Amplified Bible
Matthew 15:4
4For 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.’
Matthew 15:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
- New International Version (NIV)For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’
- English Standard Version (ESV)For God commanded, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.'
- New King James Version (NKJV)For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’
Context of Matthew 15:4
2“Why do Your disciples violate the tradition (religious laws) handed down by the [Jewish] elders? For Your disciples do not [ceremonially] wash their hands before they eat.” 3He replied to them, “Why also do you violate the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition [handed down by the elders]? 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.’ 5But you say, ‘If anyone says to his father or mother, “Whatever [money or resource that] I have that would help you is [already dedicated and] given to God,” 6he is not to honor his father or his mother [by helping them with their need].’ So by this you have invalidated the word of God [depriving it of force and authority and making it of no effect] for the sake of your tradition [handed down by the elders].
Read all of Matthew 15Matthew 15:4 word by word
ὁ γὰρ θεὸς εἶπεν τίμα τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα, καὶ ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα θανάτῳ τελευτάτω.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Forγάρgar · forG1063
- Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- commandedἐντέλλωentellomai · to orderG1781
- sayingλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- Honourτιμάωtimaō · to honorG5091
- thyσύsu · youG4771
- fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- motherμήτηρmētēr · motherG3384
- He that cursethκακολογέωkakologeō · to curse/revileG2551
- orἤē · orG2228
- let him dieτελευτάωteleutaō · to deceaseG5053
- the deathθάνατοςthanatos · deathG2288
Cross-references for Matthew 15:4
- Matthew 4:10Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written and forever remains written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ ”
- Matthew 5:17“Do not think that I came to do away with or undo the Law [of Moses] or the [writings of the] Prophets; I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
- Isaiah 8:20[Direct those people] to the law and to the testimony! If their teachings are not in accord with this word, it is because they have no dawn.
- Romans 3:31Do we then nullify the Law by this faith [making the Law of no effect, overthrowing it]? Certainly not! On the contrary, we confirm and establish and uphold the Law [since it convicts us all of sin, pointing to the need for salvation].
- Matthew 19:19Honor your father and mother; and love your neighbor as yourself” [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].
- 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.
- Leviticus 19:3Each of you shall respect his mother and his father, and you shall keep My Sabbaths; I am the Lord your God.
- Deuteronomy 5:16‘Honor (respect, obey, care for) your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that your days [on the earth] may be prolonged and so that it may go well with you in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
- Proverbs 23:22Listen to your father, who sired you, And do not despise your mother when she is old.
- Ephesians 6:1Children, obey your parents in the Lord [that is, accept their guidance and discipline as His representatives], for this is right [for obedience teaches wisdom and self-discipline].
- Exodus 21:17“Whoever curses his father or his mother or treats them contemptuously must be put to death.
- Leviticus 20:9‘If anyone curses his father or mother, he shall most certainly be put to death; he has cursed his father or mother; his blood is on him [that is, he bears full responsibility for the consequences].
- Deuteronomy 21:18“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,
- Deuteronomy 27:16‘Cursed is he who dishonors (treats with contempt) his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
- Proverbs 20:20Whoever curses his father or his mother, His lamp [of life] will be extinguished in time of darkness.
- Proverbs 30:17The eye that mocks a father And scorns a mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young vultures will devour it.
Commentaries on Matthew 15:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Honor 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 see the note on Exodus 20:12.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-9Verses 1-9 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…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-20Jesus accused the Pharisees of disobeying God's law because of their focus on preserving traditions.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother--(De 5:16). and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death--(Ex 21:17).Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 15:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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