Deuteronomy 6:20 BSB

Deuteronomy 6:20

In the future, when your son asks, “What is the meaning of the decrees and statutes and ordinances that the LORD our God has commanded you?”

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

When thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Jehovah our God hath commanded you?

KJV

And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you?

⋯

Commentary

2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

And when thy son asketh thee, etc. - “Here,” as Mr. Ainsworth justly remarks, “followeth a brief catechism, containing the grounds of religion.” What mean the testimonies, etc. - The Hebrew language has no word to express to mean or signify, and therefore uses simply the substantive verb what is, i. e., what mean or signify, etc. The seven thin ears Are, i. e., signify, seven years of famine. This form of speech frequently occurs.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Charles Spurgeon

1834–1892

The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2511: “Brought Out to Be Brought In” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1897)

OUR text occurs in the passage where the Israelites are told to personally instruct their children concerning the testimonies and statutes and judgments of the Lord. When they asked the meaning of the various ordinances of God's House, their parents were to tell them—not to refer them to the priest—they were, themselves, to instruct their children in the things of God. In our own case, however much we may love and appreciate the Sunday school system—and we cannot love it too much—I hope we shall never forget that the first duty towards the child belongs to the parent.

Voices on this verse

loading…

Original language & word study

14 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
כִּֽי־	ki-	if	H3588 →
יִשְׁאָלְךָ֥	yish.'a.le.Kha	he will ask you	H7592 →
בִנְךָ֛	vin.Kha	child your	H1121 →
מָחָ֖ר	ma.Char	tomorrow	H4279 →
לֵאמֹ֑ר	le.Mor	<to> saying	H559 →
מָ֣ה	mah	what?	H4100 →
הָעֵדֹ֗ת	ha.'e.Dot	[are] the testimonies	H5713 →
וְהַֽחֻקִּים֙	ve.ha.chu.Kim	and the statutes	H2706 →
וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֔ים	ve.ha.mish.pa.Tim	and the judgments	H4941 →
אֲשֶׁ֥ר	'a.Sher	which	H834 →
צִוָּ֛ה	tzi.Vah	he commanded	H6680 →
יְהוָ֥ה	Yah.weh	Yahweh	H3068 →
אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ	'e.lo.Hei.nu	God our	H430 →
אֶתְכֶֽם׃	'et.Khem	<obj.> you	H853 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Deuteronomy 6:7
And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
leads to
- Deuteronomy 11:19
  Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
- Ephesians 6:4
  Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
- Psalms 78:4–6
  We will not hide them from their children, but will declare to the next generation the praises of the LORD and His might, and the wonders He has performed.
- 1 Peter 3:15
  But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and…
- Deuteronomy 4:9–10
  Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen, and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as…
Through
Exodus 13:14
In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
leads to
- Psalms 145:4
  One generation will commend Your works to the next, and will proclaim Your mighty acts—
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Joshua 4:6
  to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’
Through
Exodus 12:26
When your children ask you, ‘What does this service mean to you?’
leads to
- Exodus 13:14–15
  In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Featured studies on this passage

On Deuteronomy 6:20

The Torah

Open the study →

On Deuteronomy 6:20

The Shema — Hear, O Israel — Deuteronomy 6:4–5

Open the study →

Walks through Deuteronomy 6

Gematria and Its Limits

Open the study →

Walks through Deuteronomy 6

It Is Written, MannaFest

Open the study →

Walks through Deuteronomy 6

The Heart

Open the study →

About Deuteronomy

Moses Comes Down from Mount Sinai — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Deuteronomy: the study guide →Read chapter 6 →The featured study →

Continue: Deuteronomy 6 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Deuteronomy

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Deuteronomy