Exodus 20

Exodus · Chapter 20

Exodus 20:12

1And God spake all these words, saying,2I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.3Thou shalt have no other gods before me.4Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;6And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.7Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.8Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.9Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:10But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:11For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.12Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.13Thou shalt not kill.14Thou shalt not commit adultery.15Thou shalt not steal.16Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.17Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.18And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.19And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.20And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.21And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.22And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.23Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.24An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.25And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.26Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
12Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
honorכַּבֵּ֥דka-BEDH3513G
to honor: honour

כָּבֵד (ka.vad) : honour/glory 1) to be heavy, be weighty, be grievous, be hard, be rich, be honourable, be glorious, be burdensome, be honoured 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to be heavy 1a2) to be heavy, be insensible, be dull 1a3) to be honoured 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be made heavy, be honoured, enjoy honour, be made abundant 1b2) to get oneself glory or honour, gain glory 1c) (Piel) 1c1) to make heavy, make dull, make insensible 1c2) to make honourable, honour, glorify 1d) (Pual) to be made honourable, be honoured 1e) (Hiphil) 1e1) to make heavy 1e2) to make heavy, make dull, make unresponsive 1e3) to cause to be honoured …

father yourאָבִ֖יךָ'a-VI-khaH0001G
father

אָב (av) 1) father of an individual 2) of God as father of his people 3) head or founder of a household, group, family, or clan 4) ancestor 4a) grandfather, forefathers - of person 4b) of people 5) originator or patron of a class, profession, or art 6) of producer, generator (fig.) 7) of benevolence and protection (fig.) 8) term of respect and honour 9) ruler or chief (spec.) Also means: av (אַב "father" H0002)

mother yourאִמֶּ֑ךָ'i-ME-khaH0517
mother

אֵם (em) 1) mother 1a) of humans 1b) of Deborah's relationship to the people (fig.) 1c) of animals 2) point of departure or division

so thatלְמַ֙עַן֙le-MA-'anH4616
because

מַ֫עַן (ma.an) 1) purpose, intent prep 1a) for the sake of 1b) in view of, on account of 1c) for the purpose of, to the intent that, in order to conj 1d) to the end that

they may be long !יַאֲרִכ֣וּןya-'a-ri-KHUNH0748
to prolong

אָרַךְ (a.rakh) 1) to be long, prolong 1a) (Qal) to be long 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) to prolong (days) 1b2) to make long (tent cords) 1b3) to grow long, continue long Aramaic equivalent: a.rakh (אֲרִיךְ "be proper" H0749)

days yourיָמֶ֔יךָya-MEI-khaH3117G
day

יוֹם (yom) : day/when/time/period 1) day, time, year 1a) day (as opposed to night) 1b) day (24 hour period) 1b1) as defined by evening and morning in Genesis 1 1b2) as a division of time 1b2a) a working day, a day's journey 1c) days, lifetime (pl.) 1d) time, period (general) 1e) year 1f) temporal references 1f1) today 1f2) yesterday 1f3) tomorrow

onעַ֚ל'alH5921A
upon

עַל (al) prep 1) upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against 1a) upon, on the ground of, on the basis of, on account of, because of, therefore, on behalf of, for the sake of, for, with, in spite of, notwithstanding, concerning, in the matter of, as regards 1b) above, beyond, over (of excess) 1c) above, over (of elevation or pre-eminence) 1d) upon, to, over to, unto, in addition to, together with, with (of addition) 1e) over (of suspension or extension) …

the landהָאֲדָמָ֔הha-'a-da-MAHH0127G
land: soil

אֲדָמָה (a.da.mah) : soil 1) ground, land 1a) ground (as general, tilled, yielding sustenance) 1b) piece of ground, a specific plot of land 1c) earth substance (for building or constructing) 1d) ground as earth's visible surface 1e) land, territory, country 1f) whole inhabited earth 1g) city in Naphtali

whichאֲשֶׁר־'a-SHER-H0834A
which

אֲשֶׁר (a.sher) A: 1) (relative part.) 1a) which, who 1b) that which 2) (conj) 2a) that (in obj clause) 2b) when 2c) since 2d) as 2e) conditional if B: Beth+ 1) in (that) which 2) (adv) 2a) where 3) (conj) 3a) in that, inasmuch as 3b) on account of C: Mem+ 1) from (or than) that which 2) from (the place) where 3) from (the fact) that, since D: Kaph+ 1) (conj.), according as, as, when 1a) according to that which, according as, as 1b) with a causal force: in so far as, since 1c) with a temporal force: when

Yahwehיְהוָ֥הYAH-wehH3068G
Lord

אֲדֹנָי (a.do.nai) Lord - a title, spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverence Another name of ye.ho.vah (יהוה "LORD" H3068G)

God yourאֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ'e-lo-HEI-khaH0430G
God

אֱלֹהִים (e.lo.him) This name means "gods" (plural intensive-singular meaning), "God" Another name of ye.ho.vah (יהוה "LORD" H3068G)

[is] about to giveנֹתֵ֥ןno-TENH5414G
to give: give

נָתַן (na.tan) : give/deliver/send/produce 1) to give, put, set 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to give, bestow, grant, permit, ascribe, employ, devote, consecrate, dedicate, pay wages, sell, exchange, lend, commit, entrust, give over, deliver up, yield produce, occasion, produce, requite to, report, mention, utter, stretch out, extend 1a2) to put, set, put on, put upon, set, appoint, assign, designate 1a3) to make, constitute 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be given, be bestowed, be provided, be entrusted to, be granted to, be permitted, be issued, be published, be uttered, be assigned 1b2) to be set, be put, be made, be inflicted …

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.