Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. Therefore I command you to do this thing.
- KJV And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
- NKJV And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this thing.
- NASB And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.
- NLT Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. That is why I am giving you this command.
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
Israel must remember their slavery in Egypt as the motive for caring for the poor. Redemption remembered produces mercy practiced.
Overview
This repeated reminder seals the gleaning laws with the memory of Israel's own bondage and God's deliverance. Because they were once helpless and were redeemed, they must show like compassion to the helpless among them. This is the gospel logic of grateful obedience: those forgiven much love much (Luke 7:47), and the redeemed reflect their Redeemer's mercy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Deut 24:18Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from that place. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.
- Deut 7:8But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
- 1 Jn 4:10–11And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
- Isa 51:1“Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut, and to the quarry from which you were hewn.
- 2 Cor 8:8–9I am not making a demand, but I am testing the sincerity of your love in comparison to the earnestness of others.
- Eph 5:1–2Be imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children,
- Deut 5:14–15but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox or donkey or any of your livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest as you do.
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 24:22 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.