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20 Those who curse father or mother—
    their lamp will go out[a] in the dead of night.(A)
21 Possessions greedily guarded at the outset
    will not be blessed in the end.[b]
22 Do not say, “I will repay evil!”
    Wait for the Lord, who will help you.[c](B)

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Footnotes

  1. 20:20 Their lamp will go out: misfortune, even death, awaits them; cf. 13:9; Ex 21:17.
  2. 20:21 By definition, an inheritance is not gained by one’s own efforts but is received as a gift. If, when one first receives the inheritance, one drives everyone away, one treats it as if one acquired it by one’s own efforts. In an agricultural society, an inheritance would often be a field that would require God’s blessing to be fertile.
  3. 20:22 Appointing oneself an agent of divine retribution is dangerous. Better to wait for God to effect justice. Cf. 24:17–18.

20 If someone curses their father or mother,(A)
    their lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness.(B)

21 An inheritance claimed too soon
    will not be blessed at the end.

22 Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!”(C)
    Wait for the Lord, and he will avenge you.(D)

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