“Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This verse isn't just about not saying mean things; it elevates the act of cursing parents to the highest level of offense, placing it alongside blaspheming God. It reveals how profoundly the family unit was seen as a reflection of God's own order, making disrespect towards parents a direct assault on the divine structure itself.
“Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This section of the Law lays out severe penalties for actions that disrupt the foundational order of society and family. Immediately following laws about physical harm and slavery, it addresses the gravity of verbally attacking one's parents, equating a curse upon them with the most serious offenses punishable by death. The text emphasizes that direct defiance and disrespect towards the authority God established within the home were considered deeply heinous crimes.
In a world where words often feel cheap, this verse carries an astonishing weight. It demands we consider the profound power of our speech, especially when directed at those who gave us life.
The Power of Cursing
This commandment is stark and severe: "Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death." This isn't just about a fleeting insult; the original Hebrew word here signifies a deep, intentional malediction, a wishing of ruin or harm upon a parent. It's a sin that strikes at the very foundation of family and society, a direct rebellion against the natural order God established.
A Sin of the Tongue
Interestingly, this is listed as one of the few capital offenses specifically for sins of the tongue, alongside blasphemy against God. This highlights how God views the misuse of our speech. It’s not merely a thought, but an action, with real consequences. Cursing a parent wasn't seen as just a personal offense, but an affront to the authority and sanctity God intended within the family structure.
Why such an extreme penalty for cursing parents? This law points to a deeper truth about the sacredness of life and the foundational role parents play in God's design.
The Divine Mandate to Honor
Honoring parents is a cornerstone of God's covenant law. It's not just about respect; it's about acknowledging the life and nurture they have provided, reflecting God’s own provision. This commandment is directly linked to the Fifth Commandment: "Honor your father and your mother." Cursing them is the absolute antithesis of this – it’s dishonoring the very people God used to bring you into existence and raise you.
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Reflecting God's Authority
Parents, in a human sense, are representatives of God's authority and life-giving power. To curse them is to rebel against this divinely ordained structure. While the penalty of death was specific to the Old Covenant legal system, the principle remains: deep disrespect and contempt for parents is a serious matter that undermines the family unit and, by extension, the community. It's a rejection of the order God established for our well-being.
Understand the original words
qalal · Hebrew Verb
To treat with contempt, to vilify, or to invoke divine judgment against someone. In the context of parents, it signifies a rejection of the God-ordained authority structure established in the Fifth Commandment.
This passage also prescribes death for cursing one's father or mother, reinforcing the severe gravity of this offense in God's eyes.
Proverbs 20:20This proverb directly links cursing one's parents to a curse and utter darkness, echoing the penalty in Exodus and highlighting the destructive nature of such disrespect.
Matthew 15:4Jesus quotes from this very passage (though referencing the related command to 'honor' parents from Deuteronomy) to rebuke the Pharisees for their traditions that allowed bypassing this commandment, showing its enduring importance.
Ephesians 6:2This New Testament command to 'honor your father and mother' provides the positive counterpart to the prohibition in Exodus, emphasizing the foundational importance of familial respect.
gillExodus 21:17: "And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death."
And he that curseth his father, or his mother,.... Though he does not smite them with his hand, or with any instrument in it, yet if he smites them with his tongue, reviles and reproaches them, speaks evil of them, wishes dreadful imprecations upon them, curses them by the name explained, as the Targum of Jonathan calls it, by the name Jehovah, wishing the Lord would curse them, or that his curse might…
cambridgeExodus 21:17: "And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death."
17 . Cursing a parent. Comp. Deuteronomy 27:16 , Leviticus 20:9 (H): also Proverbs 20:20 ; Proverbs 30:17 . In the LXX. this verse stands more suitably immediately after v. 15. It is cited in Matthew 15:4 = Mark 7:10 . curseth ] a stronger word than the maketh light of, or dishonoureth , of Deuteronomy 27:16 .
This verse isn't just about not saying mean things; it elevates the act of cursing parents to the highest level of offense, placing it alongside blaspheming God. It reveals how profoundly the family unit was seen as a reflection of God's own order, making disrespect towards parents a direct assault on the divine structure itself.
This section of the Law lays out severe penalties for actions that disrupt the foundational order of society and family. Immediately following laws about physical harm and slavery, it addresses the gravity of verbally attacking one's parents, equating a curse upon them with the most serious offenses punishable by death. The text emphasizes that direct defiance and disrespect towards the authority God established within the home were considered deeply heinous crimes.
This section of the Law lays out severe penalties for actions that disrupt the foundational order of society and family. Immediately following laws about physical harm and slavery, it addresses the gravity of verbally attacking one's parents, equating a curse upon them with the most serious offenses punishable by death. The text emphasizes that direct defiance and disrespect towards the authority God established within the home were considered deeply heinous crimes.
"“Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death." — This verse isn't just about not saying mean things; it elevates the act of cursing parents to the highest level of offense, placing it alongside blaspheming God. It reveals how profoundly the family…
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Last reviewed October 2026