Open Bible Data Home About News OET Key
OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB MSB BLB AICNT OEB WEBBE WMBB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE Moff JPS Wymth ASV DRA YLT Drby RV SLT Wbstr KJB-1769 KJB-1611 Bshps Gnva Cvdl TNT Wycl SR-GNT UHB BrLXX BrTr Related Topics Parallel Interlinear Reference Dictionary Search
ParallelVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Mat Intro C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28
Mat 15 V1 V2 V3 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V29 V30 V31 V32 V33 V34 V35 V36 V37 V38 V39
Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV) [ref]“God told us to honour our father and our mother, and also that anyone who speaks evil about their father or mother deserves the death penalty.
OET-LV For/Because the god commanded saying:
Be_honouring the father and the mother, and:
The one speaking_evil of_father or mother, let_be_dying in_death.
![]()
SR-GNT Ὁ γὰρ ˚Θεὸς ἐνετείλατο λέγων, ‘Τίμα τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα’, καί, ‘Ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα, θανάτῳ τελευτάτω.’ ‡
(Ho gar ˚Theos eneteilato legōn, ‘Tima ton patera kai taʸn maʸtera’, kai, ‘Ho kakologōn patera aʸ maʸtera, thanatōi teleutatō.’)
Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
ULT For God commanded, saying[fn], ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘The one speaking evil of his father or mother, let him end in death.’
Instead of commanded, saying, some manuscripts read said.
UST For example, God gave this law: ‘Treat your parents respectfully.’ He also gave this law: ‘Execute anyone who insults his or her parents.’
BSB For God said, ‘Honor [your] father and mother’[fn] and ‘Anyone who curses [his] father or mother must be put to death.’[fn]
MSB For God commanded, saying,[fn] ‘Honor [your] father and mother’[fn] and ‘Anyone who curses [his] father or mother must be put to death.’[fn]
BLB For God commanded, 'Honor the Father and mother' and, 'The one speaking evil of father or mother, in death must end!'
AICNT For God {said},[fn] ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.’[fn]
15:4, said: Later manuscripts read “commanded.”
15:4, Exodus 20:12, Leviticus 20:9, Deuteronomy 5:16, Exodus 21:17
OEB For God said – “Honour your father and mother,” and “Anyone who abuses his father or mother must suffer death,”
WEBBE For God commanded, ‘Honour your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’
WMBB (Same as above)
NET For God said, ‘ Honor your father and mother’ and ‘ Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’
LSV For God commanded, saying, Honor your father and mother; and, He who is speaking evil of father or mother—let him die the death;
FBV “For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’[fn] and ‘Those who curse their father or mother should be put to death.’[fn]
15:4 Quoting Exodus 20:12 or Deuteronomy 5:16.
15:4 Quoting Exodus 21:17 or Leviticus 20:9.
TCNT For God [fn]commanded, ‘Honor yoʋr father and yoʋr mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of his father or mother must surely die.’
15:4 commanded ¦ said CT
T4T God gave these two commands: ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘People who speak evil about their father or mother must be executed.’
LEB For God said, ‘Honor your[fn] father and your[fn] mother,’[fn] and ‘The one who speaks evil of father or mother ⌊must certainly die⌋[fn].’[fn]
15:4 *Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
15:4 A quotation from Exod 20:12|link-href="None";Deut 5:16|link-href="None"
15:4 Literally “let him die the death”
15:4 A quotation from Exod 21:17|link-href="None";Lev 20:9|link-href="None"
BBE For God said, Give honour to your father and mother: and, He who says evil of father or mother will be put to death.
Moff God enjoined, Honour your father and mother, and, He who curses his father or mother is to suffer death.
Wymth For God said, `Honour thy father and thy mother'; and `Let him who reviles father or mother be certainly put to death';
ASV For God said, Honor thy father and thy mother: and, He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death.
DRA Honour thy father and mother: And: He that shall curse father or mother, let him die the death.
YLT for God did command, saying, Honour thy father and mother; and, He who is speaking evil of father or mother — let him die the death;
Drby For [fn]God commanded saying, Honour father and mother; and, He that speaks ill of father or mother, let him die the death.
15.4 Elohim
RV For God said, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death.
(For God said, Honour thy/your father and thy/your mother: and, He that speaketh/speaks evil of father or mother, let him die the death. )
SLT For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, he calumniating father or mother, in death let him die.
Wbstr For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
KJB-1769 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
( For God commanded, saying, Honour thy/your father and mother: and, He that curseth/curses father or mother, let him die the death. )
KJB-1611 For God commaunded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: And hee that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)
Bshps For God comaunded, saying: honour father and mother, and he that curseth father or mother, let hym dye the death.
