Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 24:21
When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you must not go over the vines again. What remains will be for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites on the plains of Moab, issuing a harvest regulation before they cross the Jordan. The command applies to all vineyard owners during the grape gathering season.
The words — The text pairs לֹ֥א (lo'), "not," with תְעוֹלֵ֖ל (te.'o.Lel), "you will glean" or "strip again," to forbid a second pass over the vines. This negative construction creates a strict boundary around the harvest.
The thread — This directive aligns with the field-edge prohibition in Leviticus 19:9 and the forgotten-sheaf rule in Deuteronomy 24:19. It directly parallels the olive harvest command in Deuteronomy 24:20.
Why it lands — The text requires landowners to leave uncollected produce for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow. The practice is grounded in the remembered slavery in Egypt, mandating that agricultural abundance sustain the vulnerable.
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
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.
Cross-references
- 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 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.