Exodus 23:9

23:9 “You must not oppress a foreigner, since you know the life of a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

Leviticus 19:33

19:33 When a foreigner resides with you in your land, you must not oppress him.

Leviticus 25:35

Debt and Slave Regulations

25:35 “‘If your brother becomes impoverished and is indebted to you, you must support him; he must live with you like a foreign resident.

Deuteronomy 10:19

10:19 So you must love the resident foreigner because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

Jeremiah 7:6

7:6 Stop oppressing foreigners who live in your land, children who have lost their fathers, and women who have lost their husbands. Stop killing innocent people 10  in this land. Stop paying allegiance to 11  other gods. That will only bring about your ruin. 12 

Jeremiah 22:3

22:3 The Lord says, “Do what is just and right. Deliver those who have been robbed from those 13  who oppress them. Do not exploit or mistreat foreigners who live in your land, children who have no fathers, or widows. 14  Do not kill innocent people 15  in this land.

Zechariah 7:10

7:10 You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, or the poor, nor should anyone secretly plot evil against his fellow human being.’

Malachi 3:5

3:5 “I 16  will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, 17  and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, 18  who refuse to help 19  the immigrant 20  and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the Lord who rules over all.


tn The verb means “to crush.” S. R. Driver notes that in this context this would probably mean with an unfair judgment in the courts (Exodus, 239).

tn Heb “soul, life” – “you know what it feels like.”

tn Heb “And when a sojourner sojourns.”

tn It is not clear to whom this refers. It is probably broader than “sibling” (cf. NRSV “any of your kin”; NLT “any of your Israelite relatives”) but some English versions take it to mean “fellow Israelite” (so TEV; cf. NAB, NIV “countrymen”) and others are ambiguous (cf. CEV “any of your people”).

tn Heb “and his hand slips with you.”

tn Heb “strengthen”; NASB “sustain.”

tn The form וָחַי (vakhay, “and shall live”) looks like the adjective “living,” but the MT form is simply the same verb written as a double ayin verb (see HALOT 309 s.v. חיה qal, and GKC 218 §76.i; cf. Lev 18:5).

tn Heb “a foreigner and resident,” which is probably to be combined (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 170-71).

tn Heb “Stop oppressing foreigner, orphan, and widow.”

10 tn Heb “Stop shedding innocent blood.”

11 tn Heb “going/following after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom involved here.

12 tn Heb “going after other gods to your ruin.”

13 tn Heb “from the hand [or power] of.”

14 tn Heb “aliens, orphans, or widows” treating the terms as generic or collective. However, the term “alien” carries faulty connotations and the term “orphan” is not totally appropriate because the Hebrew term does not necessarily mean that both parents have died.

15 tn Heb “Do not shed innocent blood.”

16 tn The first person pronoun (a reference to the Lord) indicates that the Lord himself now speaks (see also v. 1). The prophet speaks in vv. 2-4 (see also 2:17).

17 tn Heb “those who swear [oaths] falsely.” Cf. NIV “perjurers”; TEV “those who give false testimony”; NLT “liars.”

18 tn Heb “and against the oppressors of the worker for a wage, [the] widow and orphan.”

19 tn Heb “those who turn aside.”

20 tn Or “resident foreigner”; NIV “aliens”; NRSV “the alien.”