Bible Strands
Proverbs 23:10
Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The wisdom teacher issues a practical warning to a student, positioned between a caution against foolish conversation and a declaration of divine intervention for the vulnerable.
The words — The verse employs תַּ֭סֵּג (Ta.seg), literally "you displace," and יְ֝תוֹמִ֗ים (ye.to.Mim), literally "fatherless ones," to forbid the seizure of inherited land.
The thread — This prohibition aligns with the legal curse in Deuteronomy 27:17, the wisdom parallel in Proverbs 22:28, and the prophetic command in Zechariah 7:10.
Why it lands — The text commands absolute respect for established property boundaries, grounded in the stated reality that the exploited party has a strong Redeemer who will legally pursue their case.
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
Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
Cross-references
- Proverbs 22:28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone which your fathers have placed.
- Zechariah 7:10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’
- Deuteronomy 27:17 ‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary stone.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- Jeremiah 22:3 This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place.
- James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
- Deuteronomy 19:14 You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker, which was set up by your ancestors to mark the inheritance you shall receive in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.
- Job 24:2 Men move boundary stones; they pasture stolen flocks.
- Job 6:27 You would even cast lots for an orphan and barter away your friend.
- Job 22:9 You sent widows away empty-handed, and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.
- Job 31:21 if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate,