Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Parallel translations
- WEB “You shall not oppress an alien, for you know the heart of an alien, since you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
- BSB Do not oppress a foreign resident, since you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners; for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
- NKJV “Also you shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
- NASB “You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.
- NLT “You must not oppress foreigners. You know what it’s like to be a foreigner, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.
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
Do not oppress the foreigner, for you know the heart of an alien from your time in Egypt. Shared experience of suffering should produce empathy and justice.
Overview
Repeating and deepening the earlier command, God appeals to Israel's memory of bondage to stir compassion for the stranger. Knowing the alien's vulnerable heart, they must protect rather than exploit him. This welcome of the outsider foreshadows the gospel, in which estranged peoples are reconciled to God and one another in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Deut 27:19Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.
- Exod 22:21Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
- Deut 24:14–18Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:
- Matt 18:33Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
- Ezek 22:7In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow.
- Ps 94:6They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.
- Exod 21:21Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.
- Heb 2:17–18Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
- Deut 10:19Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 23:9 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.