King James Version

Proverbs 6:20

My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

Study

Hebrew

Tap a word to see its meaning. Words run left to right in English reading order.

נְצֹ֣רnetsorbesiegedנָצַרverb, qal, imperative, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “besieged”, a commandH5341to guard, in a good sense (to protect, maintain, obey, etc.) or a bad one (to conceal, etc.)besieged, hidden thing, keep(-er, -ing), monument, observe, preserve(-r), subtil, watcher(-man).בְּ֭נִיbenisonבֵּןnoun, common, masculine, singular, construct, suffix, pronominal, 1st person, common, singular — “son”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH1121a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)[phrase] afflicted, age, (Ahoh-) (Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-) ite, (anoint-) ed one, appointed to, ([phrase]) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-) ian, one born, bough, branch, breed, [phrase] (young) bullock, [phrase] (young) calf, […מִצְוַ֣תmitsvatlawמִצְוָהnoun, common, feminine, singular, construct — “law”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH4687a command, whether human or divine (collectively, the Law)(which was) commanded(-ment), law, ordinance, precept.אָבִ֑יךָavikhafatherאָבnoun, common, masculine, singular, construct, suffix, pronominal, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “father”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH1father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote applicationchief, (fore-) father(-less), [idiom] patrimony, principal. Compare names in 'Abi-'.וְאַלvealand notאַלconjunction, particle, negative — “and not”H408not (the qualified negation, used as a deprecative); once (Job 24:25) as a noun, nothingnay, neither, [phrase] never, no, nor, not, nothing (worth), rather than.תִּ֝טֹּ֗שׁtitoshlet fallנָטַשׁverb, qal, jussive, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “let fall”, a wish or indirect commandH5203properly, to pound, i.e. smite; by implication (as if beating out, and thus expanding) to disperse; also, to thrust off, down, out or upon (inclusively, reject, let alone, permit, remit, etc.)cast off, drawn, let fall, forsake, join (battle), leave (off), lie still, loose, spread (self) abroad, stretch out, suffer.תּוֹרַ֥תtoratlawתּוֹרָהnoun, common, feminine, singular, construct — “law”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH8451a precept or statute, especially the Decalogue or Pentateuchlaw.אִמֶּֽךָimekhamotherאֵםnoun, common, feminine, singular, construct, suffix, pronominal, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “mother”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH517a mother (as the bond of the family); in a wide sense (both literally and figuratively (like father))dam, mother, [idiom] parting.

Jewish translation (JPS 1917)

My son, keep the commandment of thy father, and forsake not the teaching of thy mother;

Compare Public-Domain Translations

The King James Version remains the text of this page and the canonical URL.

American Standard Version (1901)

My son, keep the commandment of thy father, And forsake not the law of thy mother:

Young’s Literal Translation

Keep, my son, the command of thy father, And leave not the law of thy mother.

World English Bible

My son, keep your father’s commandment, and don’t forsake your mother’s teaching.

Darby Translation

My son, observe thy father's commandment, and forsake not the teaching of thy mother;

Douay-Rheims

My son, beep the commandments of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother.

Jewish Publication Society (1917)

My son, keep the commandment of thy father, and forsake not the teaching of thy mother;

Brenton’s Septuagint (1851), English

My son, keep the laws of thy father, and reject not the ordinances of thy mother:

Septuagint (Brenton’s Greek, 1851)

Υἱὲ, φύλασσε νόμους πατρός σου, καὶ μὴ ἀπώσῃ θεσμοὺς μητρός σου·