Which statement expresses the 10th commandment?

• A. Don’t covet your neighbor’s wife.
• B. Do not covet your neighbor's goods.
• C. Do not kill or harm others.
• D. Honor your neighbor's possessions.

Answer: (C)

The tenth commandment is about guarding the inward attitude of longing for what belongs to someone else. It focuses on coveting, an interior desire, because unchecked desire can lead someone to break other commands later—like taking what isn’t theirs or harming relationships—if the heart isn’t held in check.

Saying “Do not covet your neighbor's goods” best expresses that broad prohibition. It captures the idea of not desiring any of the neighbor’s possessions, which can include things like property or other people’s belongings, without specifying a single item. The other options miss the scope: coveting a neighbor’s wife is too narrow, the statement about not killing or harming others addresses a different commandment, and the instruction to honor possessions is about how to treat belongings rather than prohibiting the longing for them. So the correct expression is the one that denies coveting what belongs to others.