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George Lamsa Translation
Matthew 15:4
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For God said:
For God commaunded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: And hee that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,' and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.'
"For God said, 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,' and, 'THE ONE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.'
God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,' and ‘Anyone who says cruel things to his father or mother must be put to death.'
"For God said [through Moses], 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,' and, 'HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF or INSULTS or TREATS IMPROPERLY FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.'
For God hath commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and he that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
"For God said, 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,' and, 'HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.'
For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,' and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.'
For God said: 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'
Didn't God command you to respect your father and mother? Didn't he tell you to put to death all who curse their parents?
For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,' and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'
For God commanded saying, Honour father and mother; and, He that speaks ill of father or mother, let him die the death.
God said, ‘You must respect your father and mother.' And God also said, ‘Whoever says anything bad to their father or mother must be killed.'
For God said, ‘Respect your father and your mother,' and ‘If you curse your father or your mother, you are to be put to death.'
For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,' and ‘The one who speaks evil of father or mother must certainly die.'
For God commanded, saying, "Honor your father and mother," Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16 and, "The one speaking evil of father or mother, by death let him die." Ex. 21:17
For God said, Honor thy father and thy mother: and, He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death.
For God said, Give honour to your father and mother: and, He who says evil of father or mother will be put to death.
For God commanded, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.'
For God said,commanded, saying">[fn] 'Honor your father and your mother,'Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16">[fn] and 'Whoever curses father or mother must certainly be put to death.'Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9">[fn]Exodus 20:12; 21:17; Leviticus 19:3; 20:9; Deuteronomy 5:16; 27:16; Proverbs 20:20; 23:22; 30:17; Ephesians 6:2;">[xr]
For Aloha hath said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and whoso curseth his father or his mother, to die he shall die:
For God hath said: Honor thy father, and thy mother; and he that revileth his father or his mother, shall be put to death.
For God comaunded, saying: honour father and mother, and he that curseth father or mother, let hym dye the death.
For God said, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death.
For God commanded, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.'
For God commanded, Honour thy father and mother: and He that revileth father or mother, let him die the death.
For God said, `Honour thy father and thy mother'; and `Let him who reviles father or mother be certainly put to death';
For God seide, Honoure thi fadir and thi modir, and he that cursith fadir or modir, die bi deeth.
For God said, Honor your father and your mother: and, He that speaks evil of father or mother, let him die the death.
For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
For God said, ‘ Honor your father and mother ' and ‘ Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death .'
For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16 ">[fn] and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' Exodus 21:17">[fn]
For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,' and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.'
For God said, ‘Show respect to your father and mother.' And, ‘He who curses his father or mother will be put to death.'
For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,' and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.'
For, God, said - Honour thy father and thy mother, and - He that revileth father or mother, let him, surely die!
Honour thy father and mother: And: He that shall curse father or mother, let him die the death.
For God commanded, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die.'
For God comaunded sayinge: honoure thy father and mother and he that cursseth father or mother shall suffer deeth.
for God did command, saying, Honour thy father and mother; and, He who is speaking evil of father or mother -- let him die the death;
For God comaunded, sayege: Honoure father & mother: & he yt curseth father & mother, shal dye the death.
for this is a commandment of God, "honour thy father and mother; and, he that curses father or mother, let him be punish'd with death."
Didn't he tell us to respect our moms and dads? He even said to shoot someone dead if they cussed their parents.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
God: Matthew 4:10, Matthew 5:17-19, Isaiah 8:20, Romans 3:31
Honour: Matthew 19:19, Exodus 20:12, Leviticus 19:3, Deuteronomy 5:16, Proverbs 23:22, Ephesians 6:1
He: Exodus 21:17, Leviticus 20:9, Deuteronomy 21:18-21, Deuteronomy 27:16, Proverbs 20:20, Proverbs 30:17
Reciprocal: Genesis 47:12 - his father Numbers 30:5 - General 1 Samuel 22:3 - Let my father 2 Samuel 15:3 - there is Psalms 119:139 - because Proverbs 28:24 - robbeth Proverbs 30:11 - that curseth Ezekiel 22:7 - set Malachi 1:6 - son Matthew 16:12 - but Mark 7:10 - Whoso Romans 1:30 - disobedient Romans 7:9 - without Ephesians 6:2 - General Colossians 3:20 - obey 1 Timothy 5:4 - piety
Cross-References
And I will bless her, and also I will give you a son by her; yea, I will bless him and make nations of him; and the kings of the people shall come from him.
And God said to Abraham, Let it not be grievous in your sight because of the boy and because of your maidservant; whatever Sarah tells you, hearken to her voice; for your descendants shall come through Isaac.
And when your days are fulfilled and you shall sleep with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come out of your loins, and I will establish his kingdom.
