What Does Exodus 20:12 Mean?
Two renderings of the same sentence, the verses it belongs to, and what the passage is doing — so you can decide what it means rather than take someone's word for it.
"Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." Exodus 20:12, King James Version
The same verse in modern English
"Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you." Exodus 20:12, Berean Standard Bible
What it sits inside
A verse quoted on its own is the commonest way one gets misread. Here it is with what comes immediately before and after, in the King James Version.
Exodus 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exodus 20:11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.
Exodus 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
A conversation built on it
Honouring a father who failed you sounds like calling the wound acceptable. It isn't. Joseph never pretended his brothers meant well — he simply refused to let them write the rest of his life. You can lay the anger down without ever agreeing it was fair. You were never fatherless.
Questions people ask
What does Exodus 20:12 mean?
In modern English (Berean Standard Bible) it reads: “Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” The King James rendering most people know is: “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”
What is the context of Exodus 20:12?
The verses immediately around it read: (Exodus 20:10) But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: (Exodus 20:11) For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:12) Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. (Exodus 20:13) Thou shalt not kill. (Exodus 20:14) Thou shalt not commit adultery.
How is Exodus 20:12 used in a conversation about this?
Honouring a father who failed you sounds like calling the wound acceptable. It isn't. Joseph never pretended his brothers meant well — he simply refused to let them write the rest of his life. You can lay the anger down without ever agreeing it was fair. You were never fatherless.
Reading it is one thing. Saying what it stirs up is another.
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