Leviticus 19:14
in Leviticus 19You must not curse the deaf or place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God. I am the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind; but thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.
KJV
Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the Lord.
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This verse in Leviticus 19
Commentary
7 notes on this verseFor to curse the deaf is to disparage one who is absent and does not hear; but to put a stumbling-block before the blind is to act indeed with discernment, but yet to give cause of offence to him who has not the light of discernment.
This site's exposition
Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour
on Leviticus 19:13-14
The day labourer is paid before nightfall because that money is the evening meal, and Adam Clarke puts it exactly there, that the wage supports the man and his family as fast as it is earned. James 5:4 takes the rule up and says the hire kept back crieth, and Deuteronomy 24:15 gives it with the reason that he setteth his heart upon it. Verse 14 names two crimes the victim cannot detect, since a deaf man does not hear the curse and a blind man does not see what was laid in his path. The enforcement offered is but shalt fear thy God, so the law is written for the cases where no witness exists, and the word stumblingblock occurs here for the first time in Scripture.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It is added, as a preservative from these sins, but fear thou God. "Thou dost not fear the deaf and blind, they cannot right themselves; but remember it is the glory of God to help the helpless, and he will plead their cause." Note, The fear of God will restrain us from doing that which will not expose us to men's resentments.
Thou shalt not curse the deaf,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Thou shalt not curse the deaf - Or speak evil of him, because he cannot hear, and so cannot vindicate his own character. Nor put a stumbling - block before the blind - He who is capable of doing this, must have a heart cased with cruelty. The spirit and design of these precepts are, that no man shall in any case take advantage of the ignorance, simplicity, or inexperience of his neighbor, but in all things do to his neighbor as he would, on a change of circumstances, that his neighbor should do to him.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Ye shall not steal--A variety of social duties are inculcated in this passage, chiefly in reference to common and little-thought-of vices to which mankind are exceedingly prone; such as committing petty frauds, or not scrupling to violate truth in transactions of business, ridiculing bodily infirmities, or circulating stories to the prejudice of others.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The meaning appears to be, “Thou shalt not utter curses to the deaf because he cannot hear thee, neither shalt thou put a stumbling-block in the way of the blind because he cannot see thee (compare Deu 27:18), but thou shalt remember that though the weak and poor cannot resist, nor the deaf hear, nor the blind see, God is strong, and sees and hears all that thou doest.” Compare Job 29:15.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
“From this verse I know only [that one may not curse] the deaf. Whence do I know that one may not curse anybody? From the words of Scripture: Of thy people thou shalt not curse. 56 Exodus:27. If so, why does it state [here] ‘the deaf’?
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
לא תעשק THOU SHALT NOT WRONG [THY FELLOW-MAN] — This refers to one who withholds the wages of a hired servant (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 2; Bava Metzia 61a).
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. 4 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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תְקַלֵּ֣ל | tekalel | you will curse | H7043 → | 82 times |
| חֵרֵ֔שׁ | cheresh | a deaf [person] | H2795 → | |
| וְלִפְנֵ֣י | velifnei | and <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| עִוֵּ֔ר | ʾiver | a blind [person] | H5787 → | |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִתֵּ֖ן | titen | you will put | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| מִכְשֹׁ֑ל | mikhshol | a stumbling block | H4383 → | |
| וְיָרֵ֥אתָ | veyareta | and you will fear | H3372 → | 315 times |
| מֵּאֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ | meeloheikha | from God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תְקַלֵּ֣לyou will curse
tekalelH7043 →82 times
חֵרֵ֔שׁa deaf [person]
chereshH2795 →
וְלִפְנֵ֣יand <to> before
velifneiH6440 →2123 times
עִוֵּ֔רa blind [person]
ʾiverH5787 →
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִתֵּ֖ןyou will put
titenH5414 →2011 times
מִכְשֹׁ֑לa stumbling block
mikhsholH4383 →
וְיָרֵ֥אתָand you will fear
veyaretaH3372 →315 times
מֵּאֱלֹהֶ֖יךָfrom God your
meeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָֽה׃[am] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
1 Peter 2:17Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
it leads to
- Romans 13:7
Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 24:21
My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.
- Romans 12:10
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.
- Romans 13:7
Through
Romans 14:13Therefore let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 6:3
We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no one can discredit our ministry.
- 1 Corinthians 8:9–13
Be careful, however, that your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
- James 4:11
Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. And if you judge the law, you are not a practitioner of…
- 2 Corinthians 6:3
Through
Leviticus 19:32You are to rise in the presence of the elderly, honor the aged, and fear your God. I am the LORD.
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 5:1
Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as to a father. Treat younger men as brothers,
- Proverbs 16:31
Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is attained along the path of righteousness.
- 1 Timothy 5:1
Where this verse is studied
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, THE BOOK OF PASTORAL RULE, Part 3; 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.