And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, Behold, my own son, who came forth from my loins, seeks my life; so now let this Benjamite alone, let him curse; for God has bidden him.
And the LORD sent an angel from before him, who smote all the mighty men of valour and the kings and the princes who were in the camp of the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned in disgrace to his own land. And when he came into the house of his gods, his sons, who came forth of his own loins, slew him there with the sword.
Now we, my brethren, are the children of promise, as was Isaac.
I send him to you again: welcome him as my own boy:
Gill's Notes on the Bible
For God commanded, saying,.... That he might not be thought to suggest this without any foundation, he gives them an instance, wherein a command of God was transgressed, by the observance of their tradition: the command he refers to, stands in
Exodus 20:12 and is this;
Honour thy father and mother. This was a plain command of God, written with his own hand, and delivered by Moses to them; it was of a moral nature, and of eternal obligation: and to be understood, not merely of that high esteem parents are to be had in by their children, and of the respectful language and gesture to be used towards them, and of the cheerful obedience to be yielded to them; but also of honouring them with their substance, feeding, clothing, and supplying them with the necessaries of life, when they stand in need thereof; which is but their reasonable service, for all the care, expense, and trouble they have been at, in bringing them up in the world: nor did the Jews deny this to be the duty of children to their parents, and own it to be the sense of the commandment: they say p, that this is the weightiest commandment among the weighty ones, even this, the honouring of father and mother; and ask,
"What is this honour? To which is replied, he must give him food, drink, and clothing; buckle his shoes, and lead him in, and bring him out.''
They indeed laid down this as a rule, and it seems a very equitable one q; that,
"when a man's father has any money, or substance, he must be supported out of that; but if he has none, he must support him out of his own.''
But then, as will be seen hereafter, they made void this command of God, and their own explications of it, by some other tradition. Moreover, Christ observes, that it is said, Exodus 21:17
And he that curseth father or mother, let him die the death; temporal and eternal: and which is a positive command of God, made as a fence for the former; and is to be understood, not only of giving abusive language to parents, but of slighting, as the Hebrew word signifies, and neglecting them, taking no notice of them, when needy and in distress, to supply their wants. Now these commands of God, Christ shows the Jews transgressed by their tradition, as appears from the following verses.
p T. Hieros. Kiddushin, fol. 61. 2. q Piske Toseph. ad T. Bab. Kiddushin, art. 61.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
See also Mark 7:1-9.
Then came to Jesus ... - Mark says that they saw the disciples of Jesus eating with unwashed hands.
Matthew 15:2
Transgress the tradition of the elders - The world “elders” literally means “old men.” Here it means the “ancients,” or their “ancestors.” The “tradition of the elders” meant something handed down from one to another by memory; some precept or custom not commanded in the written law, but which scribes and Pharisees held themselves bound to observe.
They supposed that when Moses was on Mount Sinai two sets of laws were delivered to him: one, they said, was recorded, and is that contained in the Old Testament; the other was handed down from father to son, and kept uncorrupted to their day. They believed that Moses, before he died, delivered this law to Joshua; he to the Judges; they to the prophets; so that it was kept pure until it was recorded in the Talmuds. In these books these pretended laws are now contained. They are exceedingly numerous and very trifling. They are, however, regarded by the Jews as more important than either Moses or the prophets.
One point in which the Pharisees differed from the Sadducees was in holding to these traditions. It seems, however, that in the particular traditions mentioned here, all the Jews were united; for Mark adds Mark 7:3 that “the Pharisees and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.” Mark has also added that this custom of washing extended not merely to their hands before eating, but in coming from the market; and also to cups, and pots, and brass vessels, and tables, Mark 7:3-4. They did this professedly for the sake of cleanliness. So far it was well. But they also made it a matter of superstition. They regarded external purity as of much more importance than the purity of the heart. They had many foolish rules about it respecting the quantity of water that was to be used, the way in which it should be applied, the number of times it should be changed, the number of those that might wash at a time, etc. Our Saviour did not think it proper to regard these rules, and this was the reason why they “found fault” with him.
Matthew 15:3
But he answered ... - They accused him of violating their traditions, as though they were obligatory.
In his answer he implied that his disciples were not bound to obey their traditions - they were invented by human beings. He said, also, that those traditions could not be binding, as they violated the commandments of God. He proceeded to specify a case in which their tradition made void one of the plain laws of God; and if that was their character, then they could not blame him for not regarding them.
Matthew 15:4
For God commanded ... - That is, in the fifth commandment Exodus 20:12, and in Exodus 21:17. To “honor” is to obey, to reverence, to speak kindly to, to speak and think well of. To “curse” is to disobey, to treat with irreverence, to swear at, to speak ill of, to think evil of in the heart, to meditate or do any evil to a parent. All this is included in the original word.
