What Does Leviticus 19:3 Mean in the King James?

Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 19:3 · KJV

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

The same Hebrew root used here for fearing parents appears later in the chapter for fearing God, placing family regard inside the language of reverence.

THE MEANING

Your mother and father stand within the verse’s command to fear, while the LORD’s sabbaths stand within its charge to guard. Both are held under the present claim, “I am the LORD your God.”

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The sacred is confined to religious time. Here, the command places fear toward parents beside keeping the LORD’s sabbaths under one declaration.

THE ROOT

תִּירָאוּ

tira’u

GROWS FROM

י־ר־א

y-r-ʾ

Fear, be afraid, or revere.

The verb here is from the same root the chapter later uses for fearing God. Its reach holds parental fear and fear before God in a shared word-family, while the verse’s distinct objects keep the relation clear.

ALSO GROWS

yir’ah: Fear, reverence.

יִרְאָה

This noun shares the root behind the command and names fear in relation to God as well as to people.

morā: Dread, fear.

מוֹרָא

This related form shows the root can carry real force, not merely polite regard; that weight stays audible in the command toward parents.

תִּשְׁמְרוּ

tishmeru

GROWS FROM

ש־מ־ר

sh-m-r

Guard, watch, keep.

Within “keep,” this root carries watchfulness and guarding. Its branches name a watchman and an entrusted charge, making the sabbaths appear as time held under care.

ALSO GROWS

shomer: Watcher, guardian.

שֹׁמֵר

This form makes the guarding in “keep my sabbaths” concrete: one stands watch over what is entrusted.

mishmeret: Guard duty, charge, watch.

מִשְׁמֶרֶת

The same root can name an assigned watch, casting sabbath keeping as attention to entrusted time.

THE PATTERN

Reverence for God enters ordinary life through family obligations and the guarding of set-apart time.

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Exodus 20:8 · KJVRemembering the sabbath makes reverence visible through the way time is held apart.

Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)

Ephesians 6:2 · KJVThe regard for parents in Leviticus reappears as a concrete expression of covenant life.

And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

Mark 2:27 · KJVThe sabbath’s place in human life remains part of the pattern of set-apart time.

THE THREAD

Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.

Leviticus 19:32 · KJV

The same root ⁨י־ר־א⁩ (y-r-ʾ, fear or revere) appears here toward mother and father and in verse 32 toward God. Its return places family regard and fear before God in one field of reverence, while keeping their objects distinct.

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