ContradictionsReading order 96Bible context 4 min read
Is it always wrong to steal?
Prohibitions on theft stand beside authorized plunder, though a reported theft and a willingly granted transfer do not automatically prove divine approval of stealing.
- Textual conflict
- Interpretive tension
- The passages pull in different directions, but the conflict depends on how their wording, scope, or narrative context is read.
- Importance
- Foundational
- A central claim about origins, salvation, divine justice, or religious authority.
Authorized retaliatory plunder strains broad property prohibitions, though warfare and willingly transferred goods introduce legal distinctions.
An editorial assessment of the quoted passages. Importance describes the stakes; it does not increase certainty. Reading order weighs both.
Stealing robbery and failure to repay are condemned
Thou shalt not steal.
Exodus 20:15
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:Exodus 20
He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Matthew 19:18
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:Matthew 19