Leviticus 19:34
in Leviticus 19You must treat the foreigner living among you as native-born and love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The stranger that sojourneth with you shall be unto you as the home-born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God.
KJV
But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
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This verse in Leviticus 19
Commentary
6 notes on this verseOr 2, as to church- privileges, so it concerns only those who were proselytes. Ye were strangers - And therefore are sensible of the fears, distresses, and miseries of such, which call for your pity, and you ought to do to them, as you desired others should do to you, when you were such.
This site's exposition
if a stranger sojourn with thee
on Leviticus 19:33-34
The love command is given a second time and its object is the foreigner, and these two verses hold the only other occurrence of as thyself in the Torah. The stranger who dwells in the land is counted as one born among you, so the measure set is the treatment a citizen receives. The reason moves off the refrain and onto memory, for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt, which is the ground Exodus 22:21 and 23:9 also give. Israel is asked to treat the outsider by remembering what it was to be one.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Something of each commandment. (1.) The first commandment implied in that which is often repeated here, "I am your God." And here is a prohibition of enchantment (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Any thing with the blood - Any flesh out of which the blood is poured. Neither shall ye use enchantments - It was unpardonable in them, to whom were committed the oracles of God, to ask counsel of the devil. And yet worse in Christians, to whom the son of God is manifested, to destroy the works of the devil.
But a stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you,....
Strangers shall be welcome to God's grace, and therefore we should do what we can to invite them to it, and to recommend religion to their good opinion. It argues a generous disposition, and a pious regard to God, as a common Father, to be kind to strangers; for those of different countries, customs, and languages, are all made of one blood.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כְּאֶזְרָ֣ח | keezrach | like [the] native-born | H249 → | 17 times |
| מִכֶּם֩ | mikem | from <the> you | ||
| יִהְיֶ֨ה | yihyeh | he will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָכֶ֜ם | lakhem | to <the> you | ||
| הַגֵּ֣ר׀ | hager | the sojourner | H1616 → | 92 times |
| הַגָּ֣ר | hagar | who sojourns | H1481 → | 97 times |
| אִתְּכֶ֗ם | ʾitekhem | with you | H854 → | 929 times |
| וְאָהַבְתָּ֥ | veahavta | and you will love | H157 → | |
| לוֹ֙ | lo | <to> <the> him | ||
| כָּמ֔וֹךָ | kamokha | like yourself | H3644 → | |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| גֵרִ֥ים | gerim | sojourners | H1616 → | 92 times |
| הֱיִיתֶ֖ם | heyitem | you were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְּאֶ֣רֶץ | beeretz | in [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרָ֑יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| אֲנִ֖י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃ | ʾeloheikhem | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
כְּאֶזְרָ֣חlike [the] native-born
keezrachH249 →17 times
מִכֶּם֩from <the> you
mikem
יִהְיֶ֨הhe will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
לָכֶ֜םto <the> you
lakhem
הַגֵּ֣ר׀the sojourner
hagerH1616 →92 times
הַגָּ֣רwho sojourns
hagarH1481 →97 times
אִתְּכֶ֗םwith you
ʾitekhemH854 →929 times
וְאָהַבְתָּ֥and you will love
veahavtaH157 →
לוֹ֙<to> <the> him
lo
כָּמ֔וֹךָlike yourself
kamokhaH3644 →
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
גֵרִ֥יםsojourners
gerimH1616 →92 times
הֱיִיתֶ֖םyou were
heyitemH1961 →3559 times
בְּאֶ֣רֶץin [the] land of
beeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרָ֑יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
אֲנִ֖יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָ֥ה[am] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃God your
ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 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
Leviticus 19:18Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
it leads to
- Matthew 22:39–40
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
- Romans 13:9
The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Mark 12:31–34
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
- Luke 10:27–37
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
- Galatians 5:14
The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Matthew 22:39–40
Through
Matthew 5:43You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:18
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
- Psalms 139:21–22
Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD, and detest those who rise against You?
- Galatians 5:13–14
For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.
- Leviticus 19:18
Where this verse is studied
About Leviticus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.