Deuteronomy 24:14 · Bible study
Deuteronomy 24:14 Commentary: God’s Justice for the Poor Worker
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore the biblical command against oppressing hired servants and its call for prompt wages, revealing God's care for the poor and the foreigner.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Do not exploit a hired day-laborer, especially by withholding wages; pay promptly because the worker depends on that income for survival.
- Key words: oppress (ashaq), hired servant (sakhir), poor (ani), needy (evyon), sojourner (ger), gates (shaar).
- Main debate: Whether the command applies strictly to day laborers or includes all hired workers; also whether “foreigner” includes only resident aliens or all non-Israelites.
- Theological theme: God’s justice and compassion for the economically vulnerable; the link between faithful work and righteous payment.
- Best use: Teaching on economic ethics, labor justice, and the inclusion of foreigners in God’s covenant community.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.
WEB World English Bible 2000
You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the foreigners who are in your land within your gates.
KJV King James Version 1769
Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy sojourners that are in thy land within thy gates:
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
`Thou dost not oppress a hireling, poor and needy, of thy brethren or of thy sojourner who is in thy land within thy gates;
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant [who is] poor and needy of thy brethren, or of thy sojourners who are in thy land within thy gates:
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Thou shalt not refuse the hire of the needy, and the poor, whether he be thy brother, or a stranger that dwelleth with thee in the land, and is within thy gates:
Translations in other languages (10 available)
No hagas agravio al jornalero pobre y menesteroso, así de tus hermanos como de tus extranjeros que están en tu tierra en tus ciudades:
Não faças injustiça ao empregado pobre e necessitado, tanto de teus irmãos como de teus estrangeiros que estão em tua terra em tuas cidades:
Tu n’ opprimeras point le mercenaire, pauvre et indigent, qu’ il soit l’ un de tes frères, ou l’ un des étrangers demeurant dans ton pays, dans tes portes.
Du sollst dem Dürftigen und Armen seinen Lohn nicht vorenthalten, er sei von deinen Brüdern oder den Fremdlingen, die in deinem Lande und in deinen Toren sind,
Gij zult den armen en nooddruftigen dagloner niet verdrukken, die uit uw broederen is, of uit uw vreemdelingen, die in uw land en in uw poorten zijn.
Non defrauderai il mercenario povero e bisognoso, sia egli uno de’ tuoi fratelli o uno degli stranieri che stanno nel tuo paese, entro le tue porte;
Nie uczynisz krzywdy najemnikowi ubogiemu, i potrzebnemu z braci twojej, albo z cudzoziemców twoich, którzy są w ziemi twej, w bramach twoich.
Не обижай наемника, бедного и нищего, из братьев твоих или из пришельцев твоих, которые в земле твоей, в жилищах твоих;
「困苦 窮乏 的雇工，無論是你的弟兄 或是在你 城裡 寄居的，你不可 欺負他。
Do not be hard on a servant who is poor and in need, if he is one of your countrymen or a man from another nation living with you in your land.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Deuteronomy 24:14
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that Deuteronomy 24:14 forbids oppressing a day laborer, especially by withholding his wages. The Hebrew verb ta'ashoq (you must oppress) carries the sense of extortion or fraud. The law addresses a hired servant who is ani (poor) and evyon (needy), terms denoting those with no financial buffer. Calvin notes that the command is linked to the next verse: paying the wage on the same day. Delaying payment is itself oppression, because the poor laborer lives hand to mouth. Gill adds that the prohibition applies whether the worker is an Israelite brother or a foreigner (ger) living within the gates. The Cambridge Bible observes that this is a parallel to Leviticus 19:13. Keil and Delitzsch emphasize the phrase “to it he lifts up his soul”, the worker sets his hope on that daily wage. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown explain that hired servants in the East are paid at dusk, and to defraud them even for one night would cause real suffering. The consensus therefore is clear: God commands timely payment as a matter of righteousness, protecting the vulnerable.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: God commands that hired servants who are poor and needy be treated with justice, especially through prompt payment of their wages, and this command applies to both Israelites and foreigners in the land.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Type of worker covered | The verse explicitly mentions a hired servant (sakhir) who is poor and needy, a day laborer dependent on daily wages. | Some traditions (e.g., Gill, citing Jewish sources) extend the principle to all hired workers, including those hired by week, month, or year, and even the hire of animals and equipment. Others read the immediate payment requirement as specific to day laborers. |
| Identity of the foreigner (ger) | The law includes the foreigner residing in Israel, reflecting God's care for the vulnerable without land rights. | Jarchi and some rabbinic sources distinguish between a ‘proselyte of righteousness’ (full convert) and a ‘proselyte of the gate’ (resident alien who observes basic laws). Christian commentators generally see the term as inclusive of all non-Israelites living in the land, emphasizing the universal scope of God's justice. |
| Relationship to Leviticus 19:13 | Both passages prohibit oppression of a neighbor and specifically apply to a hired servant's wages. | Some see Deuteronomy as a repetition for a new generation entering the land, while others view it as expanding the earlier law by stressing the foreigner's inclusion and the connection to Israel's redemption from Egypt. |
| Application to modern employment | The principle of timely and fair payment remains binding for Christians in all contexts. | There is disagreement on how strictly the “same day” rule applies when modern pay cycles (weekly, biweekly) are not oppressive by intention. Some argue the command requires wages to be paid as soon as practically possible, while others apply it as a call to avoid any form of economic exploitation. |
Historical & Cultural Context
In ancient Israel, hired laborers, especially day laborers, occupied the lowest economic rungs. They had no land or capital; their daily wages bought that day’s food. The Hebrew term sakhir (hired servant) refers specifically to someone hired by the day, as Deuteronomy 24:15 confirms by requiring payment before sunset. Payment at the end of each day was standard practice in the Near East, as seen in Hammurabi’s Code and reflected in Matthew 20:8.
