He shall dwell with you, among you, in the place which he shall choose within one of your gates, where it pleases him best. You shall not oppress him.
Parallel translations
- KJV He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him.
- BSB Let him live among you wherever he chooses, in the town of his pleasing. Do not oppress him.
- ESV He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.
- NKJV He may dwell with you in your midst, in the place which he chooses within one of your gates, where it seems best to him; you shall not oppress him.
- NASB He shall live with you in your midst, in the place that he chooses in one of your towns where it pleases him; you shall not mistreat him.
- NLT Let them live among you in any town they choose, and do not oppress them.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The escaped slave may live freely wherever he chooses among Israel, and must not be oppressed. Refuge includes dignity and protection.
Overview
Not only is the runaway not to be returned, he is to be welcomed, allowed to settle where he wishes, and shielded from oppression. This extends genuine mercy and freedom to the vulnerable outsider. The law embodies God's heart for the oppressed and anticipates the welcome and liberty that the gospel offers to all who take refuge in the Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Exod 22:21“You shall not wrong an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
- Isa 16:3–4Give counsel! Execute justice! Make your shade like the night in the middle of the noonday! Hide the outcasts! Don’t betray the fugitive!
- Jas 2:6But you have dishonored the poor man. Don’t the rich oppress you, and personally drag you before the courts?
- Zech 7:10Don’t oppress the widow, nor the fatherless, the foreigner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.’
- Jer 7:6if you don’t oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, and don’t shed innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your own hurt:
- Mal 3:5I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don’t fear me,” says Yahweh of Armies.
- Exod 23:9“You shall not oppress an alien, for you know the heart of an alien, since you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
- Titus 3:2–3to speak evil of no one, not to be contentious, to be gentle, showing all humility toward all men.
- Luke 15:15–24He went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed pigs.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 23:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.