“Though my father and mother forsake me, yet will the Lord receive me”
I Know This Much Is True“Though my father and mother forsake me, yet will the Lord receive me” is a line of religious assurance that, in this scene, moves beyond the page: Dominick Birdsey reads it aloud to Thomas Birdsey, who whispers along and asks him to continue. Its promise of welcome gives the shared reading a particular weight amid the brothers’ exchange about Ray Birdsey.
The Line in the Reading
Dominick is reading religious material aloud when he admits that he can hardly see the page and fears that continuing will make him go blind. Thomas asks for a little more, explaining that he likes hearing Dominick’s voice say the words. As Dominick reads, he hears Thomas whispering along; the assurance that the Lord will receive those forsaken by their parents is thus spoken and repeated between the brothers, rather than encountered silently as text.
Abandonment and Voice
The line holds two ideas in tension: the possibility of being forsaken by one’s parents and the promise of being received nonetheless. The scene does not explain what Thomas makes of the verse, but his request to hear more, and his quiet participation in the reading, show its immediate relational setting. The words arrive through Dominick’s voice, making the act of reading itself a form of closeness.
The Question About Ray
Immediately after the verse, Thomas asks how Ray is. Dominick answers that Ray is okay, then qualifies the reassurance with uncertainty. That turn from a promise of divine acceptance to a tentative report about Ray places the verse beside the brothers’ family relationship without resolving it: the reading offers a language of being received, while the brief exchange leaves the state of the family bond unsettled.
