“that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on the earth.”
Parallel translations
- WEB “that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth.”
- KJV That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
- NKJV “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”
- NASB so that it may turn out well for you, and that you may live long on the earth.
- NLT If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”
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
The promise attached to honoring parents is well-being and long life. God blesses those who keep this command.
Overview
Paul completes the citation of the fifth commandment, recalling its promise of welfare and long life. Originally tied to Israel's life in the land, the principle endures: honoring parents generally leads to a well-ordered, blessed life. Such promises express God's gracious encouragement to obedience, while their fullness is secured ultimately in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Deut 5:16Honor 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 LORD your God is giving you.
- Deut 4:40Keep His statutes and commandments, which I am giving you today, so that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.
- Deut 12:28Be careful to obey all these things I command you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the LORD your God.
- Deut 12:25Do not eat it, so that it may go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD.
- Deut 6:18Do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, so that it may be well with you and that you may enter and possess the good land that the LORD your God swore to give your fathers,
- Ruth 3:1One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek a resting place for you, that it may be well with you?
- Deut 6:3Hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you.
- Jer 42:6Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go well with us, for we will obey the voice of the LORD our God!”
- Ps 128:1–2A song of ascents. Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in His ways!
- Deut 22:7You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.
- Isa 3:10Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Every spiritual blessing is 'in Christ,' the head over all things for the church, in whom Jew and Gentile are made one new man by his blood.
How Ephesians 6:3 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 Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.