God’s Word Translation
Exodus 23:9
9“Never oppress foreigners. You know what it’s like to be foreigners because you were foreigners living in Egypt.
Exodus 23:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
- New International Version (NIV)“Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Also you shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Context of Exodus 23:9
7Avoid telling lies. Don’t kill innocent or honest people, because I will never declare guilty people innocent. 8Never take a bribe, because bribes blind those who can see and deny justice to those who are in the right. “Never oppress foreigners. You know what it’s like to be foreigners because you were foreigners living in Egypt. 10“For six years you may plant crops in your fields and harvest them, 11but in the seventh year you must leave the land unplowed and unused. In that way the poor among your people will have food to eat, and wild animals may eat what the poor people leave. You must do the same with your vineyards and olive groves.
Read all of Exodus 23Exodus 23:9 word by word
וְגֵ֖ר לֹ֣א תִלְחָ֑ץ וְאַתֶּ֗ם יְדַעְתֶּם֙ אֶת־נֶ֣פֶשׁ הַגֵּ֔ר כִּֽי־גֵרִ֥ים הֱיִיתֶ֖ם בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 23:9
- Exodus 21:21But if the slave gets up in a day or two, the owner must not be punished. The slave is his property.
- Deuteronomy 10:19So you should love foreigners, because you were foreigners living in Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 24:14Don’t withhold pay from hired workers who are poor and needy, whether they are Israelites or foreigners living in one of your cities.
- Deuteronomy 27:19“Whoever deprives foreigners, orphans, or widows of justice will be cursed.” Then all the people will say amen.
- Psalms 94:6They kill widows and foreigners, and they murder orphans.
- Ezekiel 22:7People in you hate their fathers and mothers. They oppress foreigners in you. They oppress orphans and widows in you.
- Matthew 18:33Shouldn’t you have treated the other servant as mercifully as I treated you?’
- Hebrews 2:17Therefore, he had to become like his brothers and sisters so that he could be merciful. He became like them so that he could serve as a faithful chief priest in God’s presence and make peace with God for their sins.
Commentaries on Exodus 23:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Ye know the heart of a stranger - Having been strangers yourselves, under severe, long continued, and cruel oppression, ye know the fears, cares, anxieties, and dismal forebodings which the heart of a stranger feels. What a forcible appeal to humanity and compassion!Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6-9Verses 6-9 Four precepts evidently addressed to those in authority as judges: (a) To do justice to the poor. Comparing Exodus 23:6 with Exodus 23:3, it was the part of the judge to defend the poor against the oppression of the rich, and the part of the witness to take care lest his feelings of natural pity should tempt him to falsify evidence. (b) To be cautious of inflicting capital punishment on one whose guilt was not clearly proved. A doubtful case…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-9This call for justice includes a mixed list of covenant requirements. Most of these requirements deal with fairness and honesty in daily life. They show how God’s people should treat others with integrity.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-331. put not thine hand--join not hands.Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 23:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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