Deuteronomy 24:14

Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites on the plains of Moab, delivering covenant laws immediately before they enter the Promised Land.

The words — תַעֲשֹׁ֥ק (ta.'a.Shok) = you must oppress, and שָׂכִ֖יר (sa.Khir) = a hired laborer.

The thread — This prohibition against exploiting the vulnerable echoes in Proverbs 14:31, Proverbs 22:16, and Malachi 3:5, while Deuteronomy 24:15 immediately extends the command to daily wage payment.

Why it lands — The text commands Israel to protect the economic rights of both native and resident laborers, establishing that exploiting the poor violates covenant obedience and incurs divine guilt.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

לֹא־lo'-not תַעֲשֹׁ֥קta.'a.Shokyou must oppress שָׂכִ֖ירsa.Khira hired laborer עָנִ֣י'a.Nipoor וְאֶבְי֑וֹןve./'ev.Yonand/ needy מֵאַחֶ֕יךָme./'a.Chei./khaone of/ countrymen/ your א֧וֹ'oor מִגֵּרְךָ֛mi./ge.re./Khaone of/ sojourner[s]/ your אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwho בְּאַרְצְךָ֖be./'ar.tze./Kha[is] in/ land/ your בִּשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ׃bi/sh.'a.Rei./khain/ gates/ your

King James Version

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:

Cross-references

Malachi 3:5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
Proverbs 14:31 Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.
Proverbs 22:16 Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the rich will surely lead to poverty.
Job 24:10 Without clothing, they wander about naked. They carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
Amos 4:1 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, who say to your husbands, “Bring us more to drink.”
Leviticus 25:35 Now if your countryman becomes destitute and cannot support himself among you, then you are to help him as you would a foreigner or stranger, so that he can continue to live among you.
Deuteronomy 15:12 If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you must set him free.
Job 31:13 If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant when they made a complaint against me,
Amos 2:7 They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the earth; they push the needy out of their way. A man and his father have relations with the same girl and so profane My holy name.
Luke 10:7 Stay at the same house, eating and drinking whatever you are offered. For the worker is worthy of his wages. Do not move around from house to house.