Deuteronomy 24:18

18 Don't ever forget that you were once slaves in Egypt and God, your God, got you out of there. I command you: Do what I'm telling you.

Deuteronomy 24:18 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 24:18

But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt,
&c.] The remembrance of which may cause sympathy with persons in distress; particularly the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow:

and the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence;
the Targum of Jonathan,

``the Word of the Lord thy God;''

which, as it was an act of great kindness and mercy in God to them, taught them, and laid them under obligation to show favour to their fellow creatures in distress:

therefore I command thee to do this thing:
not to pervert the judgment of the stranger and fatherless, nor take a widow's raiment for a pledge; and it may be carried further into the context, and respect the laws about the pledge of the poor man, and giving the hired servant his wages in due time.

Deuteronomy 24:18 In-Context

16 Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their parents. Each person shall be put to death for his own sin.
17 Make sure foreigners and orphans get their just rights. Don't take the cloak of a widow as security for a loan.
18 Don't ever forget that you were once slaves in Egypt and God, your God, got you out of there. I command you: Do what I'm telling you.
19 When you harvest your grain and forget a sheaf back in the field, don't go back and get it; leave it for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow so that God, your God, will bless you in all your work.
20 When you shake the olives off your trees, don't go back over the branches and strip them bare - what's left is for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.