Zechariah 7:10

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

Do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.'

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וְאַלְמָנָ֧ה וְיָת֛וֹם גֵּ֥ר וְעָנִ֖י אַֽל־תַּעֲשֹׁ֑קוּ וְרָעַת֙ אִ֣ישׁ אָחִ֔יו אַֽל־תַּחְשְׁב֖וּ בִּלְבַבְכֶֽם׃

Transliteration

And ʾalmānāh and yāṯôm gēr and ʿānî ʾal-taʿăšōqû, and rāʿaṯ ʾîš ʾāḥîw ʾal-taḥšəḇû in bilḇaḇḵem.

Grammar Details

• *ʾalmānāh*: noun, feminine singular - widow
• *yāṯôm*: noun, masculine singular - orphan/fatherless
• *gēr*: noun, masculine singular - sojourner/foreigner
• *ʿānî*: adjective, masculine singular - poor/afflicted
• *ʾal-taʿăšōqû*: negative particle + qal imperfect, 2nd masculine plural - do not oppress
• *rāʿaṯ*: noun, feminine singular construct - evil of
• *ʾîš*: noun, masculine singular - man/each
• *ʾāḥîw*: noun, masculine singular + 3rd masculine singular suffix - his brother
• *ʾal-taḥšəḇû*: negative particle + qal imperfect, 2nd masculine plural - do not devise/plan
• *bilḇaḇḵem*: preposition + noun, masculine singular + 2nd masculine plural suffix - in your heart

Word Meanings

• *ʾal-taʿăšōqû*: do not oppress/do not mistreat/do not wrong
• *rāʿaṯ*: evil of/wickedness of/harm of
• *ʾal-taḥšəḇû*: do not devise/do not plan/do not imagine
• *bilḇaḇḵem*: in your heart/in your mind/within yourselves

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  And do not oppress the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you plot evil against his brother in your heart.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  and oppress{H6231} not the widow,{H490} nor the fatherless,{H3490} the sojourner,{H1616} nor the poor;{H6041} and let none of you devise{H2803} evil{H7451} against{H376} his brother{H251} in your heart.{H3824}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  And oppress{H6231}{(H8799)} not the widow{H490}, nor the fatherless{H3490}, the stranger{H1616}, nor the poor{H6041}; and let none of you imagine{H2803}{(H8799)} evil{H7451} against{H376} his brother{H251} in your heart{H3824}.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Do the wyddowe, the fatherlesse, the straunger, and poore no wronge: and let no man ymagen euell agaynst his brother in his hert.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  And oppresse not the widowe, nor the fatherles, the stranger nor the poore, & let none of you imagine euil against his brother in your heart.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  Do the wydow, the fatherlesse, the straungers and poore no wrong, and let no man imagine euil against his brother in his heart.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  Don't oppress the widow, nor the fatherless, the foreigner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.'

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  And widow, and fatherless, Sojourner, and poor, ye do not oppress, And the calamity of one another ye do not devise in your heart.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the sojourner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the sojourner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  Do not be hard on the widow, or the child without a father, on the man from a strange country, or on the poor; let there be no evil thought in your heart against your brother.

• World English Bible (2000)

  Don't oppress the widow, nor the fatherless, the foreigner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.'

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the resident foreigner, or the poor, nor should anyone secretly plot evil against his fellow citizen.’

