Bible Strands
Exodus 22:28
You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Yahweh addresses Israel through Moses during the formulation of the covenant law code. This command immediately follows regulations concerning a poor debtor's cloak and precedes instructions on grain offerings and firstborn sons.
The words — The Hebrew verb תְקַלֵּ֑ל (te.kal.lal) means "you shall curse," and תָאֹֽר (ta.or) carries the identical sense of reviling or speaking evil. Both verbs directly govern the objects אֱלֹהִ֖ים ('E.lo.him, God) and נָשִׂ֥יא (na.si, leader/ruler).
The thread — The prohibition against reviling authority echoes in Ecclesiastes 10:20 regarding kings and the rich, and is explicitly quoted in Acts 23:5 concerning the high priest. Jude 1:8 applies the same principle to those who slander glorious beings and reject authority.
Why it lands — The text mandates absolute restraint against spoken or mental condemnation of both the divine and human governing structures. It requires the reader to separate personal grievance from public or private speech, treating authority as a boundary that must not be verbally violated.
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
King James Version
Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.
Cross-references
- Ecclesiastes 10:20 Do not curse the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich even in your bedroom, for a bird of the air may carry your words, and a winged creature may report your speech.
- Acts 23:5 “Brothers,” Paul replied, “I was not aware that he was the high priest, for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”
- Jude 1:8 Yet in the same way these dreamers defile their bodies, reject authority, and slander glorious beings.
- Exodus 21:17 Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death.
- Exodus 22:8 If the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges to determine whether he has taken his neighbor’s property.
- 1 Samuel 24:6 So he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed. May I never lift my hand against him, since he is the LORD’s anointed.”
- 1 Samuel 24:10 Behold, this day you have seen with your own eyes that the LORD delivered you into my hand in the cave. I was told to kill you, but I spared you and said, ‘I will not lift my hand against my lord, since he is the LORD’s anointed.’
- 1 Samuel 26:9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can extend a hand against the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless?”
- Psalms 32:6 Therefore let all the godly pray to You while You may be found. Surely when great waters rise, they will not come near.
- Psalms 138:1 Of David. I give You thanks with all my heart; before the gods I sing Your praises.