Deuteronomy 6:20

JPS Old Testament

When thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying: 'What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
When your son asks you in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which the LORD our God has commanded you?

King James Version
And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you?

Lexham English Bible
"When your child asks you in the future, saying, ‘What is the meaning of the legal provisions and the rules and the regulations that Yahweh our God commanded for you?'

English Standard Version
"When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?'

New Century Version
In the future when your children ask you, "What is the meaning of the laws, commands, and rules the Lord our God gave us?"

New English Translation
When your children ask you later on, "What are the stipulations, statutes, and ordinances that the Lord our God commanded you?"

Amplified Bible
"When your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What is the meaning of the testimonies and statutes and judgments (precepts) which the LORD our God has commanded you?'

New American Standard Bible
"When your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What do the provisions and the statutes and the judgments mean which the LORD our God commanded you?'

Geneva Bible (1587)
When thy sonne shall aske thee in time to come, saying, What meane these testimonies, and ordinances, and Lawes, which the Lorde our God hath commaunded you?

Legacy Standard Bible
"When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What do the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments mean which Yahweh our God commanded you?'

Contemporary English Version
Someday your children will ask, "Why did the Lord give us these laws and teachings?"

Complete Jewish Bible
"Some day your child will ask you, ‘What is the meaning of the instructions, laws and rulings which Adonai our God has laid down for you?'

Darby Translation
When thy son shall ask thee in time to come, saying, What are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Jehovah our God hath commanded you?

Easy-to-Read Version
"In the future, your children might ask you, ‘The Lord our God gave you teachings, laws, and rules. What do they mean?'

George Lamsa Translation
And when your son asks you in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments which the LORD our God has commanded you?

Good News Translation
"In times to come your children will ask you, ‘Why did the Lord our God command us to obey all these laws?'

Christian Standard Bible®
“When your son asks you in the future, ‘What is the meaning of the decrees, statutes, and ordinances that the Lord our God has commanded you?’

Literal Translation
When your son asks you hereafter, saying, What are the testimonies and the statutes and the ordinances which Jehovah your God has commanded you?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Now whan thy sonne axeth the todaye or tomorow, and sayeth: What meane these witnesses, ordinaunces and lawes, that the LORDE oure God hath comaunded you?

American Standard Version
When thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Jehovah our God hath commanded you?

Bible in Basic English
And when your son says to you in time to come, What is the reason for these rules and laws and decisions which the Lord our God has given you?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And when thy sonne asketh thee in tyme to come, saying: What meaneth these testimonies, ordinaunces, and lawes, which the Lorde our God hath commaunded you?

King James Version (1611)
And when thy sonne asketh thee in time to come, saying, What meane the Testimonies, & the Statutes, and the Iudgements, which the Lord our God hath commanded you?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And it shall come to pass when thy son shall ask thee at a future time, saying, What are the testimonies, and the ordinances, and the judgments, which the Lord our God has commanded us?

English Revised Version
When thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?

Berean Standard Bible
In the future, when your son asks you, "What is the meaning of the decrees and statutes and ordinances that the LORD our God has commanded you?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And whanne thi sone schal axe thee to morewe, that is, in tyme comyng, and schal seie, What wolen these witnessyngis, and cerymonyes, and domes to hem silf, whiche oure Lord God comaundide to vs?

Young's Literal Translation
`When thy son asketh thee hereafter, saying, What [are] the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Jehovah our God hath commanded you?

Update Bible Version
When your son asks you in time to come, saying, What [is the meaning of] the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Yahweh our God has commanded you?

Webster's Bible Translation
[And] when thy son shall ask thee in time to come, saying, What [mean] the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?

World English Bible
When your son asks you in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Yahweh our God has commanded you?

New King James Version
"When your son asks you in time to come, saying, "What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the LORD our God has commanded you?'

New Living Translation
"In the future your children will ask you, ‘What is the meaning of these laws, decrees, and regulations that the Lord our God has commanded us to obey?'

New Life Bible
"In time to come your son will ask you, ‘What do all the Laws mean which the Lord told you?'

New Revised Standard
When your children ask you in time to come, "What is the meaning of the decrees and the statutes and the ordinances that the Lord our God has commanded you?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
When thy son shall ask thee in time to come, saying, - What mean the testimonies and the statutes and the regulations, which Yahweh our God commanded you?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And when thy son shall ask thee to morrow, saying: What mean these testimonies, and ceremonies and judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded us?

