious because it disguises itself as ambition. But underneath, it's a quiet accusation: what I have is not enough. What you have should be mine. What's striking about this commandment is that no one can enforce it from the outside. No judge can rule on a feeling. It's just you, alone with what's happening in your chest, and a God who already knows. Which means this commandment isn't ultimately about your neighbor at all — it's an invitation to examine what you actually believe about God's provision. Do you trust that what He's given you was intentional? What would change if you looked at your life and found it genuinely, quietly enough?
This commandment covers a wide range of things — a house, a spouse, servants, even an ox. Why do you think the list mixes the significant and the ordinary, and what does that tell you about the nature of coveting?
Can you recall a specific moment when coveting quietly took hold of you — what triggered it, and how did it affect the way you felt about your own life?
Where is the line between healthy ambition and coveting? Is there one — and how do you know in your own experience when you've crossed it?
How does coveting shape the way you treat the person whose life you're envying — do they even know what's happening inside you, and how does that dynamic affect your relationship with them?
What is one concrete practice you could begin this week to cultivate genuine contentment rather than quiet comparison?
I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
Deuteronomy 5:6
For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Romans 13:9
For this ye know , that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Ephesians 5:5
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Hebrews 13:5
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Matthew 5:28
And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
Luke 12:15
Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
Mark 10:19
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Colossians 3:5
"You shall not covet [that is, selfishly desire and attempt to acquire] your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
AMP
“You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.”
ESV
'You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.'
NASB
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
NIV
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
NKJV
“You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”
NLT
No lusting after your neighbor's house—or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. Don't set your heart on anything that is your neighbor's.
MSG