9TH

COMMANDMENT
 Table of Contents

1 2
Introduction and Violations
Historical and
Background Offenses

4
Challenges of the
Commandment
for us
3 15 Item
Quiz
 Historical
Background
 The most popular translation of one of the Ten commandments
is:

"Thou shalt not

covet."
“You shall not covet your
neighbor’s house. You shall
not covet your neighbor’s
wife, or his male or female
servant, his ox or donkey, or
anything that belongs to your
neighbor.” - Exodus 20:17
Thou shall
not covet thy
neighbor’s
wife
- 9th Commandment
The Hebrew word for "covet" is chamad, which is also
the same word that the English words "lust" and "a
strong desire" translate to in English. In Hebrew, the term
for coveting denotes not only simply desire but desire
that leads to action.
Even though it doesn't seem to be equally crucial as
stealing or killing, coveting is nonetheless connected to
the well-being of the society. One instance of this is
when King David sends a married woman's husband to
his death in battle because he covets her. 2 Samuel 11:1–
26 contains the details of this narrative.
 The sixth commandment, "You shall not commit adultery," and
the ninth commandment, "You shall not covet your neighbor’s
wife" are sometimes linked. However, the sixth commandment
deals with action while the ninth deals with ideas and desires.
The ninth commandment forbids all willful desires and
sensuous thoughts of whatever is forbidden by the sixth. It adds
an internal dimension to the sixth Commandment.
 The 9th commandment commands us not to covet our
neighbor’s wife. The lord commands us to “not want’ because
he knows our weaknesses and the tenuous boundary between
desire and will. Not only the act performed, but also the desire
to fulfill it is a sin, because it begins with the desire, then
continues with the seduction, then performs the act.
 The ninth commandment forbids all thoughts and desires that
are inconsistent with chastity, forbids "the interior, mental desire
or plan" to commit adultery, and forbids the intentional desire
and longing for immoral sexuality.
"... everyone who
looks at a woman
lustfully has already
committed adultery
with her in his
heart." - Matthew 5:28
A sexually immoral thought that we try to suppress is a
temptation, not a sin. According to Jesus, to lust after a woman
or a man in your heart with the intent to engage in illicit sex
with them constitutes a sin. It is considered immoral when
wanted or thought about "with full knowledge and full consent
of the will" as well as "lustfully and deliberately."
Human sexuality has to be appreciated, defended, and protected
just as human life is a gift from God. Given that Catholicism
views human sexuality as a divine gift, marriage is the
appropriate setting in which it is revered.
The purpose of the commandment is to ensure that a man and a
woman in a marriage have mutual fidelity toward one another.
Their fidelity will only be perfect if they can be completely
honest with one another regarding their thoughts and desires. It
also urges Christians to cultivate “purity of heart”. To be pure of
heart is to treat all others as neighbors with love and respect.
Violations and
Offenses
1.1) Sexual/Romantic
Fantasies
Engaging in sexual or romantic fantasies about someone who is
married or committed to someone else is a violation of the 9th
commandment. This behavior involves desiring someone who is
already in a committed relationship with another person. It is a
violation of ethical and moral principles and can lead to a variety of
negative consequences
1.2) Impure Thoughts
Impure thoughts refer to thoughts or fantasies that are sexually
inappropriate, immoral, or disrespectful towards others. The
commandment speaks to the importance of respecting the boundaries
and commitments of others and refraining from inappropriate or
immoral behavior towards them. Impure thoughts can lead to the
desire for something that belongs to someone else, such as a person
who is in a committed relationship with another.
2 ) Pursuing someone
.

commited
pursuing or attempting to seduce someone who is already in a committed
relationship with another person is a violation of ethical and moral
principles, as well as the principles of respect and fidelity within
relationships. It involves actively seeking to engage in a romantic or
sexual relationship with someone who is already committed to another
person
3 ) Behaving
.

Inappropriately
Behaving inappropriately or making advances towards someone who
is married or committed to someone else, even if those actions don't
lead to a physical relationship, is a violation of the commandment.
Such behavior can be seen as a form of emotional or psychological
infidelity.
4 ) Manipulation or
.

Coercion
Using manipulation or coercion to try and obtain someone who
is in a committed relationship with another person is a clear
violation of the commandment. It involves using deceitful or
manipulative tactics to try and break up an established
relationship. It is a violation of ethical and moral principles, as
well as the principles of respect and fidelity within relationships.
5 ) Lust /
.

