“Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”
My Notes
What Does Deuteronomy 5:16 Mean?
The fifth commandment — the first with a promise attached — is restated by Moses with an addition that Exodus 20:12 didn't include: that it may go well with thee. Not just long life. Well life. The honoring of parents is connected to the quality of the life you live.
"Honour thy father and thy mother" — the word "honour" (kāḇēd) means to give weight to, to treat as heavy, to regard as significant. The opposite of honor isn't hatred. It's dismissal — treating parents as lightweight, as irrelevant, as people whose opinions and authority don't carry weight. The command is to give them gravity. To treat them as weighty. To act as if what they say and who they are matters.
"As the LORD thy God hath commanded thee" — the addition of this phrase reminds Israel that the command isn't Moses' idea. God commanded it. The authority behind the command is divine, not parental. You don't honor your parents because they earned it. You honor them because God commanded it. The command transcends the quality of the parenting. Even imperfect parents receive the honor because the command doesn't say "honor perfect parents." It says "honor thy father and thy mother."
"That thy days may be prolonged" — the first promise: length of life. The connection isn't magical. It's structural. A society that honors its parents maintains the bonds of family across generations. The knowledge, wisdom, and stability that the elderly carry are preserved when they're honored. The society that discards its parents discards its own foundation.
"And that it may go well with thee" — Moses' addition. Not just long life. Good life. Prosperous, stable, flourishing life. The honoring of parents produces a quality of existence that dishonoring can't. Because the person who learns to honor authority in the home learns to honor authority everywhere. And the person who can honor authority appropriately navigates life with a grace that the rebellious never find.
"In the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee" — the promise is tied to the land. Honor parents and the land produces. Dishonor parents and the land-life deteriorates. The promised land was given on conditions. And one of the conditions is the most basic social unit functioning properly: the family.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Do your parents carry 'weight' in your life — significance, gravity, influence — or have you moved past them?
- 2.How do you honor imperfect parents — give weight to their position without pretending the imperfection didn't happen?
- 3.How does the 'muscle of honor' — first developed toward parents — translate into your ability to honor authority in other areas?
- 4.What does 'that it may go well with thee' look like in practice — what specific flourishing follows from honoring your parents?
Devotional
The first commandment with a promise. Paul points that out in Ephesians 6:2 — this isn't just a duty. It has a payoff. Honor your parents and your life will be longer and better. Not because parents are perfect. Because the honoring produces something in you that nothing else can.
The word "honour" means to give weight. That's the diagnostic. Do your parents carry weight in your life? Not weight as in burden. Weight as in significance. Do their words matter to you? Does their experience inform your decisions? Do you treat them as people whose lives and perspectives have gravity? Or have you moved past them — filed them under "people who don't understand my life"?
The command doesn't say honor good parents. It says honor thy father and thy mother. The honoring isn't conditional on their performance. Some parents were terrible. Some were absent. Some did damage you're still recovering from. The command doesn't ask you to pretend the damage didn't happen. It asks you to give them the weight of their position — to recognize the role God placed them in, even when they filled it poorly. The honoring is ultimately toward the God who established the family structure, not toward the imperfect humans who occupied it.
That it may go well with thee. The promise is practical. The person who learns to honor authority in the home carries that capacity into every other arena. They honor bosses. They honor institutions. They honor God. The muscle of honor, first developed at the family dinner table, produces a quality of life that the perpetually dishonoring never achieve. The rebellious might feel free. But they rarely flourish. The honoring is the path to the going-well.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount,.... The above ten words or commands, which were spoken…
Compare Exo. 20 and notes. Moses here adopts the Ten Words as a ground from which he may proceed to reprove, warn, and…
Here is the repetition of the ten commandments, in which observe, 1. Though they had been spoken before, and written,…
The Fifth Commandment as in Exo 20:12, with however two additions:
as Jehovah thy God commanded thee See on Deu 5:5.
and…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture