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.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death: he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.
- BSB If 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.
- NKJV ‘For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon him.
- NASB ‘If there is anyone who curses his father or his mother, he shall certainly be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, and has brought his own death upon himself.
- NLT “Anyone who dishonors father or mother must be put to death. Such a person is guilty of a capital offense.
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
Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death; the guilt is his own. Honoring parents is so weighty that contempt for them is a capital matter.
Overview
To curse a parent was to attack the God-given structure of family and authority that undergirds society. The penalty reveals how seriously God regards the fifth commandment (Ex. 20:12). 'His blood shall be upon him' assigns guilt to the offender alone, affirming personal responsibility, and it highlights humanity's need for the Son who perfectly honored His Father.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Exod 21:17And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
- Mark 7:10For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:
- Deut 27:16Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.
- Matt 15:4For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
- Prov 20:20Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.
- Prov 30:17The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.
- Prov 30:11There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.
- 2 Sam 1:16And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD’s anointed.
- Judg 9:24That the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren.
- Matt 27:25Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
- Lev 20:11–13And the man that lieth with his father’s wife hath uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
- 1 Kgs 2:32And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.
- Lev 20:27A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.
- Josh 2:19And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.
- Lev 20:16And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
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Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 20:9 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
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