English Standard Version
Exodus 12:26
26And when your children say to you, 'What do you mean by this service?'
Exodus 12:26 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
- New International Version (NIV)And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’
- New King James Version (NKJV)And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then your children will ask, ‘What does this ceremony mean?’
Context of Exodus 12:26
24You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. 25And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, 'What do you mean by this service?' 27you shall say, 'It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.'" And the people bowed their heads and worshiped. 28Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
Read all of Exodus 12Exodus 12:26 word by word
וְהָיָ֕ה כִּֽי־יֹאמְר֥וּ אֲלֵיכֶ֖ם בְּנֵיכֶ֑ם מָ֛ה הָעֲבֹדָ֥ה הַזֹּ֖את לָכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 12:26
- Exodus 13:8You shall tell your son on that day, 'It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.'
- Deuteronomy 6:7You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
- Deuteronomy 11:19You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
- Deuteronomy 32:7Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.
- Joshua 4:6that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, 'What do those stones mean to you?'
- Psalms 78:3things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us.
- Psalms 145:4One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.
- Isaiah 38:19The living, the living, he thanks you, as I do this day; the father makes known to the children your faithfulness.
- Ephesians 6:4Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Commentaries on Exodus 12:26
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 26What mean ye by this service? - The establishment of this service annually was a very wise provision to keep up in remembrance this wonderful deliverance. From the remotest antiquity the institution of feasts, games, etc., has been used to keep up the memory of past grand events. Hence God instituted the Sabbath, to keep up the remembrance of the creation; and the passover to keep up the remembrance of the deliverance from Egypt. All the other feasts were…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-28Verses 21-28 That night, when the first-born were to be destroyed, no Israelite must stir out of doors till called to march out of Egypt. Their safety was owing to the blood of sprinkling. If they put themselves from under the protection of that, it was at their peril. They must stay within, to wait for the salvation of the Lord; it is good to do so. In after-times they should carefully teach their children the meaning of this service. It is good for…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 26-27In the future, the Passover celebration would be a memorial reminding future generations of Israelites of God’s grace in providing them a way of escape from death. For more than 3,000 years the Jewish people have celebrated this important event in their history.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2626. when your children shall say, ... What mean ye by this service--Independently of some observances which were not afterwards repeated, the usages practised at this yearly commemorative feast were so peculiar that the curiosity of the young would be stimulated, and thus parents had an excellent opportunity, which they were enjoined to embrace, for instructing each rising generation in the origin and leading facts of the national faith.Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 12:26
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 12
- 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
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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