Deuteronomy 24:14-22

14 "Do not cheat poor and needy hired servants, whether they are Israelites or foreigners living in one of your towns. ¹

15 Each day before sunset pay them for that day's work; they need the money and have counted on getting it. If you do not pay them, they will cry out against you to the Lord, and you will be guilty of sin.

16 "Parents are not to be put to death for crimes committed by their children, and children are not to be put to death for crimes committed by their parents; people are to be put to death only for a crime they themselves have committed. ²

17 "Do not deprive foreigners and orphans of their rights; and do not take a widow's garment as security for a loan. ³

18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God set you free; that is why I have given you this command.

19 "When you gather your crops and fail to bring in some of the grain that you have cut, do not go back for it; it is to be left for the foreigners, orphans, and widows, so that the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do. ⁴

20 When you have picked your olives once, do not go back and get those that are left; they are for the foreigners, orphans, and widows.

21 When you have gathered your grapes once, do not go back over the vines a second time; the grapes that are left are for the foreigners, orphans, and widows.

22 Never forget that you were slaves in Egypt; that is why I have given you this command.

Deuteronomy 24:14-22 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. 24.14, 15Leviticus 19.13.
• 2. 24.16 2 K 14.6;2 Chronicles 25.4;Ezekiel 18.20.
• 3. 24.17, 18Exodus 23.9;Leviticus 19.33, 34;Deuteronomy 27.19.
• 4. 24.19-21Leviticus 19.9, 10; 23.22.