Deuteronomy 24:16-22

16 "Fathers shall not be put to death because of [their] children, and children shall not be put to death because of [their] fathers; each one shall be put to death for his [own] sin.

17 You shall not subvert the rights of an alien [or] an orphan, and you shall not take as pledge [the] garment of a widow.

18 And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and [that] Yahweh your God redeemed you from there; therefore I [am] commanding you to do this commandment.

19 "When you reap your harvest in your field and you forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not return to get it, for it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

20 When you beat off the fruit of your olive trees you shall not search through the branches afterward, for it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow.

21 When you harvest [grapes], you shall not glean your vineyards {again}; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow.

22 And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, therefore I [am] commanding you to do this thing."

Deuteronomy 24:16-22 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "If"
• [b]. That is, what is left
• [c]. Literally "behind/after you"
• [d]. That is, what is left