Deuteronomy 6:20 (ASV)

Passage

When thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Jehovah our God hath commanded you?

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 6:18 And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of Jehovah; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which Jehovah sware unto thy fathers,

Deuteronomy 6:19 to thrust out all thine enemies from before thee, as Jehovah hath spoken.

Deuteronomy 6:20 When thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Jehovah our God hath commanded you?

Deuteronomy 6:21 then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh`s bondmen in Egypt: and Jehovah brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand;

Deuteronomy 6:22 and Jehovah showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his house, before our eyes;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "asketh", "thee", "time", "come", "saying", "mean", "testimonies", and "statutes". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "asketh" and "thee", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "to thrust out all thine enemies from..." into verse 21's "then thou shalt say unto thy son...", so "asketh" and "thee" belong inside that flow. In Deuteronomy context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "asketh" and "thee" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.