Jealousy is a resentment of rivals, and whether it is good or evil depends on whether the rival has any right to be there. Since God is unique, and there is no other, he has the right to ask that we worship him alone. A comment is also needed on the portrayal of God as 'punishing the children for the sin of the fathers' for several generations. Nevertheless, there is abiding and solemn truth in what the commandment says. Because of the social nature of evil, God's judgment of it cannot be confined to those who commit it.
Children often suffer the consequences of their parents' sins.