Exodus 20:14 Meaning: Only Adultery, or All Sexual Sin?
“You shall not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
`Thou dost not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Meaning in one sentence
Exodus 20:14 forbids adultery, but Christian teaching extends it to lust, fornication, and all forms of sexual impurity.
Context
This verse sits within the Ten Commandments given to Israel at Mount Sinai. God had just brought his people out of slavery, and now he was teaching them how to live as a holy nation. The seventh commandment stands among duties to neighbors, alongside commands against murder, stealing, and false witness. Marriage was already a sacred covenant by creation. Here God protects that covenant with a clear boundary. The command is brief, but its reach is wide. The surrounding laws show that God cares about the fabric of community, and marriage is central to it. This verse is not a standalone rule but part of a larger picture of faithfulness and trust.
Key Words
The Hebrew word tine'af means to commit adultery, specifically violating the exclusive bond of marriage with another man's wife. The word lo is an absolute prohibition, no exceptions, no gray areas. Together they form a clear boundary. But the root na.aph is also used in Scripture for spiritual unfaithfulness to God, hinting that this command reaches beyond a single act. Jesus later taught that a lustful look breaks this commandment from the heart. So the word study points both to a specific sin and to a broader call: God wants an undivided heart, faithful in every relationship.
How Christians Read This Verse
Christians across traditions have read this commandment as wider than one act. The Methodist commentator Adam Clarke notes it includes “fornication and all kinds of mental and sensual uncleanness.” John Calvin argued that if the Law is a perfect rule, it would be absurd to allow fornication. Baptist expositor John Gill says it includes unchaste thoughts and desires. Anglican scholars point to the order of the commandments and the penalty. While they differ in some details, all agree the command calls for purity in body and heart, from the deepest motives.
A common misunderstanding
A common misunderstanding is that this commandment only applies to married people, forbidding only the act of adultery with someone else's spouse. In fact, Christian teaching from Jesus onward has understood it to forbid all sexual sin, including lustful thoughts and acts like fornication. Jesus said that even looking at someone with lust is adultery of the heart. The apostle Paul consistently includes all sexual immorality under this law. The command is a call to holiness in every part of life.
Living This Out
This week, the seventh commandment might ask you to look at your relationships and your heart. Is there a habit of entertainment or thought that pulls you away from honoring marriage? A conversation that blurs a boundary? God’s command is not a restriction on joy but a guardrail for love. It protects the sacred bond that gives children safety, spouses trust, and communities stability. If you have broken this command in action or thought, there is forgiveness in Christ. He died to cleanse us from all sin, including sexual sin. Today, you can receive that grace and choose to walk in purity. You can pray for strength, and you can set a boundary that honors God and others.
Main takeaway: God’s command not to commit adultery protects the sacred covenant of marriage and calls us to heart-deep purity.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
God made marriage. He wants husbands and wives to love only each other. This commandment says don't break that promise.
For ages 9, 12
This commandment is about protecting marriage, which is a special promise between a man and a woman. When people break that promise through adultery, it hurts everyone involved. Jesus taught that even wanting someone else in a wrong way is like breaking the commandment. God wants our hearts to be pure, not just our actions. He gives us his Spirit to help us love faithfully.
Questions People Ask
What is the difference between adultery and fornication?
Adultery specifically involves at least one married person having sex with someone other than their spouse. Fornication generally refers to sex between unmarried people. Both are considered sin in Christian teaching, and many commentators, like Adam Clarke, include fornication under the seventh commandment.
Does Exodus 20:14 also forbid lustful thoughts?
Jesus taught that lustful thoughts break this commandment (Matthew 5:28). Many Christian commentators, such as John Gill and Matthew Henry, understand that the command extends to desires, words, and looks that lead to impurity, not just the physical act.
Why is the seventh commandment part of the Ten Commandments?
The Ten Commandments are God's foundational moral law for his people. Adultery destroys marriages and families, corrupts the community, and violates the covenant of trust. Placing this command here shows how central marriage is to a healthy, holy society.
How should Christians today apply this command in a culture that accepts premarital sex?
Christians believe the seventh commandment calls them to reserve all sexual intimacy for marriage. This means avoiding lust, pornography, and any relationship that undermines the marriage bond. The command is not negative; it protects the gift of faithful love and reflects God's own faithfulness to his people.
For pastors & researchers
Hebrew interlinear, 8 commentaries & word study