(For God commanded, saying: honour father and mother, and he that curseth/curses father or mother, let him dye the death.)
Gnva For God hath commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and he that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
(For God hath/has commanded, saying, Honour thy/your father and mother: and he that curseth/curses father or mother, let him die the death. )
Cvdl For God comaunded, sayege: Honoure father & mother: & he yt curseth father & mother, shal dye the death.
(For God commanded, saying: Honour father and mother: and he it curseth/curses father and mother, shall dye the death.)
TNT For God commaunded sayinge: honoure thy father and mother and he that cursseth father or mother shall suffer deeth.
(For God commanded saying: honour thy/your father and mother and he that curseth/curses father or mother shall suffer death. )
Wycl For God seide, Honoure thi fadir and thi modir, and he that cursith fadir or modir, die bi deeth.
(For God said, Honour thy/your father and thy/your mother, and he that curseth/curses father or mother, die by death.)
Luth GOtt hat geboten: Du sollst Vater und Mutter ehren; wer aber Vater und Mutter flucht, der soll des Todes sterben.
(God has offered: You(sg) should father and mother honour(v); who but father and mother escape(v), the/of_the should the death die.)
ClVg Honora patrem, et matrem: et, Qui maledixerit patri, vel matri, morte moriatur.[fn]
(Honour father, and mother: and, Who cursed to_his_father, or mother, death die. )
15.4 Honora patrem. HIER. Honor in Scripturis, non tantum in salutationibus et officiis deferendis, quantum, etc., usque ad ut filii honorarent etiam in vitæ necessariis ministrandis parentes suos.
15.4 Honour father. HIER. Honor in/into/on Scripturis, not/no only in/into/on salutationibus and offices deferendis, quantum, etc., until to as children to_honournt also in/into/on of_life necessariis ministrandis parents his_own.
UGNT ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς ἐνετείλατο λέγων, τίμα τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα, καί, ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα, θανάτῳ τελευτάτω.
(ho gar Theos eneteilato legōn, tima ton patera kai taʸn maʸtera, kai, ho kakologōn patera aʸ maʸtera, thanatōi teleutatō.)
SBL-GNT ὁ γὰρ θεὸς ⸀εἶπεν· Τίμα τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα, καί· Ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα θανάτῳ τελευτάτω·
(ho gar theos ⸀eipen; Tima ton patera kai taʸn maʸtera, kai; Ho kakologōn patera aʸ maʸtera thanatōi teleutatō;)
RP-GNT Ὁ γὰρ θεὸς ἐνετείλατο, λέγων, Τίμα τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα· καί, Ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα θανάτῳ τελευτάτω·
(Ho gar theos eneteilato, legōn, Tima ton patera kai taʸn maʸtera; kai, Ho kakologōn patera aʸ maʸtera thanatōi teleutatō;)
TC-GNT Ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς [fn]ἐνετείλατο, λέγων, Τίμα τὸν [fn]πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα· καί, Ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα θανάτῳ τελευτάτω·
(Ho gar Theos eneteilato, legōn, Tima ton patera kai taʸn maʸtera; kai, Ho kakologōn patera aʸ maʸtera thanatōi teleutatō; )
Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).
15:1-20 Jesus indicted the Pharisees for disobeying God’s law in their zeal to preserve traditions.
Over the years, Jewish religious leaders added many oral rules to God’s written laws. The Pharisees and teachers of the law considered these oral rules (also called traditions) to be as important as God’s written laws. One of their rules was that a person must wash his hands a certain way before he ate food. If a Jew did not follow this rule before he ate, they considered him ceremonially “unclean.” This meant that they did not allow him to worship God in public for a certain amount of time. Jesus made it clear that there was something far more important than how a person washed his hands. The important thing was the condition of his heart.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
Jesus Challenges the Pharisees’ Traditions (GW)
Jesus Teaches about Inner Purity/Cleanliness
There are parallel passages for this section in Mark 7:1–23 and Luke 11:37–39.
For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’
For example God said, ‘You(sing) must honor your father and mother,’
God said, ‘Respect(plural) your father and mother.’
For: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as For introduces an explanation of 15:3.
Here are some other ways to introduce this explanation:
For example (GW)
For instance (NLT)
In some languages, it may be natural to give an example without any conjunction to introduce it.
God said: There is a textual issue here:
Some Greek manuscripts have God said. For example:
God said (BSB) (BSB, NIV, GNT, NET, NRSV, GW, NLT, JBP, NCV, NASB, REB, NJB)
Some Greek manuscripts have God commanded. For example:
God commanded (RSV) (ESV, KJV, RSV, CEV)
In this case, it is recommended that you follow the option that is most natural in your language.