Concupiscence
Lust involves a strong desire or craving for someone, often of a
sexual nature, which can lead to inappropriate or immoral
behavior. It can be seen as a form of coveting, or desiring
something that belongs to someone else, in this case, someone
who is in a committed relationship with another person.
Not all desires are wrong or immoral. In fact, some desires can
be natural and good, such as the desire for companionship, love,
or intimacy. However, when a desire becomes inappropriate or
immoral, such as the desire for someone who is in a committed
relationship with another, it can be seen as a violation of the 9th
commandment.
 Challenges of the
Commandment to Us
1.) Importance of Reason
and Purity of Intention
 First the commandment challenges us with the importance
of reason and purity of intention. Lest we imagine the
Ninth Commandment is urging us to embrace a moral
Puritanism, St. Thomas Aquinas is quick to point out, “…
none can live without some sensible and bodily pleasure.”
What sets good pleasures apart from evil is their alignment with
reason. The example St. Thomas uses is the sexual act between
men and women. It is praiseworthy when enjoyed by a married
couple, but worthy of blame when adulterous.  Purity of
intention is our effort to discern our true end. It seeks to find
and fulfill the will of God in everything.
2 ) Temperance
.

•  The word "temperance" in the sense that we use it refers to

quantity, or "how much" of anything we need or want to utilize.
• Temperance is the virtue by which we use the pleasant things of
creation only to the extent necessary to meet our necessities.

• Temperance enables us to exercise control over our

desires which is a challenge of the 9th commandment.
“Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of
pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It
ensures the will’s mastery over instincts and keeps desires
within the limits of what is honorable. The temperate person
directs the sensitive appetites toward what is good and
maintains a healthy discretion” 

- Catechism 1809
3 ) Chastity
.

• Chastity is the virtue and gift that enables and strengthens us to

love with hears undistracted by sensual desire.
• Chastity is related to the cardinal virtue of temperance, in that it
helps us to moderate our sexual passions according to reason
and Christian morality.
• It helps us to celebrate and appreciate our God-given
gift of sexuality and to relate to other men and women
in a caring and respectful way.
“ Chastity means the successful integration of sexuality within the person
and thus the inner unity of man in his bodily and spiritual being. Sexuality,
in which man's belonging to the bodily and biological world is expressed,
becomes personal and truly human when it is integrated into the
relationship of one person to another, in the complete and lifelong mutual
gift of a man and a woman. The virtue of chastity therefore involves the
integrity of the person and the integrality of the gift.”

- Catechism 2337
“The chaste person maintains the integrity of the powers of life
and love placed in him. This integrity ensures the unity of the
person; it is opposed to any behavior that would impair it. It
tolerates neither a double life nor duplicity in speech.”

- Catechism 2338
4 ) Purity of Oneself
.
 Fourth is the purity of oneself. In our heart, vision, thoughts,
and desires. A chaste and pure person should be pure in body
and soul, in his thoughts, senses, feelings and even in his
dreams and imaginations. Purity of heart is the precondition of
the vision of God. Even now it enables us to see according to
God, to accept others as "neighbors"; it lets us perceive the
human body - ours and our neighbor's - as a temple of the Holy
 Purity of heart means having a holy way of feeling. This cleansing
or purity of heart brings with it an increased freedom of our heart to
love. Purity of vision is not just refusing to look at something clearly
unsuitable. It also requires purifying the use of our external senses,
leading us to look at the world and at other men and women with
supernatural vision, with Christ’s eyes.
It disciplines the feelings and imagination and refuses
complicity with impure thoughts. Pure thoughts and desires
lead to righteous living. A man should give careful attention
to the purity of his thoughts as his thoughts also belong to
God. Even though evil influences are all around us, we can
control our thoughts and direct them in the right way. We
must try to avoid things that encourage unclean thoughts.
5 ) Modesty
.

• Modesty protects people as images of God and

the intimate center of a person.

• Modesty also respects the body as a temple of the

Holy Spirit.
“Modesty protects the mystery of persons and their love. It
encourages patience and moderation in loving relationships; it
requires that the conditions for the definitive giving and
commitment of man and woman to one another be fulfilled.
Modesty is decency. It inspires one's choice of clothing. It keeps
silence or reserve where there is evident risk of unhealthy
curiosity. It is discreet.”

- Catechism 2522
“There's a modesty of the feelings as well as of the body. It protests, for example, against
the voyeuristic explorations of the human body in certain advertisements, or against the
solicitations of certain media that go too far in the exhibition of intimate things. Modesty
inspires a way of life which makes it possible to resist the allurements of fashion and the
pressures of prevailing ideologies. The forms taken by modesty vary from one culture to
another. Everywhere, however, modesty exists as an intuition of the spiritual dignity
proper to man. It is born with the awakening consciousness of being a subject. Teaching
modesty to children and adolescents means awakening in them respect for the human
person.”
- Catechism 2523 -
2524
 9TH

COMMANDMENT