Mark 7:10

10 For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die';

Mark 7:10 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 7:10

For Moses said
That is, God by Moses; for the following precept was spoken by God, and written by him on one of the tables of stone, and delivered into the hands of Moses, to be given to the children of Israel:

honour thy father and thy mother,
( Exodus 20:12 ) , the sanction of which law is,

and whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death,
( Exodus 21:17 ) . As the former of these commands is to be understood, not only of honouring parents in thought, word, and deed, but also of providing for them, when in want and distress, through poverty and old age; so the latter is to be interpreted, not merely of wishing or imprecating the most dreadful things upon parents, which some may not be guilty of, and yet transgress this command; but likewise of every slight put upon them, and neglect of them, when in necessitous circumstances: and both these laws were broken by the Jews, through their tradition hereafter mentioned; (See Gill on Matthew 15:4).

Mark 7:10 In-Context

8 You leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men."
9 And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God, in order to keep your tradition!
10 For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die';
11 but you say, 'If a man tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is Corban' (that is, given to God) --
12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother,
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.