Deuteronomy 21:18

Deuteronomy 21:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:
• New International Version (NIV)If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him,
• English Standard Version (ESV)"If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them,
• New King James Version (NKJV)“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them,

Context of Deuteronomy 21:18

16then on the day when he wills his possessions to his sons, he cannot treat the son of his loved wife as firstborn in place of the son of the unloved wife—the [actual] firstborn. 17Instead he shall acknowledge the son of the unloved as the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he was the beginning of his strength (generative power); to him belongs the right of the firstborn. “If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or of his mother, and when they reprimand and discipline him, he will not listen to them, 19then his father and mother shall take hold of him, and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gateway of his hometown. 20They shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey us, he is a glutton and a drunkard.’

Deuteronomy 21:18 word by word

כִּֽי־יִהְיֶ֣ה לְאִ֗ישׁ בֵּ֚ן סוֹרֵ֣ר וּמוֹרֶ֔ה אֵינֶ֣נּוּ שֹׁמֵ֔עַ בְּק֥וֹל אָבִ֖יו וּבְק֣וֹל אִמּ֑וֹ וְיסְּר֣וּ אֹת֔וֹ וְלֹ֥א יִשְׁמַ֖ע אֲלֵיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• If a manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• have a stubbornסָרַרsârar · to rebelH5637
• and rebelliousמָרָהmârâh · to rebelH4784
• sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• which will not obeyשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: obeyH8085
• the voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voiceH6963
• of his fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
• of his motherאֵם'êm · motherH517
• when they have chastenedיָסַרyâsar · to disciplineH3256
• him, will not hearkenשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 21:18

• Proverbs 28:24He who robs his father or his mother And says, “This is no sin,” Is [not only a thief but also] the companion of a man who destroys.
• Proverbs 30:11There is a generation (class of people) that curses its father And does not bless its mother.
• Isaiah 1:2Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth; For the Lord has spoken: “I have reared and brought up sons, But they have rebelled against Me and have broken away.
• Deuteronomy 27:16‘Cursed is he who dishonors (treats with contempt) his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
• Exodus 20:12“Honor (respect, obey, care for) your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged in the land the Lord your God gives you.
• Exodus 21:15“Whoever strikes his father or his mother must be put to death.
• Leviticus 19:3Each of you shall respect his mother and his father, and you shall keep My Sabbaths; I am the Lord your God.
• Leviticus 21:9The daughter of any priest who profanes herself by prostitution profanes her father; she shall be burned in fire.
• Proverbs 15:5A [flippant, arrogant] fool rejects his father’s instruction and correction, But he who [is willing to learn and] regards and keeps in mind a reprimand acquires good sense.
• Proverbs 20:20Whoever curses his father or his mother, His lamp [of life] will be extinguished in time of darkness.
• Ezekiel 22:7In you they have treated father and mother lightly. They have oppressed the stranger among you; and in your presence they have wronged the fatherless and the widow.
• Deuteronomy 8:5Therefore, know in your heart (be fully cognizant) that the Lord your God disciplines and instructs you just as a man disciplines and instructs his son.
• 2 Samuel 7:14I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. When he commits iniquity (wrongdoing), I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the strokes of the sons of man.
• Proverbs 13:24He who withholds the rod [of discipline] hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines and trains him diligently and appropriately [with wisdom and love].
• Proverbs 19:18Discipline and teach your son while there is hope, And do not [indulge your anger or resentment by imposing inappropriate punishment nor] desire his destruction.
• Proverbs 22:15Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline [correction administered with godly wisdom and lovingkindness] will remove it far from him.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 21:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18The stubborn, rebellious, gluttonous, and drunken son is to be stoned to death - This law, severe as it may seem, must have acted as a powerful preventive of crime. If such a law were in force now, and duly executed, how many deaths of disobedient and profligate children would there be in all corners of the land!Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18-21Verses 18-21 The formal accusation of parents against a child was to be received without inquiry, as being its own proof. Thus the just authority of the parents is recognized and effectually upheld (compare Exodus 20:12; Exodus 21:15, Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9); but the extreme and irresponsible power of life and death, conceded by the law of Rome and other pagan nations, is withheld from the Israelite father. In this, as in the last law, provision is…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-21Verses 18-21 Observe how the criminal is here described. He is a stubborn and rebellious son. No child was to fare the worse for weakness of capacity, slowness, or dulness, but for wilfulness and obstinacy. Nothing draws men into all manner of wickedness, and hardens them in it more certainly and fatally, than drunkenness. When men take to drinking, they forget the law of honouring parents. His own father and mother must complain of him to the elders of…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 18-2118-21. If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son--A severe law was enacted in this case. But the consent of both parents was required as a prevention of any abuse of it; for it was reasonable to suppose that they would not both agree to a criminal information against their son except from absolute necessity, arising from his inveterate and hopeless wickedness; and, in that view, the law was wise and salutary, as such a person would be a pest and…Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 21:18

• Children
• Church
• Fear of God
• Government
• Punishment
• Self-Will

In the dictionaries

• Controversy
• Crucifixion
• Divers
• Rebellious
• Wrought
• Atonement, Day of
• Child; Children
• Crime; Crimes
• Criticism
• Exodus, the Book of

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings