diff --git a/lib/internal/modules/package_json_reader.js b/lib/internal/modules/package_json_reader.js
index c6377faae6f5a8..0572147d5e5897 100644
--- a/lib/internal/modules/package_json_reader.js
+++ b/lib/internal/modules/package_json_reader.js
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ const {
 } = require('internal/errors').codes;
 const { internalModuleReadJSON } = internalBinding('fs');
 const { toNamespacedPath } = require('path');
-const { kEmptyObject } = require('internal/util');
+const { kEmptyObject, setOwnProperty } = require('internal/util');
 
 const { fileURLToPath, pathToFileURL } = require('internal/url');
 
@@ -73,20 +73,14 @@ function read(jsonPath, { base, specifier, isESM } = kEmptyObject) {
     let parsed;
     try {
       parsed = JSONParse(string);
-    } catch (error) {
-      if (isESM) {
-        throw new ERR_INVALID_PACKAGE_CONFIG(
-          jsonPath,
-          (base ? `"${specifier}" from ` : '') + fileURLToPath(base || specifier),
-          error.message,
-        );
-      } else {
-        // For backward compat, we modify the error returned by JSON.parse rather than creating a new one.
-        // TODO(aduh95): make it throw ERR_INVALID_PACKAGE_CONFIG in a semver-major with original error as cause
-        error.message = 'Error parsing ' + jsonPath + ': ' + error.message;
-        error.path = jsonPath;
-        throw error;
-      }
+    } catch (cause) {
+      const error = new ERR_INVALID_PACKAGE_CONFIG(
+        jsonPath,
+        isESM && (base ? `"${specifier}" from ` : '') + fileURLToPath(base || specifier),
+        cause.message,
+      );
+      setOwnProperty(error, 'cause', cause);
+      throw error;
     }
 
     result.exists = true;
diff --git a/test/sequential/test-module-loading.js b/test/sequential/test-module-loading.js
index ebbbcbb6c937ef..1020539827b913 100644
--- a/test/sequential/test-module-loading.js
+++ b/test/sequential/test-module-loading.js
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ assert.throws(
 
 assert.throws(
   function() { require('../fixtures/packages/unparseable'); },
-  /^SyntaxError: Error parsing/
+  { code: 'ERR_INVALID_PACKAGE_CONFIG' }
 );
 
 {