Leviticus 20:9
in Leviticus 20If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother; his blood shall be upon him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall surely be put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.
KJV
For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.
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This verse in Leviticus 20
Commentary
6 notes on this verseBut when we wish to examine the very letter of the words as given by Matthew, "He that speaks evil of father or mother, let him die the death," consider whether it was taken from the place where it was written, "Whoso strikes his father or mother, let him die the death; and he that speaks evil of father or mother, let him die the death." For such are the exact words taken from the law with regard to the two commandments; but Matthew has quoted them in part and in an abridged form, and not in the very words.
This site's exposition
every one that curseth his father
on Leviticus 20:9-10
Two of the ten commandments get their penalty here, the fifth and the seventh. Jesus cites the law on cursing a parent in the argument over corban at Matthew 15:4 and Mark 7:10, where the wording matches Exodus 21:17 as closely as it matches this verse. Verse 10 names the adulterer and the adulteress together and sentences both, which is worth holding beside John 8:3, where only the woman is brought.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Curseth - This is not here meant of every perverse expression, but of bitter reproaches or imprecations. His blood shall be upon him - He is guilty of his own death: he deserves to die for so unnatural a crime.
For everyone that curseth his father or his mother,....
17 , The eye that mocks at his father the ravens of the valley shall pick out, which intimates that such wicked children were in a fair way to be not only hanged, but hanged in chains. This law of Moses Christ quotes and confirms ( Matt. xv. 4 ), for it is as direct a breach of the fifth commandment as wilful murder is of the sixth.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Curseth his father or his mother - See the notes on Gen 48:12, and Exo 20:12 (note). He who conscientiously keeps the fifth commandment can be in no danger of this judgment.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
ואיש AND THE MAN [THAT COMMITTETH ADULERY SHALL SURELY BE PUT TO DEATH] — a man, thus excluding a minor (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 10 8).
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. 6 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
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | a person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אִ֗ישׁ | ʾish | a person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יְקַלֵּ֧ל | yekalel | he will curse | H7043 → | 82 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אָבִ֛יו | ʾaviv | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אִמּ֖וֹ | ʾimo | mother his | H517 → | 220 times |
| מ֣וֹת | mot | certainly <to die> | H4191 → | 839 times |
| יוּמָ֑ת | yumat | he will be put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
| אָבִ֧יו | ʾaviv | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְאִמּ֛וֹ | veimo | and mother his | H517 → | 220 times |
| קִלֵּ֖ל | kilel | he has cursed | H7043 → | 82 times |
| דָּמָ֥יו | damav | blood<s> his | H1818 → | 360 times |
| בּֽוֹ׃ | bo | [are] on <the> him |
כִּֽי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אִ֣ישׁa person
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אִ֗ישׁa person
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יְקַלֵּ֧לhe will curse
yekalelH7043 →82 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אָבִ֛יוfather his
ʾavivH1 →1212 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
אִמּ֖וֹmother his
ʾimoH517 →220 times
מ֣וֹתcertainly <to die>
motH4191 →839 times
יוּמָ֑תhe will be put to death
yumatH4191 →839 times
אָבִ֧יוfather his
ʾavivH1 →1212 times
וְאִמּ֛וֹand mother his
veimoH517 →220 times
קִלֵּ֖לhe has cursed
kilelH7043 →82 times
דָּמָ֥יוblood<s> his
damavH1818 →360 times
בּֽוֹ׃[are] on <the> him
bo
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
Matthew 15:4For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
it leads to
- Exodus 21:17
Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death.
Reached by 4 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 20:12
Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- 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…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 21:18–21
If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and does not listen to them when disciplined,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 23:22
Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
- Exodus 21:17
Through
Proverbs 20:20Whoever curses his father or mother, his lamp will be extinguished in deepest darkness.
it leads to
- Matthew 15:4
For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 30:11
There is a generation of those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.
- Matthew 15:4
Through
Deuteronomy 27:16‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:3
Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must keep My Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.
- Leviticus 19:3
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 11.9.