Deuteronomy 27:16
in Deuteronomy 27‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.
KJV
Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 27
Commentary
5 notes on this verseCursed be he that setteth light by his father, or his mother,.... That secretly despises them in his heart, and by looks and gestures mocks at them in a private manner, unseen by others, Pro 30:17; for if he publicly cursed them, that was cognizable by the civil magistrate, and he was to be put to death, Lev 20:
This site's exposition
Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother
on Deuteronomy 27:16-19
These four curses protect people who cannot see what is done to them or cannot answer it. The blind are guarded already at Leviticus 19:14, and the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow at 10:18, 14:29 and 24:17.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The contempt of parents is a sin so heinous that it is put next to the contempt of God himself. If a man abused his parents, either in word or deed, he fell under the sentence of the magistrate, and must be put to death, Exod. xxi.
10 Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the L ORD thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day. A general charge to the people to keep God's commandments; for in vain did they know them, unless they would do them. This is pressed upon them, 1.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Setteth light by his father or his mother - See the note on Exo 20:12.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
מקלה means, “making light of”, it has the same meaning as (Deuteronomy:3) “Lest … thy brother become despicable (נקלה).
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
ארור האיש, all of the “cursed be” mentioned here had first been intoned as a blessing for all the people refraining from becoming guilty of the sins that are mentioned here.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָר֕וּר | ʾarur | [is] cursed | H779 → | 63 times |
| מַקְלֶ֥ה | makleh | [one who] dishonors | H7034 → | |
| אָבִ֖יו | ʾaviv | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְאִמּ֑וֹ | veimo | and mother his | H517 → | 220 times |
| וְאָמַ֥ר | veamar | and it will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעָ֖ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אָמֵֽן׃ ס | ʾamen | amen | H543 → | 30 times |
אָר֕וּר[is] cursed
ʾarurH779 →63 times
מַקְלֶ֥ה[one who] dishonors
maklehH7034 →
אָבִ֖יוfather his
ʾavivH1 →1212 times
וְאִמּ֑וֹand mother his
veimoH517 →220 times
וְאָמַ֥רand it will say
veamarH559 →5305 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָעָ֖םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אָמֵֽן׃ סamen
ʾamenH543 →30 times
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
Exodus 20:12Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
it leads to
- Ephesians 6:1–3
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Colossians 3:20
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.
- Deuteronomy 5:16
Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the…
- Mark 7:10
For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
- Proverbs 23:22–25
Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
- Ephesians 6:1–3
Through
Leviticus 19:3Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must keep My Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.
it leads to
- Exodus 20:12
Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
- Exodus 20:8
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
- Hebrews 12:9
Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live?
- Exodus 20:12
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.