‘And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.
- KJV And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him.
- BSB When a foreigner resides with you in your land, you must not oppress him.
- ESV “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.
- NASB ‘When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.
- NLT “Do not take advantage of foreigners who live among you in your land.
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
Israel must not wrong the foreigner living among them. God requires just and compassionate treatment of outsiders.
Overview
The resident alien was vulnerable, lacking the protections of tribe and land. God commands that they not be oppressed, extending covenant ethics beyond ethnic Israel. This care for the sojourner reflects God's own heart for the marginalized and anticipates the gospel's reach to all nations, where Gentiles become fellow citizens with the saints (Eph. 2:19).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Exod 22:21“You shall not wrong an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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:
- Deut 24:14You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers, or one of the foreigners who are in your land within your gates.
- Ezek 22:29The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery. Yes, they have troubled the poor and needy, and have oppressed the foreigner wrongfully.
- Ezek 22:7In you have they treated father and mother with contempt. Among you they have oppressed the foreigner. In you they have wronged the fatherless and the widow.
- Deut 10:18–19He does execute justice for the fatherless and widow, and loves the foreigner, in giving him food and clothing.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 19:33 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.