Deuteronomy 24:17

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.

📖 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

Referenced Verses

• Deut 16:19 : 19 You must not pervert justice or show favor. Do not take a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and distort the words of the righteous.
• Exod 22:21-22 : 21 “You must not wrong a resident foreigner nor oppress him, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. 22 “You must not afflict any widow or orphan.
• Exod 23:6 : 6 “You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits.
• Deut 27:19 : 19 ‘Cursed is the one who perverts justice for the resident foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.’ Then all the people will say,‘Amen!’
• Isa 1:23 : 23 Your officials are rebels, they associate with thieves. All of them love bribery, and look for payoffs. They do not take up the cause of the orphan, or defend the rights of the widow.
• Job 29:11-17 : 11 Job’s Benevolence“As soon as the ear heard these things, it blessed me, and when the eye saw them, it bore witness to me, 12 for I rescued the poor who cried out for help, and the orphan who had no one to assist him; 13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me, and I made the widow’s heart rejoice; 14 I put on righteousness and it clothed me, my just dealing was like a robe and a turban; 15 I was eyes for the blind and feet for the lame; 16 I was a father to the needy, and I investigated the case of the person I did not know; 17 I broke the fangs of the wicked, and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
• Exod 23:9 : 9 “You must not oppress a resident foreigner, since you know the life of a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
• Deut 1:17 : 17 They must not discriminate in judgment, but hear the lowly and the great alike. Nor should they be intimidated by human beings, for judgment belongs to God. If the matter being adjudicated is too difficult for them, they should bring it before me for a hearing.
• Jer 5:28 : 28 That is how they have grown fat and sleek. There is no limit to the evil things they do. They do not plead the cause of the fatherless in such a way as to win it. They do not defend the rights of the poor.
• Mic 7:3 : 3 They are experts at doing evil; government officials and judges take bribes, prominent men announce what they wish and then they plan it out.
• Exod 23:2 : 2 “You must not follow a crowd in doing evil things; in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice,
• Zech 7:10 : 10 You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the resident foreigner, or the poor, nor should anyone secretly plot evil against his fellow citizen.’
• Mal 3:5 : 5 “I will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, who refuse to help the resident foreigner and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
• Luke 3:14 : 14 Then some soldiers also asked him,“And as for us– what should we do?” He told them,“Take money from no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your pay.”
• Jas 2:6 : 6 But you have dishonored the poor! Are not the rich oppressing you and dragging you into the courts?
• Jer 22:3 : 3 The LORD says,“Do what is just and right. Deliver those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Do not exploit or mistreat resident foreigners who live in your land, children who have no fathers, or widows. Do not kill innocent people in this land.
• Ezek 22:7 : 7 They have treated father and mother with contempt within you; they have oppressed the resident foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow within you.
• Ezek 22:29 : 29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the resident foreigner and denied them justice.
• Amos 5:7-9 : 7 The Israelites turn justice into bitterness; they throw what is fair and right to the ground. 8 (But there is one who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion; he can turn the darkness into morning and daylight into night. He summons the water of the seas and pours it out on the earth’s surface. The LORD is his name! 9 He flashes destruction down upon the strong so that destruction overwhelms the fortified places.) 10 The Israelites hate anyone who arbitrates at the city gate; they despise anyone who speaks honestly. 11 Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops and exact a grain tax from them, you will not live in the houses you built with chiseled stone, nor will you drink the wine from the fine vineyards you planted. 12 Certainly I am aware of your many rebellious acts and your numerous sins. You torment the innocent, you take bribes, and you deny justice to the needy at the city gate.
• Mic 2:1-2 : 1 Land Robbers Will Lose Their Land Beware wicked schemers, those who devise calamity as they lie in bed. As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, because they have the power to do so. 2 They confiscate the fields they desire, and seize the houses they want. They defraud people of their homes, and deprive people of the land they have inherited.
• Deut 10:17-18 : 17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God who is unbiased and takes no bribe, 18 who justly treats the orphan and widow, and who loves resident foreigners, giving them food and clothing.
• Exod 22:26-27 : 26 If you do take the garment of your neighbor in pledge, you must return it to him by the time the sun goes down, 27 for it is his only covering– it is his garment for his body. What else can he sleep in? And when he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am gracious.
• Deut 24:6 : 6 One must not take either lower or upper millstones as security on a loan, for that is like taking a life itself as security.
• Deut 24:13 : 13 You must by all means return to him at sunset the item he gave you as security so that he may sleep in his outer garment and bless you for it; it will be considered a just deed by the LORD your God.
• Ps 82:1-5 : 1 A psalm of Asaph. God stands in the assembly of El; in the midst of the gods he renders judgment. 2 He says,“How long will you make unjust legal decisions and show favoritism to the wicked?(Selah) 3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless! Vindicate the oppressed and suffering! 4 Rescue the poor and needy! Deliver them from the power of the wicked! 5 They neither know nor understand. They stumble around in the dark, while all the foundations of the earth crumble.
• Ps 94:3-6 : 3 O LORD, how long will the wicked, how long will the wicked celebrate? 4 They spew out threats and speak defiantly; all the evildoers boast. 5 O LORD, they crush your people; they oppress the nation that belongs to you. 6 They kill the widow and the resident foreigner, and they murder the fatherless.
• Ps 94:20-21 : 20 Cruel rulers are not your allies, those who make oppressive laws. 21 They conspire against the blameless, and condemn to death the innocent.
• Prov 22:22-23 : 22 Do not exploit a poor person because he is poor and do not crush the needy in court, 23 for the LORD will plead their case and will rob the life those who are robbing them.
• Prov 31:5 : 5 lest they drink and forget what is decreed, and remove from all the poor their legal rights.
• Eccl 5:8 : 8 Government Corruption If you see the extortion of the poor, or the perversion of justice and fairness in the government, do not be astonished by the matter. For the high official is watched by a higher official, and there are higher ones over them!
• Isa 3:15 : 15 Why do you crush my people and grind the faces of the poor?” The Sovereign LORD of Heaven’s Armies has spoken.
• Isa 33:15 : 15 The one who lives uprightly and speaks honestly; the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures and rejects a bribe; the one who does not plot violent crimes and does not seek to harm others–
• 1 Sam 12:3-4 : 3 Here I am. Bring a charge against me before the LORD and before his chosen king. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I wronged? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I taken a bribe so that I would overlook something? Tell me, and I will return it to you!” 4 They replied,“You have not wronged us or oppressed us. You have not taken anything from the hand of anyone.”
• Job 22:8-9 : 8 Although you were a powerful man, owning land, an honored man living on it, 9 you sent widows away empty-handed, and the arms of the orphans you crushed.