Deuteronomy 24:17

KJV1611 – Modern English

You shall not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow's clothing as a pledge:

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

לֹ֣א תַטֶּ֔ה מִשְׁפַּ֖ט גֵּ֣ר יָת֑וֹם וְלֹ֣א תַחֲבֹ֔ל בֶּ֖גֶד אַלְמָנָֽה׃

Transliteration

Not taṭṭeh mišpaṭ gēr yātôm, and not taḥăbōl beged ʾalmānâ.

Grammar Details

• *taṭṭeh*: hiphil imperfect 2nd masculine singular - you pervert/distort
• *mišpaṭ*: masculine singular construct - justice of
• *gēr*: masculine singular noun - sojourner/foreigner
• *yātôm*: masculine singular noun - orphan/fatherless
• *taḥăbōl*: qal imperfect 2nd masculine singular - you take as pledge
• *beged*: masculine singular noun - garment/clothing
• *ʾalmānâ*: feminine singular noun - widow

Word Meanings

• *taṭṭeh* *mišpaṭ*: pervert justice/distort judgment
• *gēr*: foreigner/sojourner/resident alien

Other Translations

• Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

  Do not pervert justice for the foreigner or the fatherless, and do not take a widow's garment as security for a pledge.

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow's raiment to pledge:

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  Thou shalt not wrest the justice [due] to the sojourner, [or] to the fatherless, nor take the widow's raiment to pledge;

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow's raiment to pledge:

• Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

  Hynder not the right of the straunger nor of the fatherlesse, nor take wedowes rayment to pledge.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Thou shalt not wrest the righte of the straunger and of the fatherlesse. And ye wedowes rayment shalt thou not take to pledge:

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  Thou shalt not peruert the right of the stranger, nor of the fatherlesse, nor take a widowes rayment to pledge.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  Thou shalt not peruert the ryght of the strauger, nor of the fatherlesse, nor take a wydowes rayment to pledge:

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, [nor] of the fatherless; nor take a widow's raiment to pledge:

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  You shall not wrest the justice [due] to the foreigner, [or] to the fatherless, nor take the widow's clothing to pledge;

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  `Thou dost not turn aside the judgment of a fatherless sojourner, nor take in pledge the garment of a widow;

• American Standard Version (1901)

  Thou shalt not wrest the justice `due' to the sojourner, `or' to the fatherless, nor take the widow's raiment to pledge;

• American Standard Version (1901)

  Thou shalt not wrest the justice [due] to the sojourner, [or] to the fatherless, nor take the widow's raiment to pledge;

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  Be upright in judging the cause of the man from a strange country and of him who has no father; do not take a widow's clothing on account of a debt:

• World English Bible (2000)

  You shall not wrest the justice [due] to the foreigner, [or] to the fatherless, nor take the widow's clothing to pledge;

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  You must not pervert justice due a resident foreigner or an orphan, or take a widow’s garment as security for a loan.

Referenced Verses

• Deut 16:19 : 19 You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe: for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous.
• Exod 22:21-22 : 21 You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 22 You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child.
• Exod 23:6 : 6 You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his dispute.
• Deut 27:19 : 19 Cursed be he who perverts the judgment of the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.
• Isa 1:23 : 23 Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: everyone loves gifts, and follows after rewards: they do not judge the fatherless, nor does the cause of the widow come to them.
• Job 29:11-17 : 11 When the ear heard me, it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it approved me; 12 Because I delivered the poor who cried out, the fatherless, and the one who had no helper. 13 The blessing of a dying man came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. 14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a crown. 15 I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame. 16 I was a father to the poor, and I searched out the case I did not know. 17 And I broke the fangs of the wicked, and plucked the victim from his teeth.
• Exod 23:9 : 9 Also you shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
• Deut 1:17 : 17 You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid of anyone, for the judgment is God's. The case that is too difficult for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.
• Jer 5:28 : 28 They have grown fat, they shine: yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked: they do not judge the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy they do not judge.
• Mic 7:3 : 3 That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asks, and the judge asks for a reward; and the great man utters his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.
• Exod 23:2 : 2 You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to pervert justice by following the majority.
• Zech 7:10 : 10 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.
• Mal 3:5 : 5 And I will come near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those who oppress the laborer in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who turn aside the stranger from his right, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.
• Luke 3:14 : 14 And the soldiers likewise asked of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said to them, Do violence to no man, nor accuse anyone falsely; and be content with your wages.
• Jas 2:6 : 6 But you have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and haul you into the courts?
• Jer 22:3 : 3 Thus says the LORD; Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
• Ezek 22:7 : 7 In you they have treated father and mother with contempt: in your midst they have dealt oppressively with the stranger: in you they have wronged the fatherless and the widow.
• Ezek 22:29 : 29 The people of the land have used oppression, and committed robbery, and have wronged the poor and needy: yes, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
• Amos 5:7-9 : 7 You who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, 8 Seek him that makes the seven stars and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night; that calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name: 9 That strengthens the plundered against the strong, so that the plundered shall come against the fortress. 10 They hate him that rebukes in the gate, and they abhor him that speaks uprightly. 11 Since you tread upon the poor, and you take from him burdens of wheat: you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink wine of them. 12 For I know your many transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.
• Mic 2:1-2 : 1 Woe to those who devise iniquity and work evil upon their beds! When the morning is light, they practice it because it is in the power of their hand. 2 They covet fields and take them by violence, and houses, and take them away; so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
• Deut 10:17-18 : 17 For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, mighty and awesome, who does not show partiality nor take a bribe: 18 He executes the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing.
• Exod 22:26-27 : 26 If you take your neighbor's garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, 27 for that is his only covering, his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it shall come to pass, when he cries to me, that I will hear, for I am gracious.
• Deut 24:6 : 6 No man shall take the lower or the upper millstone as a pledge: for he takes a man's life as a pledge.
• Deut 24:13 : 13 In any case you shall return the pledge to him when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his own clothing, and bless you: and it shall be righteousness to you before the LORD your God.
• Ps 82:1-5 : 1 God stands in the assembly of the mighty; He judges among the gods. 2 How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah. 3 Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy. 4 Deliver the poor and needy; rescue them from the hand of the wicked. 5 They do not know, nor do they understand; they walk in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
• Ps 94:3-6 : 3 LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? 4 How long shall they utter and speak arrogant things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves? 5 They break in pieces your people, O LORD, and afflict your heritage. 6 They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.
• Ps 94:20-21 : 20 Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with you, which frames mischief by a law? 21 They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn innocent blood.
• Prov 22:22-23 : 22 Do not rob the poor because he is poor, neither oppress the afflicted in the gate; 23 For the LORD will plead their cause and plunder the soul of those who plunder them.
• Prov 31:5 : 5 Lest they drink and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
• Eccl 5:8 : 8 If you see the oppression of the poor and the violent perversion of judgment and justice in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for He who is higher than the highest regards, and there are higher than they.
• Isa 3:15 : 15 What do you mean by crushing My people, and grinding the faces of the poor? says the Lord, the LORD of hosts.
• Isa 33:15 : 15 He who walks righteously, and speaks uprightly; he who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands from holding bribes, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil;
• 1 Sam 12:3-4 : 3 Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose donkey have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or from whose hand have I received any bribe to blind my eyes with it? and I will restore it to you. 4 And they said, You have not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither have you taken anything from any man's hand.
• Job 22:8-9 : 8 But as for the mighty man, he possessed the land; and the honorable man lived in it. 9 You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.