Honor your father and mother: This is the fifth of the ten commandments (Exodus 20:12). The Greek word that the BSB translates as Honor also means “respect.” To honor/respect your parents meant that you should help them with their needs.
Here are some other ways to translate this command:
Respect your father and your mother (GNT)
You(sing) must honor your father and your mother.
In Greek, this command is singular. But it is a command to each person. In some languages, it may be more natural to use a plural or another form. For example:
You(plur) must honor your father and your mother.
A person must respect his father and his mother.
and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
and ‘Anyone who speaks evil about his father or mother must be killed.’
He also said, ‘People/they must kill a person who insults his father or mother.’
Anyone who curses his father or mother: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as curses means “speaks evil of,” “insults,” or “reviles.”
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
Whoever reviles father or mother (ESV)
He who speaks evil of father or mother (RSV)
Whoever insults his father or mother (NET)
Anyone who says cruel things to his father or mother (NCV)
must be put to death: This phrase indicates that the person must be killed. It means that other Jews must kill the person who speaks evil of his parents.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
must surely die (ESV)
must be killed
people must kill him
In some languages, it may be natural to change the order of the clauses in this part of the verse. For example:
They must kill him/the one who insults his father or mother
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
γὰρ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Γάρ Θεός ἐνετείλατο λέγων Τίμα τόν πατέρα καί τήν μητέρα καί Ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἤ μητέρα θανάτῳ τελευτάτω)
Here, the word For introduces an explanation of how the scribes and Pharisees transgress God’s law. This explanation continues in [14:5–6](../14/05.md). If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces an explanation, or you could leave For untranslated. Alternate translation: [Here is how you do that:] or [What I mean is that]
Note 2 topic: translate-textvariants
ὁ & Θεὸς ἐνετείλατο λέγων
¬the & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Γάρ Θεός ἐνετείλατο λέγων Τίμα τόν πατέρα καί τήν μητέρα καί Ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἤ μητέρα θανάτῳ τελευτάτω)
Many ancient manuscripts read God commanded, saying. The ULT follows that reading. Other ancient manuscripts read “God said.” If a translation of the Bible exists in your region, you may wish to use the reading that it uses. If a translation of the Bible does not exist in your region, you may wish to use the reading of the ULT.
Note 3 topic: writing-quotations
λέγων
saying
Here Jesus quotes from the Old Testament scriptures. The first quotation could be from [Exodus 20:12](../exo/20/12.md) or [Deuteronomy 5:16](../deu/05/16.md). The second quotation could be from [Exodus 21:17](../exo/21/17.md) or [Leviticus 20:9](../lev/20/09.md). If it would be helpful to your readers, you could use a word or phrase that introduces a quotation from an important text, and you could include this information in a footnote. Alternate translation: [saying in the law he gave to Moses] or [speaking through Moses]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes
λέγων, τίμα τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα καί ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα, θανάτῳ τελευτάτω
saying (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Γάρ Θεός ἐνετείλατο λέγων Τίμα τόν πατέρα καί τήν μητέρα καί Ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἤ μητέρα θανάτῳ τελευτάτω)
If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there are not quotations within a quotation. Alternate translation: [saying that all people should honor their father and their mother and that everyone speaking evil of his father or mother should end in death]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / yousingular
τίμα τὸν & τὴν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Γάρ Θεός ἐνετείλατο λέγων Τίμα τόν πατέρα καί τήν μητέρα καί Ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἤ μητέρα θανάτῳ τελευτάτω)
Since God is addressing each specific person who is part of God’s people, the command the words your and your are singular.
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / imperative3p
ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα, θανάτῳ τελευτάτω
¬the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Γάρ Θεός ἐνετείλατο λέγων Τίμα τόν πατέρα καί τήν μητέρα καί Ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἤ μητέρα θανάτῳ τελευτάτω)
If your language does not use the third-person imperative in this way, you could state this in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [The one speaking evil of his father or mother, he should end in death] or [Anyone who speaks evil of his father or mother must end in death]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
ὁ κακολογῶν
¬the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Γάρ Θεός ἐνετείλατο λέγων Τίμα τόν πατέρα καί τήν μητέρα καί Ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἤ μητέρα θανάτῳ τελευτάτω)
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of evil, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [The one saying evil things about]
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
θανάτῳ τελευτάτω
˱in˲_death ˓let_be˒_dying
Here, the phrase end in death means that the person is killed or executed. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [let him be put to death] or [let him be killed]
Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations
τελευτάτω
˓let_be˒_dying
Although the term him is masculine, Jesus is using the word in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a phrase that makes this clear. Alternate translation: [let that person end]