Revised Standard Version
"When your son asks you in time to come, 'What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the ordinances which the LORD our God has commanded you?'

THE MESSAGE
The next time your child asks you, "What do these requirements and regulations and rules that God , our God, has commanded mean?" tell your child, "We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and God powerfully intervened and got us out of that country. We stood there and watched as God delivered miracle-signs, great wonders, and evil-visitations on Egypt, on Pharaoh and his household. He pulled us out of there so he could bring us here and give us the land he so solemnly promised to our ancestors. That's why God commanded us to follow all these rules, so that we would live reverently before God , our God, as he gives us this good life, keeping us alive for a long time to come.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"When your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What do the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments mean which the LORD our God commanded you?'

Contextual Overview

¹⁷ Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and His testimonies, and His statutes, which He hath commanded thee. ¹⁸ And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, ¹⁹ to thrust out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken. ²⁰ When thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying: 'What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which the LORD our God hath commanded you? ²¹ then thou shalt say unto thy son: 'We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. ²² And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his house, before our eyes. ²³ And He brought us out from thence, that He might bring us in, to give us the land which He swore unto our fathers. ²⁴ And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. ²⁵ And it shall be righteousness unto us, if we observe to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as He hath commanded us.'

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

when thy son: Deuteronomy 6:7, Exodus 12:26, Exodus 13:14, Joshua 4:6, Joshua 4:7, Joshua 4:21-24, Proverbs 22:6

in time to come: Heb. to-morrow

Reciprocal: Exodus 10:2 - And that Exodus 21:1 - the judgments Deuteronomy 4:45 - These Joshua 22:24 - In time to come Ezekiel 17:12 - Know Ephesians 6:4 - but

Cross-References

Genesis 1:28
And God blessed them; and God said unto them: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth.'

Genesis 2:19
And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto the man to see what he would call them; and whatsoever the man would call every living creature, that was to be the name thereof.

Genesis 6:8
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Genesis 6:11
And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

Genesis 6:12
And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.

Genesis 6:16
A light shalt thou make to the ark, and to a cubit shalt thou finish it upward; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

Genesis 6:20
Of the fowl after their kind, and of the cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And when thy son asketh thee in time to come,.... Or "tomorrow" x; that is, in later times, as Jarchi interprets it; any time after this, and particularly after they were come into the land of Canaan, when the several laws, statutes, and ordinances appointed, would take place and be obeyed:

what [mean] the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you? what is the reason of the various rites, customs, and usages, the observance of which is directed to, such as the feasts of passover, pentecost, tabernacles, sacrifices, and other duties of religion?

x מחר "cras", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The Israelites were at the point of quitting a normal, life for a fixed and settled abode in the midst of other nations; they were exchanging a condition of comparative poverty for great and goodly cities, houses and vineyards. There was therefore before them a double danger;

(1) a God-forgetting worldliness, and

(2) a false tolerance of the idolatries practiced by those about to become their neighbors.

The former error Moses strives to guard against in the verses before us; the latter in Deuteronomy 7:1-11.

Deuteronomy 6:13

The command “to swear by His Name” is not inconsistent with the Lord’s injunction Matthew 5:34, “Swear not at all.” Moses refers to legal swearing, our Lord to swearing in common conversation. It is not the purpose of Moses to encourage the practice of taking oaths, but to forbid that, when taken, they should be taken in any other name than that of Israel’s God. The oath involves an invocation of Deity, and so a solemn recognition of Him whose Name is made use of in it. Hence, it comes especially within the scope of the commandment Moses is enforcing.

Deuteronomy 6:25

It shall be our righteousness - i. e., God will esteem us as righteous and deal with us accordingly. From the very beginning made Moses the whole righteousness of the Law to depend entirely on a right state of the heart, in one word, upon faith.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Deuteronomy 6:20. And when thy son asketh thee, &c. — "Here," as Mr. Ainsworth justly remarks, "followeth a brief catechism, containing the grounds of religion."

What mean the testimonies, &c. — The Hebrew language has no word to express to mean or signify, and therefore uses simply the substantive verb what is, i. e., what mean or signify, &c. The seven thin ears ARE, i. e., signify, seven years of famine. This form of speech frequently occurs.