Leviticus 20:9

Family and Sexual Offenses

9 " 'If [there is] {anyone} who curses his father or his mother, he shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father and his mother--his blood [is] upon him.

Leviticus 20:9 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 20:9

For everyone that curseth his father or his mother
Here begins the account of the penalties annexed to the several laws in the preceding chapter; and that respecting the fear and honour of parents being the first, ( Leviticus 19:3 ) , is here begun with:

shall surely be put to death;
the Targum of Jonathan adds,

``by casting of stones,''

stoning being the punishment of such transgressors:

he hath cursed his father or his mother:
to do either is his sin, and a capital crime it is:

his blood [shall be] upon him:
he shall be guilty of death, be condemned unto it, and punished with it, namely, by stoning; for, as Jarchi observes, wherever it is, "his blood [shall be] on him", or "their blood shall be on them", it is to be understood of stoning.

Leviticus 20:9 In-Context

7 " 'And you shall consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy, because I [am] Yahweh your God.

8 And you shall keep my statutes, and you shall do them; I [am] Yahweh who consecrates you.

9 " 'If [there is] {anyone} who curses his father or his mother, he shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father and his mother--his blood [is] upon him.

10 " 'As for a man who commits adultery with a man's wife, who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, [both] the man who commits adultery and the woman who commits adultery shall surely be put to death.

11 As for a man who lies with his father's wife, he has exposed his father's nakedness; both of them shall be put to death--their blood [is] on them.

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "a man a man"