Deuteronomy 5:16

“Honor your father and your mother, as YHWH your Elohim has commanded you, so that your days may be long and so that it may go well with you on the land that YHWH your Elohim is giving you.”
Deuteronomy 5:16 · direct translation from the Hebrew

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With the Hebrew beneath

Honorכַּבֵּדyour fatherאֶת אָבִיךָand your mother,וְאֶת אִמֶּךָasכַּאֲשֶׁרYHWHיְהוָהyour Elohimאֱלֹהֶיךָhas commanded you,צִוְּךָso thatלְמַעַןyour daysיָמֶיךָmay be longיַאֲרִיכֻןand so thatוּלְמַעַןit may go wellיִיטַבwith youלָךְonעַלthe landהָאֲדָמָהthatאֲשֶׁרYHWHיְהוָהyour Elohimאֱלֹהֶיךָis givingנֹתֵןyou.לָךְ

Quotation · Luke 18:20

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The commandments are also in Deuteronomy 5:16-20; Jesus quotes them in a different order.

Formula: τὰς ἐντολὰς οἶδας “you know the commandments” (Luke 18:20)

See the original texts

Greek of the New Testament: τὰς ἐντολὰς οἶδας Μὴ μοιχεύσῃς Μὴ φονεύσῃς Μὴ κλέψῃς Μὴ ψευδομαρτυρήσῃς Τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα

Hebrew (Masoretic text): כַּבֵּד אֶת אָבִיךָ וְאֶת אִמֶּךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוְּךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְמַעַן יַאֲרִיכֻן יָמֶיךָ וּלְמַעַן יִיטַב לָךְ עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ לֹא תִּרְצָח וְלֹא תִּנְאָף וְלֹא תִּגְנֹב וְלֹא תַעֲנֶה בְרֵעֲךָ עֵד שָׁוְא

Septuagint (Deuteronomy 5:16 in the Septuagint numbering): Τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα σου, ὃν τρόπον ἐνετείλατο κύριος ὁ θεός σου, ἵνα εὖ σοι γένηται, καὶ ἵνα μακροχρόνιοι ἦτε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἧς Κύριος ὁ θεός σου δίδωσίν σοι.

The Greek of the NT matches the Septuagint word for word in 7 consecutive words: “Τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα.”

Septuagint, Swete’s text, First1KGreek transcription (with reading errors), CC BY-SA 4.0

Quotation · Ephesians 6:2-3

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Deuteronomy 5:16 has both promises that Paul quotes: “so that it may go well with you” and a long life on the land.

See the original texts

Greek of the New Testament: τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα ἥτις ἐστὶν ἐντολὴ πρώτη ἐν ἐπαγγελίᾳ ἵνα εὖ σοι γένηται καὶ ἔσῃ μακροχρόνιος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς

The Greek of the NT matches the Septuagint word for word in 7 consecutive words: “τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα.”

Septuagint, Swete’s text, First1KGreek transcription (with reading errors), CC BY-SA 4.0

Deuteronomy 5:16, word by word

Honorכַּבֵּדkabed

honor

Literally "give weight": to hold someone in high regard.

Where else “kabed” appears

your fatherאָבִיavi

father

The man who begets a child and heads his household.

Where else “avi” appears

and your motherאִמֶּime

mother

The woman who gives birth to and raises her children, and who is owed honor.

Where else “ime” appears

YHWHיְהוָהyehva

YHWH

The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.

Where else “yehva” appears

your Elohimאֱלֹהֶיelohe

Elohim

The one true God, the Creator; the word is plural but means one.

Where else “elohe” appears

has commanded youצִוְּtsiv

command

To give an order: "as YHWH had commanded".

Where else “tsiv” appears

your daysיָמֶיyame

time

Literally "the days": a period, an age, or the span of someone's life.

Where else “yame” appears

may be longיַאֲרִיכֻyaarichu

be long, prolong

Be long, last long; prolong.

Where else “yaarichu” appears

it may go wellיִיטַבyitav

go well

For it to go well for someone: "that it may go well with you".

Where else “yitav” appears

the landאֲדָמָהadama

land

A territory with its inhabitants, or the whole surface of the world.

Where else “adama” appears

is givingנֹתֵןnoten

give

To hand something over to someone: a gift, a payment, a charge or a land.

Where else “noten” appears

Translation note

Paul quotes this commandment in Ephesians 6:2-3.

Parallel passages

Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.

Quotation · Luke 18:20

The commandments are also in Deuteronomy 5:16-20; Jesus quotes them in a different order.

See them side by side

Deuteronomy 5:16

¹⁶Honor your father and your mother, as YHWH your Elohim has commanded you, so that your days may be long and so that it may go well with you on the land that YHWH your Elohim is giving you.

Luke 18:20

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

Quotation · Ephesians 6:2-3

Deuteronomy 5:16 has both promises that Paul quotes: “so that it may go well with you” and a long life on the land.

See them side by side

Deuteronomy 5:16

¹⁶Honor your father and your mother, as YHWH your Elohim has commanded you, so that your days may be long and so that it may go well with you on the land that YHWH your Elohim is giving you.

Ephesians 6:2-3

²Honor your father and your mother —which is the first commandment with a promise—

The context

15Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that YHWH your Elohim brought you out from there with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm; therefore YHWH your Elohim has commanded you to celebrate the day of the Sabbath.

16 · This verse (above)

17You shall not murder.

Read all of Deuteronomy 5

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