Deuteronomy 21:18

If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and does not listen to them when disciplined,

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses the assembled Israelites on the plains of Moab, concluding the covenant stipulations before they cross the Jordan. The verse introduces a legal case regarding familial authority and disciplinary limits.

The words — סוֹרֵר (so.Rer) denotes one who turns away or is stubborn, while מוֹרֶה (mo.Reh) indicates active defiance or rebellion. Together they describe a son who consistently rejects parental correction.

The thread — The text grounds this case in the broader biblical mandate to honor and respect parents (Exodus 20:12; Leviticus 19:3). It also anticipates the prophetic warning that persistent rejection of divine and parental instruction invites severe judgment (Amos 4:11).

Why it lands — The passage requires readers to acknowledge that parental discipline is a recognized legal and moral boundary in Israel. It demands that communities treat persistent, unrepentant defiance of that boundary as a serious breach of covenant order.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

כִּֽי־ki-if יִהְיֶ֣הyih.Yehhe will belong לְאִ֗ישׁle./'Ishto/ anyone בֵּ֚ןbena son סוֹרֵ֣רso.Rerstubborn וּמוֹרֶ֔הu./mo.Rehand/ rebellious אֵינֶ֣נּוּ'ei.Ne./nunot/ he שֹׁמֵ֔עַsho.Me.a'[is] listening בְּק֥וֹלbe./Kolto/ [the] voice of אָבִ֖יו'a.Vi/vfather/ his וּבְק֣וֹלu./ve./Koland/ to/ [the] voice of אִמּ֑וֹ'i.M/omother/ his וְיסְּר֣וּve./yi.se.Ruand/ they will discipline אֹת֔וֹ'o.T/o<obj.>/ him וְלֹ֥אve./Lo'and/ not יִשְׁמַ֖עyish.Ma'he will listen אֲלֵיהֶֽם׃'a.lei./Hemto/ them

King James Version

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:

Cross-references

Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
Leviticus 19:3 Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must keep My Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.
Amos 4:11 “Some of you I overthrew as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.
Hebrews 12:9 Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live?
Proverbs 19:18 Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be party to his death.
Proverbs 20:20 Whoever curses his father or mother, his lamp will be extinguished in deepest darkness.
Proverbs 23:13 Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
Proverbs 29:17 Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will bring delight to your soul.
Proverbs 30:17 As for the eye that mocks a father and scorns obedience to a mother, may the ravens of the valley pluck it out and young vultures devour it.
Isaiah 1:2 Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.