3. Laws carrying the death penalty (20:9-16)

Those who curse their fathers or mothers are to be put to death. To curse means to pronounce an oath against a person, imploring the powers of nature to inflict on that person (in this case, a parent) the harm envisioned in the curse. Such a curse is the highest form of rebellion against one’s parents. The death penalty is also prescribed for breaking the laws against adultery (v.10), incest (vv.11-12), homosexuality (v.13), marrying both a woman and her daughter (v.14), and bestiality (vv.15-16).