King James Version
Deuteronomy 24
22 verses with commentary
Laws About Divorce
When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. some: Heb. matter of nakedness divorcement: Heb. cutting off
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.</strong> This law regulates divorce but does not command or recommend it. Moses permitted divorce due to hardness of hearts (Matthew 19:8),...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**XXIV.**
Deuteronomy 24:1-4*. ***DIVORCE.**
**Some uncleanness.**—Evidently mere caprice and dislike are not intended here. There must be some real ground of complaint. (See Margin.)
**Let him write her a bill of divorcement.**—“Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your wives,” is the Divine comment upon this. It is a distinct concession to the weakness of Israe...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 24
Chapter Outline
Of divorce.(1-4)
Of new-married persons, Of man-stealers, Of pledges.
(5-13)
Of justice and generosity.(14-22)
**Verses 1-4**
Where the providence of God, or his own wrong choice in marriage, has allotted to a Christian a trial instead of a help meet; he will from his heart prefer bearing the cross, to such relief as tends to sin, confusion, and...
Read full commentary →And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife.</strong> The divorced woman receives legal freedom to remarry. This legitimizes her new relationship, preventing her from being trapped in unmarried limbo or subject to accusation of adultery for subsequent marriage.<br><br>The permission to <em>be another man's wife</em> indicates the divorce genuinely severs...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9-12. Seven weeks shalt thou number--**The feast of weeks, or a WEEK OF WEEKS: the feast of pentecost (see on Le 23:10; also see Ex 34:22; Ac 2:1). As on the second day of the passover a sheaf of new barley, reaped on purpose, was offered, so on the second day of pentecost a sheaf of new wheat was presented as first-fruits (Ex 23:16; Nu 28:26), a freewill, spontaneous tribute of gratitude to God...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 24
Chapter Outline
Of divorce.(1-4)
Of new-married persons, Of man-stealers, Of pledges.
(5-13)
Of justice and generosity.(14-22)
**Verses 1-4**
Where the providence of God, or his own wrong choice in marriage, has allotted to a Christian a trial instead of a help meet; he will from his heart prefer bearing the cross, to such relief as tends to sin, confusion, and...
Read full commentary →And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife.</strong> This verse continues the hypothetical scenario - the second marriage also ends, either through divorce or death. The same legal procedure applies to the second divorce as to the first.<br>...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9-12. Seven weeks shalt thou number--**The feast of weeks, or a WEEK OF WEEKS: the feast of pentecost (see on Le 23:10; also see Ex 34:22; Ac 2:1). As on the second day of the passover a sheaf of new barley, reaped on purpose, was offered, so on the second day of pentecost a sheaf of new wheat was presented as first-fruits (Ex 23:16; Nu 28:26), a freewill, spontaneous tribute of gratitude to God...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 24
Chapter Outline
Of divorce.(1-4)
Of new-married persons, Of man-stealers, Of pledges.
(5-13)
Of justice and generosity.(14-22)
**Verses 1-4**
Where the providence of God, or his own wrong choice in marriage, has allotted to a Christian a trial instead of a help meet; he will from his heart prefer bearing the cross, to such relief as tends to sin, confusion, and...
Read full commentary →Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.</strong> The prohibition against the first husband remarrying her prevents treating marriage as temporary arrangement. Marriage should be permanent...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9-12. Seven weeks shalt thou number--**The feast of weeks, or a WEEK OF WEEKS: the feast of pentecost (see on Le 23:10; also see Ex 34:22; Ac 2:1). As on the second day of the passover a sheaf of new barley, reaped on purpose, was offered, so on the second day of pentecost a sheaf of new wheat was presented as first-fruits (Ex 23:16; Nu 28:26), a freewill, spontaneous tribute of gratitude to God...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 24
Chapter Outline
Of divorce.(1-4)
Of new-married persons, Of man-stealers, Of pledges.
(5-13)
Of justice and generosity.(14-22)
**Verses 1-4**
Where the providence of God, or his own wrong choice in marriage, has allotted to a Christian a trial instead of a help meet; he will from his heart prefer bearing the cross, to such relief as tends to sin, confusion, and...
Read full commentary →Miscellaneous Laws
When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken. neither: Heb. not any thing shall pass upon him
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken.</strong> God mandates a one-year honeymoon period where the new husband is exempt from military and civic duties. This demonstrates divine concern for establishing strong marriages through dedica...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
Deuteronomy 24:5—end of Deuteronomy 25
**VARIOUS PRECEPTS OF HUMANITY.**
(5) **He shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business.**—He shall not go forth in warfare, neither shall warfare pass upon him in any form. In Numbers 4:23; Numbers 4:30 the service of the tabernacle is called its “warfare.”
**He shall be free at home.**—Literally, *he shall be clear for his home; *f...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9-12. Seven weeks shalt thou number--**The feast of weeks, or a WEEK OF WEEKS: the feast of pentecost (see on Le 23:10; also see Ex 34:22; Ac 2:1). As on the second day of the passover a sheaf of new barley, reaped on purpose, was offered, so on the second day of pentecost a sheaf of new wheat was presented as first-fruits (Ex 23:16; Nu 28:26), a freewill, spontaneous tribute of gratitude to God...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-13**
It is of great consequence that love be kept up between husband and wife; that they carefully avoid every thing which might make them strange one to another. Man-stealing was a capital crime, which could not be settled, as other thefts, by restitution. The laws concerning leprosy must be carefully observed. Thus all who feel their consciences under guilt and wrath, must not cov...
Read full commentary →No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he taketh a man's life to pledge.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he taketh a man's life to pledge.</strong> Millstones were essential for grinding grain into flour - necessary daily for food preparation. Taking them as collateral would prevent the debtor from making bread, threatening survival.<br><br>The equation <em>he taketh a man's life to pledge</em> reveals that some collateral vio...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **The nether or the upper millstone.**—Literally, *the two millstones, or even the upper one.*
**A man’s life.**—Literally, *a soul. *This word connects the two verses (6, 7).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13-17. Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days--**(See on Ex 23:14; Le 23:34; Nu 29:12). Various conjectures have been formed to account for the appointment of this feast at the conclusion of the whole harvest. Some imagine that it was designed to remind the Israelites of the time when they had no cornfields to reap but were daily supplied with manna; others think that it suited t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-13**
It is of great consequence that love be kept up between husband and wife; that they carefully avoid every thing which might make them strange one to another. Man-stealing was a capital crime, which could not be settled, as other thefts, by restitution. The laws concerning leprosy must be carefully observed. Thus all who feel their consciences under guilt and wrath, must not cov...
Read full commentary →If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you.</strong> Kidnapping and human trafficking merit capital punishment - stealing persons is far more serious than stealing property. Human beings created in God's image possess inherent dignity that the...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **If a man be found stealing (a soul) any of his brethren . . .**—See Exodus 21:16.
(8,9) **Take heed in the plague of leprosy. . . . Remember what the Lord thy God did to Miriam.**—The point here seems to be that though Miriam was one of the three leaders of Israel (“I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam”—Micah 6:4), yet she was shut out of the camp seven days (Numbers 12:14) when sudde...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13-17. Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days--**(See on Ex 23:14; Le 23:34; Nu 29:12). Various conjectures have been formed to account for the appointment of this feast at the conclusion of the whole harvest. Some imagine that it was designed to remind the Israelites of the time when they had no cornfields to reap but were daily supplied with manna; others think that it suited t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-13**
It is of great consequence that love be kept up between husband and wife; that they carefully avoid every thing which might make them strange one to another. Man-stealing was a capital crime, which could not be settled, as other thefts, by restitution. The laws concerning leprosy must be carefully observed. Thus all who feel their consciences under guilt and wrath, must not cov...
Read full commentary →Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do.</strong> Leprosy required careful response following priestly instruction. This skin disease (likely various conditions, not just modern Hansen's disease) made people ceremonially unclean, requiring quarantin...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13-17. Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days--**(See on Ex 23:14; Le 23:34; Nu 29:12). Various conjectures have been formed to account for the appointment of this feast at the conclusion of the whole harvest. Some imagine that it was designed to remind the Israelites of the time when they had no cornfields to reap but were daily supplied with manna; others think that it suited t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-13**
It is of great consequence that love be kept up between husband and wife; that they carefully avoid every thing which might make them strange one to another. Man-stealing was a capital crime, which could not be settled, as other thefts, by restitution. The laws concerning leprosy must be carefully observed. Thus all who feel their consciences under guilt and wrath, must not cov...
Read full commentary →Remember what the LORD thy God did unto Miriam by the way, after that ye were come forth out of Egypt.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Remember what the LORD thy God did unto Miriam by the way, after that ye were come forth out of Egypt.</strong> Miriam's leprosy served as warning against rebellion. When she and Aaron challenged Moses' authority (Numbers 12), God struck her with leprosy, demonstrating the seriousness of challenging divinely appointed leadership.<br><br>The command <em>remember</em> makes Miriam's judgment...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13-17. Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days--**(See on Ex 23:14; Le 23:34; Nu 29:12). Various conjectures have been formed to account for the appointment of this feast at the conclusion of the whole harvest. Some imagine that it was designed to remind the Israelites of the time when they had no cornfields to reap but were daily supplied with manna; others think that it suited t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-13**
It is of great consequence that love be kept up between husband and wife; that they carefully avoid every thing which might make them strange one to another. Man-stealing was a capital crime, which could not be settled, as other thefts, by restitution. The laws concerning leprosy must be carefully observed. Thus all who feel their consciences under guilt and wrath, must not cov...
Read full commentary →When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge. lend: Heb. lend the loan of any thing to, etc
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge.</strong> This law protects debtor dignity by preventing creditors from entering homes to seize collateral. The creditor must wait outside while the debtor brings the pledge, preserving privacy and preventing humiliation.<br><br>The prohibition <em>thou shalt not go into his house</em> establish...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10-13) **When thou dost lend.**—The law in these verses is evidently the production of primitive and simple times, when men had little more than the bare necessaries of life to offer as security—their own clothing, or the mill-stones used to prepare their daily food, being almost their only portable property. (See Exodus 22:26-27.)
**It shall be righteousness.**—LXX., *it shall be alms, or mercy....
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13-17. Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days--**(See on Ex 23:14; Le 23:34; Nu 29:12). Various conjectures have been formed to account for the appointment of this feast at the conclusion of the whole harvest. Some imagine that it was designed to remind the Israelites of the time when they had no cornfields to reap but were daily supplied with manna; others think that it suited t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-13**
It is of great consequence that love be kept up between husband and wife; that they carefully avoid every thing which might make them strange one to another. Man-stealing was a capital crime, which could not be settled, as other thefts, by restitution. The laws concerning leprosy must be carefully observed. Thus all who feel their consciences under guilt and wrath, must not cov...
Read full commentary →Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee.</strong> The creditor must <em>stand abroad</em> (outside) while the debtor selects and brings the pledge. This preserves the debtor's autonomy and prevents the creditor from demanding specific items or ransacking the house.<br><br>Allowing <em>the man...shall bring out the pledge</em> ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18-20. Judges and officers shalt thou make--**These last meant heralds or bailiffs, employed in executing the sentence of their superiors.
**in all thy gates--**The gate was the place of public resort among the Israelites and other Eastern people, where business was transacted and causes decided. The Ottoman Porte derived its name from the administration of justice at its gates.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-13**
It is of great consequence that love be kept up between husband and wife; that they carefully avoid every thing which might make them strange one to another. Man-stealing was a capital crime, which could not be settled, as other thefts, by restitution. The laws concerning leprosy must be carefully observed. Thus all who feel their consciences under guilt and wrath, must not cov...
Read full commentary →And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge.</strong> Special protection applies to poor debtors - creditors cannot retain overnight something the poor person needs. This likely refers to the cloak mentioned in verse 13, which served as both daytime garment and nighttime blanket.<br><br>The prohibition <em>thou shalt not sleep with his pledge</em> creates vivid imagery - t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18-20. Judges and officers shalt thou make--**These last meant heralds or bailiffs, employed in executing the sentence of their superiors.
**in all thy gates--**The gate was the place of public resort among the Israelites and other Eastern people, where business was transacted and causes decided. The Ottoman Porte derived its name from the administration of justice at its gates.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-13**
It is of great consequence that love be kept up between husband and wife; that they carefully avoid every thing which might make them strange one to another. Man-stealing was a capital crime, which could not be settled, as other thefts, by restitution. The laws concerning leprosy must be carefully observed. Thus all who feel their consciences under guilt and wrath, must not cov...
Read full commentary →In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD thy God.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD thy God.</strong> The emphatic <em>in any case</em> makes returning the cloak mandatory, not optional. Regardless of the debt, the creditor must not let the poor debtor spend the night without his garment....
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18-20. Judges and officers shalt thou make--**These last meant heralds or bailiffs, employed in executing the sentence of their superiors.
**in all thy gates--**The gate was the place of public resort among the Israelites and other Eastern people, where business was transacted and causes decided. The Ottoman Porte derived its name from the administration of justice at its gates.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-13**
It is of great consequence that love be kept up between husband and wife; that they carefully avoid every thing which might make them strange one to another. Man-stealing was a capital crime, which could not be settled, as other thefts, by restitution. The laws concerning leprosy must be carefully observed. Thus all who feel their consciences under guilt and wrath, must not cov...
Read full commentary →Justice for the Poor
Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy</strong>—The Hebrew <em>lo ta'ashoq sakhir ani ve-evyon</em> ("you shall not oppress a hired servant poor and needy") uses <em>ashaq</em> (oppress/defraud), which means to withhold what is owed, particularly wages. This isn't charity but justice—paying fairly for labor rendered. <em>Sakhir</em> (hired servant/day laborer) descr...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14, 15) **Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant.**—So Leviticus 19:13. “The wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.” (Comp. also Jeremiah 22:13; Malachi 3:5; James 5:4.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**21. Thou shalt not plant thee a grove--**A grove has in Scripture a variety of significations--a group of overshadowing trees, or a grove adorned with altars dedicated to a particular deity, or a wooden image in a grove (Jud 6:25; 2Ki 23:4-6). They might be placed near the earthen and temporary altars erected in the wilderness, but they could not exist either at the tabernacle or temples. They w...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 14-22**
It is not hard to prove that purity, piety, justice, mercy, fair conduct, kindness to the poor and destitute, consideration for them, and generosity of spirit, are pleasing to God, and becoming in his redeemed people. The difficulty is to attend to them in our daily walk and conversation.
At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee. setteth: Heb. lifteth his soul unto it
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it</strong>—<em>Be-yomo titten sekharo ve-lo tavo alav ha-shemesh</em> ("on his day you shall give his wages, and not shall set on it the sun") mandates immediate payment before sunset. The day laborer's survival depends on daily wages; delayed payment equals oppression. This echoes Leviticus 19:13's parallel comma...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**22. Neither shalt thou set thee up any image--**erroneously rendered so for "pillar"; pillars of various kinds, and materials of wood or stone were erected in the neighborhood of altars. Sometimes they were conical or oblong, at other times they served as pedestals for the statues of idols. A superstitious reverence was attached to them, and hence they were forbidden.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 14-22**
It is not hard to prove that purity, piety, justice, mercy, fair conduct, kindness to the poor and destitute, consideration for them, and generosity of spirit, are pleasing to God, and becoming in his redeemed people. The difficulty is to attend to them in our daily walk and conversation.
The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
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KJV Study Commentary
Individual responsibility: 'The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.' This limits corporate punishment—judicial execution applies only to guilty individual, not family. This clarifies earlier passages where families shared judgment (Achan, Joshua 7; Korah, Numbers 16)—those i...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers.**—A special note of the observance of this precept by Amaziah son of Joash is noticed both in Kings and Chronicles. See marginal references. It was not observed by the Persians in the case of Daniel’s accusers (Daniel 6:24).
The case of Achan, who “perished not alone in his in...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 14-22**
It is not hard to prove that purity, piety, justice, mercy, fair conduct, kindness to the poor and destitute, consideration for them, and generosity of spirit, are pleasing to God, and becoming in his redeemed people. The difficulty is to attend to them in our daily walk and conversation.
Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow's raiment to pledge:
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Protecting vulnerable: 'Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow's raiment to pledge.' Three vulnerable groups—immigrants ('stranger'), orphans ('fatherless'), widows—require protection. 'Pervert judgment' (תַּטֶּה מִשְׁפַּט, <em>tateh mishpat</em>) means 'twist justice'—withholding legal rights. Taking widow's garment as pledge (collateral for d...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17-22) **The stranger, the fatherless, and the widow**—are the subject of all the laws in these verses. For the first two (Deuteronomy 24:17-18), see Exodus 22:22-24. As to the harvest, see Leviticus 23:22. It is noticeable that this law is connected with the Feast of Pentecost in that place. Never was such care for the widow and the poor manifested as after the day of Pentecost in the New Testam...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 17 De 17:1. Things Sacrificed Must Be Sound.
**1. Thou shalt not sacrifice ... any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish--**Under the name of bullock were comprehended bulls, cows, and calves; under that of sheep, rams, lambs, kids, he- and she-goats. An ox, from mutilation, was inadmissible. The qualifications required in animals destined for sacrifice are described (Ex 12:5; Le 1:3).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 14-22**
It is not hard to prove that purity, piety, justice, mercy, fair conduct, kindness to the poor and destitute, consideration for them, and generosity of spirit, are pleasing to God, and becoming in his redeemed people. The difficulty is to attend to them in our daily walk and conversation.
