Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 24:17
Do not deny justice to the foreigner or the fatherless, and do not take a widow’s cloak as security.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the assembled Israelites on the plains of Moab, establishing legal boundaries for community conduct as they prepare to enter the land. The verse functions as a direct command within a broader legal code governing judicial fairness and economic mercy.
The words — תַטֶּ֔ה (ta.Teh) = you will turn aside, describing the judicial act of perverting a case, and תַחֲבֹ֔ל (ta.cha.Vol) = you will take as pledge, specifying the seizure of a widow’s outer garment as collateral.
The thread — The prohibition against twisting justice for vulnerable groups recurs in Deuteronomy 16:19 and Exodus 23:6, while the command to protect foreign residents echoes Exodus 22:21. These passages collectively anchor legal ethics in the historical memory of Israel’s own oppression in Egypt.
Why it lands — The text demands the immediate halt of judicial bias against outsiders and orphans, and forbids the seizure of essential clothing for debt. Readers must apply the command by refusing economic exploitation and ensuring fair legal treatment for those without social leverage.
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
King James Version
Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge:
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 16:19 Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
- Exodus 22:21 You must not exploit or oppress a foreign resident, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 23:6 You shall not deny justice to the poor in their lawsuits.
- Deuteronomy 27:19 ‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- Exodus 23:2 You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.
- Exodus 23:9 Do not oppress a foreign resident, since you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners; for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 1:17 Show no partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. And bring to me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.”
- Job 29:11 For those who heard me called me blessed, and those who saw me commended me,
- Isaiah 1:23 Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.
- Jeremiah 5:28 They have grown fat and sleek, and have excelled in the deeds of the wicked. They have not taken up the cause of the fatherless, that they might prosper; nor have they defended the rights of the needy.