New International Version
Deuteronomy 21:18
18If 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,
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:
- 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,
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Suppose a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or mother, even though they discipline him.
Context of Deuteronomy 21:18
16when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son of the wife he does not love. 17He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father’s strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him. 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, 19his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. 20They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.”
Read all of Deuteronomy 21Deuteronomy 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 28:24Whoever robs their father or mother and says, “It’s not wrong,” is partner to one who destroys.
- Proverbs 30:11“There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers;
- Isaiah 1:2Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth! For the Lord has spoken: “I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me.
- Deuteronomy 27:16“Cursed is anyone who dishonors their father or mother.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
- Exodus 20:12“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
- Exodus 21:15“Anyone who attacks their father or mother is to be put to death.
- Leviticus 19:3“ ‘Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.
- Leviticus 21:9“ ‘If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she must be burned in the fire.
- Proverbs 15:5A fool spurns a parent’s discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.
- Proverbs 20:20If someone curses their father or mother, their lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness.
- Ezekiel 22:7In you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have oppressed the foreigner and mistreated the fatherless and the widow.
- Deuteronomy 8:5Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.
- 2 Samuel 7:14I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands.
- Proverbs 13:24Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.
- Proverbs 19:18Discipline your children, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to their death.
- Proverbs 22:15Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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