What Does Deuteronomy 21:20 Mean in the King James?
And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Under “obey” is hearing that answers: the accusation names a voice received without response.
THE MEANING
The verse names turning from correction, refusing to hear a parent’s voice, and being consumed by appetite and drink as one public charge. The accusation reaches beyond one act to describe a way of living spoken before the elders.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie is that hearing is complete once the words reach the ears; here, hearing without response is itself a refusal.
THE ROOT
יִשְׁמַע
yishmaʿ
GROWS FROM
שמע
sh-m-ʿ
Hear, listen, heed; in a command, hearing that answers with action.
The Hebrew verb beneath “obey” is shamaʿ: to hear and respond. The accusation is therefore not only that the son rejects a rule, but that his parents’ voice does not become action in him.
ALSO GROWS
shemaʿ: Hear; attend and respond.
שְׁמַע
The same root makes hearing an active reception, not merely the arrival of sound.
shemuʿah: Report, tidings; what is heard.
שְׁמוּעָה
This branch names what hearing receives; the verse asks whether the parents’ voice is received as a claim on conduct.
מוֹרֶה
moreh
GROWS FROM
מרה
m-r-h
Resist, defy, rebel.
“rebellious” in this verse is moreh. This word names active defiance, beyond a difficult temperament. Beside “stubborn,” it describes persistence becoming rebellion.
ALSO GROWS
marah: To rebel or defy.
מָרָה
The verbal form shows the resistance as an act, not just a label.
meri: Rebellion, defiance.
מְרִי
The related noun names that act as a settled condition, matching the verse’s public description of the son.
THE PATTERN
A voice is truly heard when its words take form in response.
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.THE THREAD
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:Both verses join שָׁמַע (shamaʿ, hear and respond) with קוֹל (qol, voice or sound). Exodus describes hearing as a relationship carried into action; Deuteronomy names refusal of that same voice.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us