Exodus 22:28
in Exodus 22You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou shalt not revile God, nor curse a ruler of thy people.
KJV
Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.
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This verse in Exodus 22
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThou shalt not revile the gods - Most commentators believe that the word gods here means magistrates. The original is אלהים Elohim, and should be understood of the true God only: Thou shalt not blaspheme or make light of [תקלל tekallel] God, the fountain of justice and power, nor curse the ruler of thy people, who derives his authority from God. We shall ever find that he who despises a good civil government, and is disaffected to that under which he lives, is one who has little fear of God before his eyes.
This site's exposition
You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people
The Hebrew here is elohim, the word used of the judges at verses 8 and 9, and readers divide over which sense is meant. Most commentators take it as the magistrates, and Adam Clarke argues for the true God only.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Augustine of HippoON THE LORD'S SERMON ON THE MOUNT 1.19.58 · Written before 430.
proposed
"Brethren, I did not know that he was the high priest; for it is written, 'You shall not speak ill of a ruler of your people.' " The mildness of this prompt reply shows how calmly he had spoken what he seemed to have uttered in anger, for such a reply could not be given by those who are angered or perturbed. And in the reply, "I did not know that he was the high priest," he spoke the truth to those who understand him. It is as though he were saying, "I have come to know another High Priest for whose name's sake I am suffering these injuries—a High Priest whom it is not lawful to revile but whom you are reviling, because in me you hate nothing else than his name."
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Princes and magistrates are our fathers, whom the fifth commandment obliges us to honour and forbids us to revile. St. Paul applies this law to himself, and owns that he ought not to speak evil of the ruler of his people; no, not though the ruler was then his most unrighteous persecutor, Acts xxiii.
Thou shalt not revile the gods,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
gods--a word which is several times in this chapter rendered "judges" or magistrates. the ruler of thy people--and the chief magistrate who was also the high priest, at least in the time of Paul (Ac 23:1-5).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The gods - Heb. אלהים 'ělôhı̂ym. See Exo 21:6 note. Many take it as the name of God (as in Gen 1:1), and this certainly seems best to represent the Hebrew, and to suit the context. Curse the ruler ... - See Act 23:5.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֱלֹהִ֖ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תְקַלֵּ֑ל | tekalel | you must curse | H7043 → | 82 times |
| וְנָשִׂ֥יא | venasi' | and a leader | H5387 → | 134 times |
| בְעַמְּךָ֖ | veamekha | among people your | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תָאֹֽר׃ | taor | you must curse | H779 → |
אֱלֹהִ֖יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תְקַלֵּ֑לyou must curse
tekalelH7043 →82 times
וְנָשִׂ֥יאand a leader
venasi'H5387 →134 times
בְעַמְּךָ֖among people your
veamekhaH5971 →1873 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תָאֹֽר׃you must curse
taorH779 →
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
Acts 23:5“Brothers,” Paul replied, “I was not aware that he was the high priest, for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 10:20
Do not curse the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich even in your bedroom, for a bird of the air may carry your words, and a winged creature may report your…
- Jude 1:8–9
Yet in the same way these dreamers defile their bodies, reject authority, and slander glorious beings.
- 2 Peter 2:10
Such punishment is specially reserved for those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and self-willed, they are unafraid to slander glorious beings.
- Ecclesiastes 10:20
Through
Ecclesiastes 10:20Do not curse the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich even in your bedroom, for a bird of the air may carry your words, and a winged creature may report your…
it leads to
- Acts 23:5
“Brothers,” Paul replied, “I was not aware that he was the high priest, for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”
- Luke 12:2–3
There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known.
- 2 Kings 6:12
But one of his servants replied, “No one, my lord the king. For Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.”
- Ecclesiastes 7:21–22
Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you.
- Acts 23:5
Through
Jude 1:8Yet in the same way these dreamers defile their bodies, reject authority, and slander glorious beings.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:17
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who must give an account. To this end, allow them to lead with joy and not with grief, for…
- Hebrews 13:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, ON THE LORD'S SERMON ON THE MOUNT 1.19.58; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.