Exodus 20:12 (ASV)

Passage

Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.

Nearby Context

Exodus 20:10 but the seventh day is a sabbath unto Jehovah thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

Exodus 20:11 for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Jehovah blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Exodus 20:12 Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.

Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.

Exodus 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "honor", "father", "mother", "days", "long", "land", "jehovah", and "giveth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "honor" and "father", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "for in six days Jehovah made heaven..." into verse 13's "Thou shalt not kill...", so "honor" and "father" belong inside that flow. In Exodus context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

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