Referenced Verses

• Isa 1:23 : 23 Your rulers are rebellious and companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the fatherless, and the widow's case never comes before them.
• Jer 5:28 : 28 They have grown fat and sleek. They excel in evil deeds; they do not defend the rights of the fatherless so they might prosper, nor do they uphold the cause of the needy.
• Ps 72:4 : 4 He will judge the poor of the people, save the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor.
• Ps 21:11 : 11 You will destroy their offspring from the earth, and their descendants from among mankind.
• Ps 36:4 : 4 The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; he has stopped being wise and doing good.
• Ps 140:2 : 2 Rescue me, O LORD, from evil people; protect me from men of violence.
• Prov 3:29 : 29 Do not plot harm against your neighbor who lives trustingly beside you.
• Prov 6:18 : 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,
• Prov 22:22-23 : 22 Do not rob the poor because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate. 23 For the LORD will plead their case and will rob of life those who rob them.
• Prov 23:10-11 : 10 Do not move an ancient boundary marker, nor enter the fields of the fatherless. 11 For their Redeemer is strong; He will plead their case against you.
• Isa 1:16-17 : 16 Wash yourselves and make yourselves clean. Remove your evil deeds from My sight; stop doing evil. 17 Learn to do what is good; seek justice, correct the oppressor. Defend the cause of the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.
• Exod 22:21-24 : 21 Do not afflict a widow or an orphan. 22 If you do afflict them and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. 23 My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless. 24 If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, you must not act as a creditor to him; do not charge him interest.
• Exod 23:9 : 9 Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
• Deut 24:14-18 : 14 Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns. 15 Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor and depend on it. Otherwise, they may cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin. 16 Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin. 17 Do not pervert justice for the foreigner or the fatherless, and do not take a widow's garment as security for a pledge. 18 Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.
• Deut 27:19 : 19 Cursed is anyone who denies justice to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Then all the people shall say, 'Amen.'
• Jer 11:19-20 : 19 I was like a gentle lamb being led to the slaughter. I did not realize they had plotted against me, saying, ‘Let us destroy the tree with its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name will never be remembered again.’ 20 But, LORD of Hosts, who judges righteously and tests the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance on them, for I have presented my case to you.
• Jer 18:18 : 18 Then they said, 'Come, let's devise plans against Jeremiah, for instruction won't vanish from the priest, counsel from the wise, or a word from the prophet. Come, let's attack him with our words, and let's not pay attention to anything he says.'
• Jer 22:15-17 : 15 Do you think you are a king because you compete in cedar? Your father ate and drank, but he practiced justice and righteousness, and it went well with him. 16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and it was well with him. Is this not what it means to know me? declares the LORD. 17 But your eyes and heart are set only on your dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, and on oppression and violence.
• Ezek 22:7 : 7 Within you, they have treated father and mother with contempt; they have oppressed the foreigner in your midst; they have wronged the orphan and the widow.
• Ezek 22:12 : 12 In you, they accept bribes to shed blood; they take interest and increase unlawfully. You have gained profit in extorting your neighbors, and you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign LORD.
• Ezek 22:29 : 29 The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the foreigner, denying them justice.
• Amos 4:1 : 1 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan who are on Mount Samaria, who oppress the poor and crush the needy, who say to your masters, 'Bring us something to drink!'
• Amos 5:11-12 : 11 Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact a grain tax from them, though you have built houses of cut stone, you will not live in them; though you have planted delightful vineyards, you will not drink their wine. 12 For I know your many transgressions and your mighty sins: oppressing the righteous, taking bribes, and turning aside the needy at the gate.
• Mic 2:1-3 : 1 Woe to those who devise wickedness and plan evil on their beds! At dawn, they carry it out because they have the power to do it. 2 They covet fields and seize them; they take houses and rob them. They oppress a man and his house, a person and their inheritance. 3 Therefore, this is what the LORD says: 'I am planning disaster against this family, from which you cannot free your necks, nor will you walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.'
• Mic 3:1-4 : 1 Then I said: "Hear now, leaders of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not your responsibility to know justice? 2 You who hate good and love evil; you tear the skin from my people and the flesh from their bones. 3 You eat the flesh of my people, strip off their skin, break their bones, and chop them up like meat for the pot, like flesh in a cauldron. 4 Then they will cry out to the LORD, but He will not answer them. He will hide His face from them at that time because of the evil they have done.
• Zeph 3:1-3 : 1 Woe to the rebellious and defiled city, the oppressive one! 2 She listens to no voice, she accepts no discipline; she does not trust in the LORD, nor does she draw near to her God. 3 Her officials are roaring lions in her midst; her judges are wolves of the evening, leaving nothing for the morning.
• Zech 8:17 : 17 Do not plot evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love false oaths, for I hate all these things, declares the LORD.
• Mal 3:5 : 5 I will come near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, adulterers, and those who swear falsely; against those who defraud workers of their wages, oppress widows and orphans, and deprive foreigners of justice. They do not fear me, says the Lord of Hosts.
• Matt 23:13 : 13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor do you allow those entering to go in.
• Mark 7:21-23 : 21 For from within, out of the human heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, 22 adulteries, greed, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. 23 All these evils come from within and defile a person.
• 1 Cor 6:10 : 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
• Jas 1:14-15 : 14 But each person is tempted when they are drawn away and enticed by their own desire. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.
• Jas 5:4 : 4 Look, the wages that you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
• 1 John 3:15 : 15 Everyone who hates their brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in them.