The paired set begins as did the last one, by citing a phrase well known from the Decalogue (Exodus 20:14). The commission of adultery is contrasted to “looking…to lust.” Of course there could be no evil is seeing anyone, so the contrast absolutely requires the additional “to lust after her.” It is that part of the phrase that becomes the antithetical contrast to the first clause.
Here we need to understand the nature of the difference between committing adultery and lusting. It is the very same as the murder/anger pair we saw in the last set. In both the murder/anger pair and this adultery/lust pairing, the ultimate penalty was the same. In the murder/anger pair it was explicit in the repetition of judgment. In this case, it is explicitly the same because the lusting is equated to adultery. Since the penalty for adultery was death (Lev 20:20; Deut 22:22) the equating of lust to adultery suggests that lust would also lead to punishment by death.
Of course this was not a suggestion to change the law of the land, but rather to indicate the importance of the regulation in God’s eyes. There would be a death, but again it is the death of the soul. As in the murder/anger example, the focus is on the damage done to one’s own soul by becoming the kind of person who could even attempt such an act, let alone carry it out.
Textual: There is only a small change in verse 27: