Deuteronomy 6:20

The NET Bible®

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

Parallel Translations

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?'

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?

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?

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?"

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?

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?'

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?

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?"

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

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?

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?'

JPS Old Testament (1917)
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?

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?

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?

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?

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?'

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?'

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?

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?’

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?'

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?

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
"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?'

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 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?'

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?'

Contextual Overview

¹⁷ Keep his commandments very carefully, as well as the stipulations and statutes he commanded you to observe. ¹⁸ Do whatever is proper and good before the Lord so that it may go well with you and that you may enter and occupy the good land that he promised your ancestors, ¹⁹ and that you may drive out all your enemies just as the Lord said. ²⁰ When your children ask you later on, "What are the stipulations, statutes, and ordinances that the Lord our God commanded you?" ²¹ you must say to them, "We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt in a powerful way. ²² And he brought signs and great, devastating wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on his whole family before our very eyes. ²³ He delivered us from there so that he could give us the land he had promised our ancestors. ²⁴ The Lord commanded us to obey all these statutes and to revere him so that it may always go well for us and he may preserve us, as he has to this day. ²⁵ We will be innocent if we carefully keep all these commandments before the Lord our God, just as he demands."

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
God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground."

Genesis 2:19
The Lord God formed out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

Genesis 6:8
But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord .

Genesis 6:11
The earth was ruined in the sight of God; the earth was filled with violence.

Genesis 6:12
God saw the earth, and indeed it was ruined, for all living creatures on the earth were sinful.

Genesis 6:16
Make a roof for the ark and finish it, leaving 18 inches from the top. Put a door in the side of the ark, and make lower, middle, and upper decks.

Genesis 6:20
Of the birds after their kinds, and of the cattle after their kinds, and of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you so you can keep them alive.

John 5:40
but you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life.

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.