Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Parallel translations
- WEB ‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or his mother.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
- BSB ‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- ESV “‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
- NKJV ‘Cursed is the one who treats his father or his mother with contempt.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
- NASB ‘Cursed is one who treats his father or mother contemptuously.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
- NLT ‘Cursed is anyone who dishonors father or mother.’ And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A curse falls on dishonoring one's father or mother, and the people affirm it with Amen.
Overview
This echoes the fifth commandment, protecting the God-given order of the family. Honoring parents reflects honoring God's authority. The people's Amen acknowledges that contempt for parents is contempt for God himself.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Lev 19:3Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.
- Exod 21:17And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
- Exod 20:12Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
- Deut 21:18–21If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:
- Ezek 22:7In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow.
- Prov 30:11–17There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.
- Lev 20:9For 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.
- Matt 15:4–6For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 27:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.