Deuteronomy 6:20 (KJV)

Passage

And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?

Nearby Context

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

Deuteronomy 6:19 To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken.

Deuteronomy 6:20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?

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

Deuteronomy 6:22 And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, 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 cast 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.