But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee thence</strong>—The Hebrew <em>ve-zakharta ki eved hayita be-Mitsrayim</em> ("and you shall remember that a slave you were in Egypt") grounds ethical obligation in redemptive memory. Israel's slavery experience (<em>eved</em>, "slave/bondman") should create empathy for vulnerable workers. <em>Vayi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
De 17:2-7. Idolaters Must Be Slain.
**2-7. If there be found among you ... man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness--**The grand object contemplated in choosing Israel was to preserve the knowledge and worship of the one true God; and hence idolatry of any kind, whether of the heavenly bodies or in some grosser form, is called "a transgression of His covenant." No rank or sex could palliate thi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 14-22**
It is not hard to prove that purity, piety, justice, mercy, fair conduct, kindness to the poor and destitute, consideration for them, and generosity of spirit, are pleasing to God, and becoming in his redeemed people. The difficulty is to attend to them in our daily walk and conversation.
When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Gleaning rights: 'When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.' Forgotten sheaves belong to poor. Landowners can't retrieve overlooked produce—it's gleaners' provision. The benefici...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
De 17:2-7. Idolaters Must Be Slain.
**2-7. If there be found among you ... man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness--**The grand object contemplated in choosing Israel was to preserve the knowledge and worship of the one true God; and hence idolatry of any kind, whether of the heavenly bodies or in some grosser form, is called "a transgression of His covenant." No rank or sex could palliate thi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 14-22**
It is not hard to prove that purity, piety, justice, mercy, fair conduct, kindness to the poor and destitute, consideration for them, and generosity of spirit, are pleasing to God, and becoming in his redeemed people. The difficulty is to attend to them in our daily walk and conversation.
When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. go: Heb. bough it after thee
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again</strong>—the Hebrew <em>lo tefa'er acharekha</em> (לֹא תְפַאֵר אַחֲרֶיךָ) means 'you shall not search/go through after yourself.' After the initial harvest by beating the branches with poles, remnant olives were to remain. <strong>It shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow</strong>—the thre...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
De 17:2-7. Idolaters Must Be Slain.
**2-7. If there be found among you ... man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness--**The grand object contemplated in choosing Israel was to preserve the knowledge and worship of the one true God; and hence idolatry of any kind, whether of the heavenly bodies or in some grosser form, is called "a transgression of His covenant." No rank or sex could palliate thi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 14-22**
It is not hard to prove that purity, piety, justice, mercy, fair conduct, kindness to the poor and destitute, consideration for them, and generosity of spirit, are pleasing to God, and becoming in his redeemed people. The difficulty is to attend to them in our daily walk and conversation.
When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. afterward: Heb. after thee
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward</strong>—extending the gleaning principle from grain (24:19) and olives (24:20) to viticulture. The prohibition <em>lo te'olel acharekha</em> (לֹא תְעוֹלֵל אַחֲרֶיךָ) means 'you shall not glean after yourself.' Initial harvest took ripe grape clusters; remaining grapes were for <strong>the stranger, the fathe...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
De 17:2-7. Idolaters Must Be Slain.
**2-7. If there be found among you ... man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness--**The grand object contemplated in choosing Israel was to preserve the knowledge and worship of the one true God; and hence idolatry of any kind, whether of the heavenly bodies or in some grosser form, is called "a transgression of His covenant." No rank or sex could palliate thi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 14-22**
It is not hard to prove that purity, piety, justice, mercy, fair conduct, kindness to the poor and destitute, consideration for them, and generosity of spirit, are pleasing to God, and becoming in his redeemed people. The difficulty is to attend to them in our daily walk and conversation.
And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt</strong>—the motivational refrain throughout Deuteronomy (5:15, 15:15, 16:12), grounding ethics in salvation history. Israel's own experience of poverty, powerlessness, and oppression in Egyptian slavery should produce empathy and generosity toward vulnerable populations. God's redemptive act obligated redeemed people to...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
De 17:2-7. Idolaters Must Be Slain.
**2-7. If there be found among you ... man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness--**The grand object contemplated in choosing Israel was to preserve the knowledge and worship of the one true God; and hence idolatry of any kind, whether of the heavenly bodies or in some grosser form, is called "a transgression of His covenant." No rank or sex could palliate thi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 14-22**
It is not hard to prove that purity, piety, justice, mercy, fair conduct, kindness to the poor and destitute, consideration for them, and generosity of spirit, are pleasing to God, and becoming in his redeemed people. The difficulty is to attend to them in our daily walk and conversation.