Deuteronomy 24:12

12 `And if he is a poor man, thou dost not lie down with his pledge;

Deuteronomy 24:12 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 24:12

And if the man [be] poor
Which may be thought to be the case of everyone that gives pledges for a debt he owes, or a sum of money he borrows; yet there might be a difference: some might be so very destitute of goods and raiment in their houses, that whatever they parted with was distressing to them, and they could not well do without it:

thou shalt not sleep with his pledge;
nor keep it a night; but deliver it to him, before he went to bed, and laid himself down to sleep.

Deuteronomy 24:12 In-Context

10 `When thou liftest up on thy brother a debt of anything, thou dost not go in unto his house to obtain his pledge;

11 at the outside thou dost stand, and the man on whom thou art lifting [it] up is bringing out unto thee the pledge at the outside.

12 `And if he is a poor man, thou dost not lie down with his pledge;

13 thou dost certainly give back to him the pledge at the going in of the sun, and he hath lain down in his own raiment, and hath blessed thee; and to thee it is righteousness before Jehovah thy God.

14 `Thou dost not oppress a hireling, poor and needy, of thy brethren or of thy sojourner who is in thy land within thy gates;