Deuteronomy 24:17
in Deuteronomy 24Do not deny justice to the foreigner or the fatherless, and do not take a widow’s cloak as security.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou shalt not wrest the justice due to the sojourner, or to the fatherless, nor take the widow’s raiment to pledge;
KJV
Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge:
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This verse in Deuteronomy 24
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Fathers shall not be put to death for their children
on Deuteronomy 24:16-18
At 2 Kings 14:6 Amaziah spares the sons of his father's murderers and the text cites this law, so the rule stands on record as kept. Exodus 20:5 speaks of what God does across generations, while this verse governs what a court may do, and Ezekiel 18 takes up the difference. The foreigner, the fatherless and the widow are protected because Israel was once slaves in Egypt.
This site's exposition
Do not deny justice
The verse turns from lending to justice, and Henry charges the judge to plead for the foreigner and the fatherless, who have no friends to speak for them. The widow's cloak may never be taken as security, where the poor man's cloak was returned at sunset. Wesley limits the ban to the clothing she needs every day.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): " Thou shalt not pervert their judgment, nor force them to give their very raiment for a pledge, by defrauding them of their right." Judges must be advocates for those that cannot speak for themselves and have no friends to speak for them. The rich are commanded to be kind and charitable to the poor. Many ways they are ordered to be so by the law of Moses.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The fathers shall not be put to death for the children--The rule was addressed for the guidance of magistrates, and it established the equitable principle that none should be responsible for the crimes of others.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Compare the marginal references. The motive assigned for these various acts of consideration is one and the same Deu 24:18, Deu 24:22.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַטֶּ֔ה | tateh | you will turn aside | H5186 → | 214 times |
| מִשְׁפַּ֖ט | mishpat | [the] justice of | H4941 → | 422 times |
| גֵּ֣ר | ger | a sojourner | H1616 → | 92 times |
| יָת֑וֹם | yatom | a fatherless one | H3490 → | 42 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַחֲבֹ֔ל | tachavol | you will take as pledge | H2254 → | 27 times |
| בֶּ֖גֶד | beged | [the] garment of | H899 → | |
| אַלְמָנָֽה׃ | ʾalmanah | a widow | H490 → | 56 times |
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תַטֶּ֔הyou will turn aside
tatehH5186 →214 times
מִשְׁפַּ֖ט[the] justice of
mishpatH4941 →422 times
גֵּ֣רa sojourner
gerH1616 →92 times
יָת֑וֹםa fatherless one
yatomH3490 →42 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
תַחֲבֹ֔לyou will take as pledge
tachavolH2254 →27 times
בֶּ֖גֶד[the] garment of
begedH899 →
אַלְמָנָֽה׃a widow
ʾalmanahH490 →56 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 16:19Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:15
You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 23:2
You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 17:23
A wicked man takes a covert bribe to subvert the course of justice.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Habakkuk 1:4
Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.
- Deuteronomy 10:17
For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and accepting no bribe.
- Leviticus 19:15
Through
Deuteronomy 27:19‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
it leads to
- Malachi 3:5
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 10:18
He executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and He loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing.
- Malachi 3:5
Through
Micah 7:3Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.
it leads to
- Micah 3:11
Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster…
- Micah 3:11
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Justice34 verses
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
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About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.