Instead of instilling the values and lessons of the Bible, a mother and stepfather beat to death their seven-year-old son because he wasn’t reading his Bible.

Markiece Palmer, 34, and Dina Palmer, 27, were charged with the murder of 7-year-old Roderick Arrington last week, along with other counts of child abuse and neglect.

The boy was taken to University Medical Center in Las Vegas last Thursday, as he was unconscious and was suffering brain swelling.

He died the following day.

The second grader moved from Illinois, where he was living with his father and grandmother, to Las Vegas to live with his mother and stepfather.

Markiece Palmer told police he had spanked the child for lying about reading a Bible verse and failing to finish his homework.

He said the boy then slipped and hit his head.

The arrest report contradicted Palmer’s story, as Roderick had bruising all over his body and open wounds on his buttocks, allegedly from being hit with a belt.

The police report also showed that the child was violently shaken when the stepfather beat to death the boy.

When the little boy was unresponsive last week, Dina Palmer called her pastor who advised her to dial 911.

The couple admitted to police that they had regularly beaten the child for not reading the Bible or finishing his homework. 

The couple are being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center and are due in court today.

Jordan Shepherd | Elite.