Deuteronomy 5:16

Summary

Deuteronomy 5:16 commands the honoring of one's father and mother, framing this as a commandment given by Yehovah. The verse links this action to two purposes: the lengthening of one's days and general wellbeing in the land that Yehovah is giving.

Key words

• ka.Bed ("honor", H3513G) — piel imperative, giving the verse its command form; the piel stem intensifies the action beyond a simple "hold in esteem."
• tzi.ve.kha ("he has commanded you", H6680 + H9031) — piel perfect, marking the command to honor parents as something already established by Yehovah, not a new instruction.
• ya.'a.ri.Khun ("they may be long", H0748) — hiphil jussive with paragogic nun; the hiphil stem is causative ("cause to be long"), and the jussive expresses a wished-for or intended result rather than a flat future.
• Yi.tav ("it may go well", H3190) — qal jussive, parallel in function to the previous jussive, expressing the second intended outcome.
• no.Ten ("[is] about to give", H5414G) — qal participle, describing Yehovah's giving of the land as an ongoing or imminent action rather than a completed past event.

What the text says

The sentence opens with the imperative ka.Bed ("honor", H3513G) followed by two direct objects marked by 'et- (H0853, untranslated): 'a.Vi.kha ("your father", H0001G + H9021) and 'i.Me.kha ("your mother", H0517 + H9021), joined by ve. ("and", H9002). The comparative clause ka.'a.Sher tzi.ve.kha Yah.weh 'e.lo.Hei.kha ("as Yehovah your God has commanded you") uses the perfect verb tzi.ve.kha (H6680), indicating that this command was already given, situating the instruction to honor parents within a prior divine directive.

The purpose clauses that follow are introduced twice by le.Ma.'an ("so that", H4616), each governing a jussive verb form. The first, ya.'a.ri.Khun yaMeikha ("that your days may be long"), uses the hiphil stem of H0748, which is causative in force — the verb itself implies a causing-to-be-long rather than mere duration, and the paragogic nun adds emphasis to the verb form. The second, ve.le.Ma.'an Yi.tav la.kh ("and so that it may go well for you"), uses the qal jussive of H3190, a simpler, non-causative form describing a resulting state of wellbeing.

The final clause identifies the setting: 'al ha.'a.da.Mah 'a.Sher Yah.weh 'e.lo.Hei.kha no.Ten la.kh ("upon the land which Yehovah your God is giving to you"). The verb no.Ten (H5414G) is a participle, grammatically presenting the giving as an ongoing or continuous action attributed to Yehovah, rather than a completed past event.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the two Hebrew purpose clauses in reverse order compared to the Hebrew text: it places "ἵνα εὖ σοι γένηται" (so that it may go well with you) before "ἵνα μακροχρόνιοι ἦτε" (so that you may be long-lived), whereas the Hebrew places le.Ma.'an ya.'a.ri.Khun yaMeikha (long days) first and le.Ma.'an Yi.tav (wellbeing) second. The Vulgate follows the Hebrew order, placing "ut longo vivas tempore" (long life) before "et bene sit tibi" (wellbeing).