Deuteronomy 24:17-22

17 "¹You shall not pervert the justice due an alien or an orphan, nor ²take a widow's garment in pledge.

18 "But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and that the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore * I am commanding you to do this thing.

19 "³When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be ⁴for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the LORD your God ⁵may bless you in all the work of your hands.

20 "⁶When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be ⁷for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow.

21 "When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not go over it again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow.

22 "You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore * I am commanding you to do this thing.

Deuteronomy 24:17-22 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 24

This chapter contains various laws concerning divorces, De 24:1-4; the discharge of a newly married man from war and business, De 24:5; about taking pledges, De 24:6,10-13; man stealing, De 24:7; the plague of leprosy, De 24:8,9; and giving servants their hire in due time, De 24:14,15; concerning doing justice in capital cases, and towards the stranger, fatherless, and widow, De 24:16-18; and of charity to the poor, in allowing them the forgotten sheaf, and the gleanings of their oliveyards and vineyards, De 24:19-22.

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 23:9; Leviticus 19:33; Deuteronomy 1:17; Deuteronomy 10:17; Deuteronomy 16:19; Deuteronomy 27:19
• 2. Exodus 22:22
• 3. Leviticus 19:9, 10; Leviticus 23:22
• 4. Deuteronomy 14:29
• 5. Proverbs 19:17
• 6. Leviticus 19:10
• 7. Deuteronomy 24:19

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "of"
• [b] Or "the fatherless"
• [c] Or "fatherless"
• [d] Lit "after yourself"
• [e] Or "fatherless"
• [f] Lit "glean it after yourself"
• [g] Or "fatherless"