Deuteronomy 24:18
in Deuteronomy 24Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from that place. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
but thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and Jehovah thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
KJV
But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 24
Commentary
5 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
you were slaves in Egypt
Israel's memory of Egypt is the motive given for justice here. Henry reads it two ways: a former slave knows how heavy a taskmaster's hand is, and a redeemed people owes gratitude to the God who set it free.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt,....
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.
Thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman - Most people who have affluence rose from comparative penury, for those who are born to estates frequently squander them away; such therefore should remember what their feelings, their fears, and anxieties were, when they were poor and abject.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְזָכַרְתָּ֗ | vezakharta | and you will remember | H2142 → | 230 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עֶ֤בֶד | ʾeved | a slave | H5650 → | 799 times |
| הָיִ֙יתָ֙ | hayita | you were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְּמִצְרַ֔יִם | bemitzrayim | in Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וַֽיִּפְדְּךָ֛ | vaiyifdekha | and he redeemed you | H6299 → | 59 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| מִשָּׁ֑ם | misham | from there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | there- | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֵּ֞ן | ken | -fore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| אָנֹכִ֤י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| מְצַוְּךָ֙ | metzavekha | [am] commanding you | H6680 → | 494 times |
| לַעֲשׂ֔וֹת | laasot | to do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַדָּבָ֖ר | hadavar | the thing | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַזֶּֽה׃ ס | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
וְזָכַרְתָּ֗and you will remember
vezakhartaH2142 →230 times
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
עֶ֤בֶדa slave
ʾevedH5650 →799 times
הָיִ֙יתָ֙you were
hayitaH1961 →3559 times
בְּמִצְרַ֔יִםin Egypt
bemitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וַֽיִּפְדְּךָ֛and he redeemed you
vaiyifdekhaH6299 →59 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
מִשָּׁ֑םfrom there
mishamH8033 →834 times
עַל־there-
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֵּ֞ן-fore
kenH3651 →771 times
אָנֹכִ֤יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
מְצַוְּךָ֙[am] commanding you
metzavekhaH6680 →494 times
לַעֲשׂ֔וֹתto do
laasotH6213 →2628 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַדָּבָ֖רthe thing
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
הַזֶּֽה׃ ס<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 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 5:15Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 5:6
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- Deuteronomy 15:15
Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 16:12
Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and carefully follow these statutes.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ephesians 2:11–12
Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands)—
- Deuteronomy 24:18–22
Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from that place. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.
- Deuteronomy 5:6
Through
Deuteronomy 15:15Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today.
it leads to
- Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.
- 1 John 4:9–11
This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.
- Deuteronomy 5:14–15
but 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…
- Ephesians 4:32
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.