Exodus 20:12

20:12 “Honor ¹  your father and your mother, that you may live a long time ²  in the land ³  the Lord your God is giving to you.

Leviticus 19:3

19:3 Each of you must respect his mother and his father, ⁴  and you must keep my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 5:16

5:16 Honor ⁵  your father and your mother just as the Lord your God has commanded you to do, so that your days may be extended and that it may go well with you in the land that he ⁶  is about to give you.

Proverbs 30:11

30:11 There is a generation ⁷  who curse their fathers

and do not bless their mothers. ⁸ 

Proverbs 30:17

30:17 The eye ⁹  that mocks at a father

and despises obeying ¹⁰  a mother –

the ravens of the valley will peck it out

and the young vultures will eat it. ¹¹ 

Matthew 15:4

15:4 For God said, ¹²  ‘Honor your father and mother’ ¹³  and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ ¹⁴ 

Matthew 15:6

15:6 he does not need to honor his father.’ ¹⁵  You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition.

Matthew 19:19

19:19 honor your father and mother, ¹⁶  and love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁷ 

Mark 7:10

7:10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ ¹⁸  and, ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ ¹⁹ 

Mark 10:19

10:19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” ²⁰ 

Luke 18:20

18:20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’” ²¹ 

Ephesians 6:2

6:2 “Honor your father and mother,” ²²  which is the first commandment accompanied by a promise, namely,

[20:12]  ¹ tn The verb כַּבֵּד (kabbed) is a Piel imperative; it calls for people to give their parents the respect and honor that is appropriate for them. It could be paraphrased to say, give them the weight of authority that they deserve. Next to God, parents were to be highly valued, cared for, and respected.

[20:12]  ² tn Heb “that your days may be long.”

[20:12]  ³ sn The promise here is national rather than individual, although it is certainly true that the blessing of life was promised for anyone who was obedient to God’s commands (Deut 4:1, 8:1, etc.). But as W. C. Kaiser (“Exodus,” EBC 2:424) summarizes, the land that was promised was the land of Canaan, and the duration of Israel in the land was to be based on morality and the fear of God as expressed in the home (Deut 4:26, 33, 40; 32:46-47). The captivity was in part caused by a breakdown in this area (Ezek 22:7, 15). Malachi would announce at the end of his book that Elijah would come at the end of the age to turn the hearts of the children and the parents toward each other again.

[19:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “A man his mother and his father you [plural] shall fear.” The LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and certain Targum mss reverse the order, “his father and his mother.” The term “fear” is subject to misunderstanding by the modern reader, so “respect” has been used in the translation. Cf. NAB, NRSV “revere”; NASB “reverence.”

[5:16]  ⁷ tn The imperative here means, literally, “regard as heavy” (כַּבֵּד, kabbed). The meaning is that great importance must be ascribed to parents by their children.

[5:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “He” in 5:3.

[30:11]  ¹⁰ sn The next four verses all start with the Hebrew expression translated “There is a generation.” This is a series of denunciations of things that are dangerous in society without mentioning specific punishments or proscriptions. The word “generation” as used in this passage refers to a class or group of people.

[30:11]  ¹¹ sn The first observation is that there is a segment in society that lacks respect for parents. This uses the antonyms “curse” and [not] “bless” to make the point. To “curse” a parent could include treating them lightly, defaming them, or showing disrespect in general. To “bless” would mean to honor, respect, or enrich in some way, which is what should be done (e.g., Exod 21:17; Prov 20:20).

[30:17]  ¹³ sn The “eye” as the organ that exhibits the inner feelings most clearly, here represents a look of scorn or disdain that speaks volumes (a metonymy of cause or of adjunct). It is comparable to the “evil eye” which is stinginess (28:22).

[30:17]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew word לִיקֲּהַת (liqqahat, “obeying”) occurs only here and in Gen 49:10; it seems to mean “to receive” in the sense of “receiving instruction” or “obeying.” C. H. Toy suggests emending to “to old age” (לְזִקְנַת, lÿziqnat) of the mother (Proverbs [ICC], 530). The LXX with γῆρας (ghra", “old age”) suggests that a root lhq had something to do with “white hair.” D. W. Thomas suggests a corruption from lhyqt to lyqht; it would have read, “The eye that mocks a father and despises an aged mother” (“A Note on לִיקֲּהַת in Proverbs 30:17,” JTS 42 [1941]: 154-55); this is followed by NAB “or scorns an aged mother.”

[30:17]  ¹⁵ sn The sternest punishment is for the evil eye. The punishment is talionic – eye for eye. The reference to “the valley” may indicate a place where people are not be given decent burials and the birds of prey pick the corpses clean. It is an image the prophets use in judgment passages.

[15:4]  ¹⁶ tc Most mss (א*^,2 C L W 0106 33 Ï) have an expanded introduction here; instead of “For God said,” they read “For God commanded, saying” (ὁ γὰρ θεὸς ἐνετείλατο λέγων, Jo gar qeo" eneteilato legwn). But such expansions are generally motivated readings; in this case, most likely it was due to the wording of the previous verse (“the commandment of God”) that caused early scribes to add to the text. Although it is possible that other witnesses reduced the text to the simple εἶπεν (eipen, “[God] said”) because of perceived redundancy with the statement in v. 3, such is unlikely in light of the great variety and age of these authorities (א¹ B D Θ 073 Ë^1,13 579 700 892 pc lat co, as well as other versions and fathers).

[15:4]  ¹⁷ sn A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.

[15:4]  ¹⁸ sn A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9.

[15:6]  ¹⁹ tc The logic of v. 5 would seem to demand that both father and mother are in view in v. 6. Indeed, the majority of mss (C L W Θ 0106 ˹ Ï) have “or his mother” (ἢ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, h thn mhtera autou) after “honor his father” here. However, there are significant witnesses that have variations on this theme (καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ [kai thn mhtera autou, “and his mother”] in Φ 565 1241 pc and ἢ τὴν μητέρα [“or mother”] in 073 ˹³ 33 579 700 892 pc), which is usually an indication of a predictable addition to the text rather than an authentic reading. Further, the shorter reading (without any mention of “mother”) is found in early and important witnesses (א B D sa). Although it is possible that the shorter reading came about accidentally (due to the repetition of –ερα αὐτοῦ), the evidence more strongly suggests that the longer readings were intentional scribal alterations.

[19:19]  ²² sn A quotation from Exod 20:12-16; Deut 5:16-20.

[19:19]  ²³ sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.

[7:10]  ²⁵ sn A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.

[7:10]  ²⁶ sn A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9.

[10:19]  ²⁸ sn A quotation from Exod 20:12-16; Deut 5:16-20, except for do not defraud, which is an allusion to Deut 24:14.

[18:20]  ³¹ sn A quotation from Exod 20:12-16 and Deut 5:16-20. Jesus cited the parts of the ten commandments that relate to how others should be treated.

[6:2]  ³⁴ sn A quotation from Exod 20:12 and Deut 5:16.