Deuteronomy 24:19

If you are harvesting in your field and forget a sheaf there, do not go back to get it. It is to be left for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses the assembled Israelites on the plains of Moab, issuing legal instructions just before their entry into the land. This verse sits within a cluster of provisions for the vulnerable (vv. 18–22).

The words — עֹמֶר ('omer) is a sheaf, a bound bundle of stalks; it is the concrete unit that becomes someone else's provision. The verb שָׁכַח (shakach, "to forget") frames the command around human oversight rather than deliberate generosity, making the law a safety net for ordinary failure.

The thread — Leviticus 19:9 and 23:22 give the same command in the Sinai covenant; Deuteronomy 24:20 extends it to olive-beating. Proverbs 19:17 reframes the principle: what is given to the poor is a loan to the LORD.

Why it lands — The law does not set a tithe or a quota; it says the surplus that exceeds your capacity to gather belongs to the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow by right. It asks the reader to stop treating the field as fully theirs.

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

כִּ֣יkiif תִקְצֹר֩tik.Tzoryou will harvest קְצִֽירְךָ֨ke.tzi.re./Chaharvest/ your בְשָׂדֶ֜ךָve./sa.De./khain/ field/ your וְשָֽׁכַחְתָּ֧ve./sha.khach.Taand/ you will forget עֹ֣מֶר'O.mera sheaf בַּשָּׂדֶ֗הba./sa.Dehin the/ field לֹ֤אlo'not תָשׁוּב֙ta.Shuvyou will return לְקַחְתּ֔וֹle./kach.T/oto/ fetch/ it לַגֵּ֛רla./Gerto the/ sojourner לַיָּת֥וֹםla/i.ya.Tomto the/ fatherless one וְלָאַלְמָנָ֖הve./la./'al.ma.Nahand/ to the/ widow יִהְיֶ֑הyih.Yehit will belong לְמַ֤עַןle.Ma.'anso that יְבָרֶכְךָ֙ye.va.rekh./Khahe may bless/ you יְהוָ֣הYah.wehYahweh אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ'e.lo.Hei./khaGod/ your בְּכֹ֖לbe./Kholin/ all מַעֲשֵׂ֥הma.'a.Seh[the] work of יָדֶֽיךָ׃ya.Dei./khahands/ your

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Leviticus 23:22 When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap all the way to the edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the foreign resident. I am the LORD your God.’”
Proverbs 19:17 Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.
Leviticus 19:9 When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.
Deuteronomy 14:29 Then the Levite (because he has no portion or inheritance among you), the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow within your gates may come and eat and be satisfied. And the LORD your God will bless you in all the work of your hands.
Luke 14:13 But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind,
Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Psalms 41:1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Blessed is the one who cares for the poor; the LORD will deliver him in the day of trouble.
Psalms 112:9 He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.
Proverbs 11:24 One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.
Isaiah 32:8 But a noble man makes honorable plans; he stands up for worthy causes.