Deuteronomy 21:20
in Deuteronomy 21and say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he does not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.
KJV
And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 21
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
If a man have two wives
on Deuteronomy 21:15-21
Both household laws take the matter out of the father's hands. The double portion is protected against a father's preference for a favoured wife's son, and the phrase used of the firstborn here, the beginning of his strength, is Jacob's phrase for Reuben at Genesis 49:3, spoken in the house where Genesis 29:31 says Leah was hated. Albert Barnes observes that a father could still set the birthright aside for cause, as Jacob did with Reuben, and that what this statute forbids is doing it out of partiality. A stubborn son is then brought by both parents to the elders in the gate and charged as a glutton and a drunkard, the pair of words at Proverbs 23:20, and the stoning is done by the men of the city, while the rabbinic tradition collected in tractate Sanhedrin narrows the conditions so far that it preserves the opinion that no such case ever came to trial.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
) to be a glutton or a drunkard. This intimates either, (1.) That these were sins which his parents did in a particular manner warn him against, and therefore that in these instances there was a plain evidence that he did not obey their voice.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And they shall say unto the elders of his city,....
And, how difficult soever tender parents now find it to reconcile themselves to the just punishment of their rebellious children, in the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God all natural affection will be so entirely swallowed up in divine love that they will acquiesce even in the condemnation of those children, because God will be therein for ever glorified.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאָמְר֞וּ | veameru | and they will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| זִקְנֵ֣י | ziknei | [the] elders of | H2205 → | 178 times |
| עִיר֗וֹ | iro | city his | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| בְּנֵ֤נוּ | benenu | son our | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| זֶה֙ | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| סוֹרֵ֣ר | sorer | [is] stubborn | H5637 → | |
| וּמֹרֶ֔ה | umoreh | and rebellious | H4784 → | 45 times |
| אֵינֶ֥נּוּ | ʾeinenu | not he | H369 → | 789 times |
| שֹׁמֵ֖עַ | shomea' | [is] listening | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| בְּקֹלֵ֑נוּ | bekolenu | to voice our | H6963 → | 506 times |
| זוֹלֵ֖ל | zolel | a glutton | H2151 → | |
| וְסֹבֵֽא׃ | vesove' | and a drunkard | H5433 → |
וְאָמְר֞וּand they will say
veameruH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
זִקְנֵ֣י[the] elders of
zikneiH2205 →178 times
עִיר֗וֹcity his
iroH5892 →1090 times
בְּנֵ֤נוּson our
benenuH1121 →4930 times
זֶה֙this
zehH2088 →1180 times
סוֹרֵ֣ר[is] stubborn
sorerH5637 →
וּמֹרֶ֔הand rebellious
umorehH4784 →45 times
אֵינֶ֥נּוּnot he
ʾeinenuH369 →789 times
שֹׁמֵ֖עַ[is] listening
shomea'H8085 →1159 times
בְּקֹלֵ֑נוּto voice our
bekolenuH6963 →506 times
זוֹלֵ֖לa glutton
zolelH2151 →
וְסֹבֵֽא׃and a drunkard
vesove'H5433 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 20:1Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
it leads to
- Ephesians 5:18
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
- Hosea 4:11
Promiscuity, wine, and new wine take away understanding.
- Isaiah 28:7
These also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: Priests and prophets reel from strong drink and are befuddled by wine. They stumble because of strong drink, muddled in their visions and stumbling…
- Proverbs 31:4
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink,
- 1 Corinthians 6:10
nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
- Ephesians 5:18
Through
Proverbs 29:17Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will bring delight to your soul.
it leads to
- Proverbs 10:1
The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.
- Proverbs 29:15
A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.
- Proverbs 23:13–14
Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
- Proverbs 10:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.