Leviticus 19:32
in Leviticus 19You are to rise in the presence of the elderly, honor the aged, and fear your God. I am the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.
KJV
Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the Lord.
⋯
This verse in Leviticus 19
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThou shall rise up before the hoary head,.... Or "before old age" (q), which may be discerned by the hoary or grey hairs upon the head; that is, before a grey-headed man, or an old man, and one was reckoned so when he was of seventy years of age; for so it is said (r), one of sixty years is arrived to old age, and one of seventy to grey hairs.
This site's exposition
Regard not them that have familiar spirits
on Leviticus 19:31-32
Familiar spirits and wizards both occur here for the first time in Scripture, and the stated result of consulting them is defilement. Deuteronomy 18:11 sets the same practices in a longer list of what the nations did, and 1 Samuel 28 shows a king of Israel doing what this verse forbids. Verse 32 asks a man to rise up before the hoary head, to honour the face of the old man and to fear his God, so the chapter forbids seeking the dead in one verse and commands standing up for the living aged in the next. Both verses close on I am the LORD.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Age is honourable, and he that is the Ancient of days requires that honour be paid to it. The hoary head is a crown of glory.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Before the hoary head - See Clarke’s note on Gen 48:12.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The outward respect due to old age is here immediately connected with the fear of God. Compare the margin reference.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִפְּנֵ֤י | mipenei | from before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| שֵׂיבָה֙ | seivah | gray hair | H7872 → | |
| תָּק֔וּם | takum | you will arise | H6965 → | 628 times |
| וְהָדַרְתָּ֖ | vehadarta | and you will honor | H1921 → | |
| פְּנֵ֣י | penei | [the] face | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| זָקֵ֑ן | zaken | an old [person] | H2205 → | 178 times |
| וְיָרֵ֥אתָ | veyareta | and you will fear | H3372 → | 315 times |
| מֵּאֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ | meeloheikha | from God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ פ | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
מִפְּנֵ֤יfrom before
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
שֵׂיבָה֙gray hair
seivahH7872 →
תָּק֔וּםyou will arise
takumH6965 →628 times
וְהָדַרְתָּ֖and you will honor
vehadartaH1921 →
פְּנֵ֣י[the] face
peneiH6440 →2123 times
זָקֵ֑ןan old [person]
zakenH2205 →178 times
וְיָרֵ֥אתָand you will fear
veyaretaH3372 →315 times
מֵּאֱלֹהֶ֖יךָfrom God your
meeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָֽה׃ פ[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 Timothy 5:1Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as to a father. Treat younger men as brothers,
it leads to
- 1 Peter 5:5–6
Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Titus 2:2
Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, and sound in faith, love, and perseverance.
- Galatians 6:1
Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
- 1 Peter 5:1
As a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you:
- 1 Peter 5:5–6
Through
Proverbs 16:31Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is attained along the path of righteousness.
it leads to
- Proverbs 20:29
The glory of young men is their strength, and gray hair is the splendor of the old.
- Proverbs 3:1–2
My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;
- Proverbs 20:29
Through
Proverbs 20:29The glory of young men is their strength, and gray hair is the splendor of the old.
it leads to
- 1 John 2:14
I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,…
- Proverbs 16:31
Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is attained along the path of righteousness.
- 1 John 2:14
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); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
