Leviticus 19:3
in Leviticus 19Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must keep My Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father; and ye shall keep my sabbaths: I am Jehovah your God.
KJV
Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.
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This verse in Leviticus 19
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Compare Exo 20:8, Exo 20:12; Exo 31:13-14. The two laws repeated here are the only laws in the Decalogue which assume a positive shape, all the others being introduced by the formula, “Thou shalt not.” These express two great central points, the first belonging to natural law and the second to positive law, in the maintenance of the well-being of the social body of which Yahweh was the acknowledged king.
This site's exposition
Ye shall fear every man his mother
on Leviticus 19:3-4
Three commands of the ten stand in these two verses, and the first of them is turned around. Exodus 20:12 reads honour thy father and thy mother, and here it is fear every man his mother, and his father, with the mother named first and fear standing where honour stood. The word rendered idols in verse 4 is elilim, which Adam Clarke renders as nothings, and 1 Corinthians 8:4 says that an idol is nothing in the world. Both verses close on I am the LORD your God.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Those are hopeful children, and likely to do well, that make conscience of honouring their parents and keeping holy the sabbath day. The reason added to both these precepts is, " I am the Lord your God; the Lord of the sabbath and the God of your parents." III. That God only be worshipped, and not by images (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Ye shall fear every man his mother and his father,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths--The duty of obedience to parents is placed in connection with the proper observance of the Sabbaths, both of them lying at the foundation of practical religion.
Ye shall fear every man his mother, etc. - Ye shall have the profoundest reverence and respect for them. See Clarke’s note on Gen 48:12, and see Clarke’s note on Exo 20:8, and see Clarke’s note on Exo 20:12.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אִמּ֤וֹ | ʾimo | mother his | H517 → | 220 times |
| וְאָבִיו֙ | veaviv | and father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| תִּירָ֔אוּ | tirau | you will fear | H3372 → | 315 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שַׁבְּתֹתַ֖י | shabetotai | sabbaths my | H7676 → | 110 times |
| תִּשְׁמֹ֑רוּ | tishmoru | you will keep | H8104 → | 468 times |
| אֲנִ֖י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃ | ʾeloheikhem | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
אִ֣ישׁanyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אִמּ֤וֹmother his
ʾimoH517 →220 times
וְאָבִיו֙and father his
veavivH1 →1212 times
תִּירָ֔אוּyou will fear
tirauH3372 →315 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
שַׁבְּתֹתַ֖יsabbaths my
shabetotaiH7676 →110 times
תִּשְׁמֹ֑רוּyou will keep
tishmoruH8104 →468 times
אֲנִ֖יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָ֥ה[am] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃God your
ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 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.
- 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
Hebrews 12:9Furthermore, 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?
it leads to
- Numbers 16:22
But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?”
- Numbers 27:16
“May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation
- Isaiah 42:5
This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to…
- Numbers 16:22
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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.