Let him die the death - This is a Hebrew phrase, the same as saying, “let him surely die.” The Jewish law punished this crime with death. This duty of honoring and obeying a parent was what Christ said they had violated by their traditions. He proceeds to state the way in which it was done.
Matthew 15:5
It is a gift - In Mark it is “corban.” The word “corban” is a Hebrew word denoting a gift.
Here it means a thing dedicated to the service of God, and therefore not to be appropriated to any other use. The Jews were in the habit of making such dedications. They devoted their property to God for sacred uses, as they pleased. In doing this they used the word קרבן qaarbaan or κορβᾶν korban, or some similar word, saying, this thing is “corban,” i. e., it is a gift to God, or is sacred to him. The law required that when a dedication of this kind was made it should be fulfilled. “Vow and pay unto the Lord your God,” Psalms 76:11. See Deuteronomy 23:21. The law of God required that a son should honor his parent; i. e., among other things, that he should provide for his needs when he was old and in distress. Yet the Jewish teachers said that it was more important for a man to dedicate his property to God than to provide for the needs of his parent.
If he had once devoted his property once said it was “corban,” or a gift to God - it could not be appropriated even to the support of a parent. If a parent was needy and poor, and if he should apply to a son for assistance, and the son should reply, though in anger, “It is devoted to God; this property which you need, and by which you might be profited by me, is “corban” - I have given it to God;” the Jews said the property could not be recalled, and the son was not under obligation to aid a parent with it. He had done a more important thing in giving it to God. The son was free. He could not be required to do anything for his father after that. Thus, he might, in a moment, free himself from the obligation to obey his father or mother. In a sense somewhat similar to this, the chiefs and priests of the Sandwich Islands had the power of devoting anything to the service of the gods by saying that it was “taboo,” or “tabooed;” that is, it became consecrated to the service of religion; and, no matter who had been the owner, it could then be appropriated for no other use. In this way they had complete power over all the possessions of the people, and could appropriate them for their own use under the pretence of devoting them to religion. Thus, they deprived the people of their property under the plea that it was consecrated to the gods. The Jewish son deprived his parents of a support under the plea that the property was devoted to the service of religion. The principle was the same, and both systems were equally a violation of the rights of others.
Besides, the law said that a man should die who cursed his father, i. e., that refused to obey him, or to provide for him, or spoke in anger to him. Yet the Jews said that, though in anger, and in real spite and hatred, a son said to his father, “All that I have which could profit you I have given to God,” he should be free from blame. Thus, the whole law was made void, or of no use, by what appeared to have the appearance of piety. “No man, according to their views, was bound to obey the fifth commandment and support an aged and needy parent, if, either from superstition or spite, he chose to give his property to God, that is, to devote it to some religious use.”
Our Saviour did not mean to condemn the practice of giving to God, or to religious and charitable objects. The law and the gospel equally required this. Jesus commended even a poor widow that gave all her living, Mark 12:44, but he condemned the practice of giving to God where it interfered with our duty to parents and relations; where it was done to get rid of the duty of aiding them; and where it was done out of a malignant and rebellious spirit, with the semblance of piety, to get clear of doing to earthly parents what God required.
Matthew 15:7
Ye hypocrites! - See the notes at Matthew 7:5. Hypocrisy is the concealment of some base principle under the pretence of religion. Never was there a clearer instance of it than this an attempt to get rid of the duty of providing for needy parents under an appearance of piety toward God.
Esaias - That is, Isaiah. This prophecy is found in Isaiah 29:13.
Prophesy of you - That is, he spoke of the people of his day of the Jews, as Jews - in terms that apply to the whole people. He properly characterized the nation in calling them hypocrites. The words are applicable to the nation at all times, and they apply, therefore, to you. He did not mean particularly to speak of the nation in the time of Christ, but he spoke of them as having a national character of hypocrisy. Compare the notes at Matthew 1:22-23.
Matthew 15:8
Draweth nigh unto me with their mouth ... - That is, they are regular in the forms of worship; they are strict in ceremonial observances, and keep the law outwardly; but God requires the heart, and that they have not rendered.
Matthew 15:9
In vain do they worship me - That is, their attempts to worship are “vain,” or are not real worship - they are mere “forms.”
Teaching for doctrines ... - The word “doctrines,” here, means the requirements of religion - things to be believed and practiced in religion.
God only has a right to declare what shall be done in his service; but they held their traditions to be superior to the written word of God, and taught them as doctrines binding the conscience. See the notes at Isaiah 29:13.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Matthew 15:4. Honour thy father and mother — This word was taken in great latitude of meaning among the Jews: it not only meant respect and submission, but also to take care of a person, to nourish and support him, to enrich. See Numbers 22:17; Judges 13:17; 1 Timothy 5:17. And that this was the sense of the law, as it respected parents, see Deuteronomy 27:16, and Exodus 20:12.
