Deuteronomy 6:20

In the future, when your son asks, “What is the meaning of the decrees and statutes and ordinances that the LORD our God has commanded you?”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites on the plains of Moab, instructing them to prepare for the conquest of Canaan by teaching the law to their descendants. The verse captures a moment of intergenerational instruction immediately preceding the nation’s entry into the Promised Land.

The words — The Hebrew term מָחָר (ma·char) literally means “tomorrow,” projecting the instruction into future generations. The phrase יִשְׁאָלְךָ בִנְךָ (yi·shā·lē·ḵā bin·ḵā) translates to “your child will ask you,” establishing the direct pedagogical dynamic.

The thread — This pattern of future inquiry appears in Exodus 12:26 regarding Passover, Exodus 13:14 regarding the Exodus, and Joshua 4:6 regarding the memorial stones. Each passage uses a child’s question to trigger a declaration of God’s past redemptive acts.

Why it lands — The text demands that believers actively prepare clear, historically grounded explanations of God’s commands for the next generation. It requires parents and teachers to anticipate questions and respond with factual accounts of divine intervention rather than abstract theology.

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 יִשְׁאָלְךָ֥yish.'a.le./Khahe will ask/ you בִנְךָ֛vin./Khachild/ your מָחָ֖רma.Chartomorrow לֵאמֹ֑רle./Mor<to>/ saying מָ֣הmahwhat?הָעֵדֹ֗תha./'e.Dot[are] the/ testimonies וְהַֽחֻקִּים֙ve./ha./chu.Kimand/ the/ statutes וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֔יםve./ha./mish.pa.Timand/ the/ judgments אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhich צִוָּ֛הtzi.Vahhe commanded יְהוָ֥הYah.wehYahweh אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ'e.lo.Hei./nuGod/ our אֶתְכֶֽם׃'et./Khem<obj.>/ you

King James Version

And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you?

Cross-references

Exodus 13:14 In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Exodus 12:26 When your children ask you, ‘What does this service mean to you?’
Joshua 4:6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’
Joshua 4:21 Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’
Deuteronomy 6:7 And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.