The Meaning of Deuteronomy 6:20 Explained

Deuteronomy 6:20

KJV: 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?

YLT: When thy son asketh thee hereafter, saying, What are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Jehovah our God hath commanded you?

Darby: When thy son shall ask thee in time to come, saying, What are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Jehovah our God hath commanded you?

ASV: When thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Jehovah our God hath commanded you?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

[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? 

What does Deuteronomy 6:20 Mean?

Context Summary

Deuteronomy 6:20-25 - No Compromise With Idolatry
The great Lawgiver had His eye constantly on the coming generation. It is good when the children are so arrested by our religious life, that they come to ask us to tell them the reasons that account for it. Seek to live so purely and devoutly, and yet so attractively, that the young people around will be compelled to inquire after your secret, Luke 11:1.
We are not only to teach the children, but to guard them against forming friendships and making marriage alliances with those who might divert them from God. In the New Testament, Christians are forbidden to marry except "in the Lord," and equally stringent are prohibitions against worldly intercourse, 1 Corinthians 7:39; 2 Corinthians 6:14.
God can break the seven-fold power of sin in the heart of those who are absolutely given over to Him and are willing to surrender their evil ways. This is pledged to us by His fidelity and love, Deuteronomy 7:8-9. [source]

Chapter Summary: Deuteronomy 6

1  The end of the law is obedience
3  An exhortation thereto
20  What they are to teach their children

What do the individual words in Deuteronomy 6:20 mean?

When asks you your son in time to come saying what [is the meaning of] the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments which has commanded Yahweh our God you
כִּֽי־ יִשְׁאָלְךָ֥ בִנְךָ֛ מָחָ֖ר לֵאמֹ֑ר מָ֣ה הָעֵדֹ֗ת וְהַֽחֻקִּים֙ וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוָּ֛ה יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ אֶתְכֶֽם

יִשְׁאָלְךָ֥  asks  you 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, second person masculine singular
Root: שָׁאַל 
Sense: to ask, enquire, borrow, beg.
בִנְךָ֛  your  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
מָחָ֖ר  in  time  to  come 
Parse: Adverb
Root: מָחָר  
Sense: tomorrow, in time to come, in the future.
לֵאמֹ֑ר  saying 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
מָ֣ה  what  [is  the  meaning  of] 
Parse: Interrogative
Root: לָמָּה 
Sense: what, how, of what kind.
הָעֵדֹ֗ת  the  testimonies 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine plural
Root: עֵדָה  
Sense: testimony, witness.
וְהַֽחֻקִּים֙  and  the  statutes 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: חֹק  
Sense: statute, ordinance, limit, something prescribed, due.
וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֔ים  and  the  judgments 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: מִשְׁפָּט  
Sense: judgment, justice, ordinance.
צִוָּ֛ה  has  commanded 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: צָוָה  
Sense: to command, charge, give orders, lay charge, give charge to, order.
יְהוָ֥ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ  our  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).