New King James Version
Exodus 23:9
9“Also you shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of 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 Living Translation (NLT)“You must not oppress foreigners. You know what it’s like to be a foreigner, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.
Context of Exodus 23:9
7Keep yourself far from a false matter; do not kill the innocent and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked. 8And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous. “Also you shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 10“Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, 11but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove.
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 21:21Notwithstanding, if he remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his property.
- Deuteronomy 10:19Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 24:14“You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates.
- Deuteronomy 27:19‘Cursed is the one who perverts the justice due the stranger, the fatherless, and widow.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
- Psalms 94:6They slay the widow and the stranger, And murder the fatherless.
- Ezekiel 22:7In you they have made light of father and mother; in your midst they have oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the fatherless and the widow.
- Matthew 18:33Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’
- Hebrews 2:17Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries