Item 7 in Ten Commandments
Do Not Commit Adultery
Do not violate an established marital bond through prohibited sexual relations.
- Position
- 7
- Form
- Prohibition
- Obligation
- Mandatory
- Wording status
- Editorial paraphrase
- Intended audience
- Originally Israel; subsequently interpreted within Jewish and Christian traditions
- Last reviewed
- 28 June 2026
Names and terminology
Canonical name: Do Not Commit Adultery
Source wording
Editorial paraphrase: Do not violate an established marital bond through prohibited sexual relations.
Literal meaning
Do not violate an established marital bond through prohibited sexual relations.
Broader interpretation
Interpretation depends on the framework's historical purpose, intended audience and relationship to its other principles.
Ethical purpose
To shape conduct or character in a way consistent with the wider ethical framework.
Modern application
Modern application requires attention to consent, rights, evidence, foreseeable harm and changing social conditions.
Criticism and difficult cases
Application can become difficult when this principle conflicts with another duty, when harm is indirect, or when ancient social assumptions do not fit modern conditions.
Truth By Reason analysis
Truth By Reason assesses this principle according to evidence, rights, intentions, foreseeable consequences and consistency with the treatment of all affected beings.
Ethical themes
Sources
- Deuteronomy 5 Primary source
- Exodus 20 Primary source