New International Version
Exodus 22:21
21“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.
Exodus 22:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.
Context of Exodus 22:21
19“Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal is to be put to death. 20“Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the Lord must be destroyed. “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt. 22“Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. 23If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.
Read all of Exodus 22Exodus 22:21 word by word
וְגֵ֥ר לֹא־תוֹנֶ֖ה וְלֹ֣א תִלְחָצֶ֑נּוּ כִּֽי־גֵרִ֥ים הֱיִיתֶ֖ם בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 22:21
- Exodus 23:9“Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.
- Leviticus 19:33“ ‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them.
- Leviticus 25:35“ ‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you.
- Deuteronomy 10:19And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.
- Jeremiah 7:6if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm,
- Jeremiah 22:3This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.
- Zechariah 7:10Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’
- Malachi 3:5“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty.
- Exodus 20:2“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
- Deuteronomy 15:15Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.
- Deuteronomy 23:7Do not despise an Edomite, for the Edomites are related to you. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you resided as foreigners in their country.
Commentaries on Exodus 22:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him - This was not only a very humane law, but it was also the offspring of a sound policy: "Do not vex a stranger; remember ye were strangers. Do not oppress a stranger; remember ye were oppressed. Therefore do unto all men as ye would they should do to you." It was the produce of a sound policy: "Let strangers be well treated among you, and many will come to take refuge among you, and thus the strength of…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21A stranger - See Exodus 20:10 note.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21The Hebrews were to treat foreigners kindly because they, too, had once been foreigners (see also 23:9; Deuteronomy 10:18–19). For more on this principle, see Luke 6:31.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-311-4. If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep--The law respects the theft of cattle which constituted the chief part of their property. The penalty for the theft of a sheep which was slain or sold, was fourfold; for an ox fivefold, because of its greater utility in labor; but, should the stolen animal have been recovered alive, a double compensation was all that was required, because it was presumable he (the thief) was not a practised adept in dishonesty…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 22:21
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 22
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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