Bible Strands
Leviticus 19:3
Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must keep My Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God addresses the whole congregation of Israel at Sinai (v. 2), within the Holiness Code (Lev 17–26), immediately after the call to holiness and before the prohibition on idols.
The words — תִּירָ֔אוּ (ti.Ra.'u, "you will fear") is the verb for the parent command, not the softer כָּבֵד ("honor") of the Decalogue; it is the same root used for the fear of God. The plural שַׁבְּתֹתַ֖י (sha.be.to.Ta/i, "my sabbaths") widens the scope beyond a single weekly day.
The thread — Exodus 20:12 pairs the parent command with a land-blessing; Exodus 20:8 gives the Sabbath command in singular. Ephesians 6:1 carries the parent duty into the New Testament without the Sabbath pairing.
Why it lands — Two obligations that look unrelated (family and calendar) are bound by the same first-person claim "I am the LORD your God," and the verb "fear" rather than "honor" makes the demand a matter of awe, not courtesy.
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
Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.
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.
- Exodus 20:8 Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
- Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
- 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 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.
- Ezekiel 22:7 Father and mother are treated with contempt. Within your walls the foreign resident is exploited, the fatherless and the widow are oppressed.
- Exodus 21:15 Whoever strikes his father or mother must surely be put to death.
- Exodus 21:17 Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death.
- Leviticus 11:44 For I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any creature that crawls along the ground.
- Proverbs 23:22 Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.