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Sanctify yourselves, then, and be holy; for I, the Lord, your God,(A) am holy. Be careful, therefore, to observe my statutes. I, the Lord, make you holy.

Anyone who curses father or mother shall be put to death;[a](B) and having cursed father or mother, such a one will bear the bloodguilt.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 20:9 Curses father or mother…put to death: this is more than a simple expletive uttered in anger against one’s parents. See note on Ex 21:17.
  2. 20:9–21 Bloodguilt: these penalties, beginning with cursing one’s parents, reflect the concerns of a patriarchal society that the breakdown of one’s relations with one’s parents can lead to the breakdown of all other familial relationships, resulting in the breakdown of society.