Exodus 20:12 (KJV)

Passage

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Nearby Context

Exodus 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

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

Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD 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 "honour", "father", "mother", "days", "long", "upon", "land", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "honour" 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 the LORD made..." into verse 13's "Thou shalt not kill...", so "honour" 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 "honour" and "father" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.