The location “within your gates” points to the city gates, the place of legal and commercial activity. The law therefore covers workers who came from outside the immediate household, even those who were not permanent residents. The inclusion of the ger (sojourner) is significant. A ger was a foreigner living in Israel without inherited land, often particularly vulnerable to exploitation. The law repeatedly links protection of the ger to Israel’s own experience as aliens in Egypt (Deuteronomy 24:18, 22). The surrounding context (vv. 10, 22) deals with pledges, loans, and treatment of the poor, the widow, and the orphan. Together these laws form a tapestry of economic justice rooted in the character of God, who redeems the oppressed.
This command also appears in Leviticus 19:13 and is echoed by prophets like Malachi (3:5) and by James (5:4) in the New Testament. The repeated emphasis shows that God’s concern for the poor worker is not a marginal law but a core expression of covenant faithfulness.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Deuteronomy 24:14. The verse is consistent across the Masoretic Text and ancient versions.
Reception History
This verse has been received across church history as a key text on economic justice. Early church fathers such as Chrysostom and Ambrose cited it to condemn the exploitation of the poor. The command is echoed in the New Testament (James 5:4) where withheld wages cry out to God. Medieval Jewish commentators like Rashi expanded its application to include all forms of delayed payment. During the Reformation, Calvin and the Geneva Bible emphasized the connection between oppression and the failure to pay promptly. In modern contexts, the verse has been used in labor advocacy and in arguments for the dignity of immigrant workers. Across traditions, it remains a call to righteous practice in the workplace.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The prohibition: Do not oppress a hired servant. Oppression includes any exploitation, withholding wages, demanding excessive work, treating the worker as property.
- The scope: The command covers both the Israelite and the foreigner. God’s justice is impartial; the vulnerable have equal claim to dignity.
- The urgency: Pay the wage on the same day. Delay harms the poor person who depends on that money for his family’s next meal.
Five-point outline
- The worker’s identity: “poor and needy”, describes those without margin or power.
- The oppression unraveled: to defraud a laborer is to take life itself, as Calvin says, “as if he took away his soul.”
- Inclusion of the foreigner: The ger has no inheritance in the land, God makes provision.
- Practical obedience: Pay promptly, before sunset. This is a concrete act of righteousness.
- The divine warning: The worker may cry to the Lord, and it will be sin for the employer. God hears and acts.
Illustration hooks
- A farm worker who mows lawns all day and must wait three weeks for payment, while his children need shoes now.
- An immigrant housecleaner who is paid late or shorted, with no leverage to demand what is owed.
- A small business owner who wonders if the monthly payroll cycle for his lowest-paid employees aligns with their actual needs.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does this apply to me if I’m not an employer? How do I “oppress” a hired servant indirectly?
- What about the worker who asks for cash off the books, am I still responsible for fair pay?
- How do I think about my own employer? Does this passage have anything to teach me if I am the worker?
Leading a Discussion
This verse challenges us to consider how God’s heart for the poor shapes our daily economic relationships. The command is ancient, but the principle remains: those with power must not exploit those without. As you discuss, stay grounded in the text and open to how it might apply in your context.
Discussion questions
- What does it mean to “oppress” a hired servant? Read the definition of the Hebrew verb ashaq. How does it go beyond simple non-payment?
- Why does the law specify that the worker is “poor and needy”? How does that change the weight of the command?
- The command covers both “your brothers” and “the foreigners who are in your land.” Why would God include foreigners? What does that say about His concern for strangers?
- Look at verse 15: the wage must be paid “in his day” before sunset. What does this urgency reveal about the laborer’s situation?
- How might this law apply in modern work settings where pay is not daily but weekly or monthly? Is the principle the same?
- Reflect on a time you felt underpaid or undervalued at work. How did that affect you? How does the Bible speak into that experience?
- What practical steps can your group take to ensure that anyone who works for you or for your church receives fair and timely compensation?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Leviticus 25:35 | “‘If your brother has become poor, and his hand can’t support himself among you, then you shall uphold him. He shall live with you like an alien and a temporary resident. |
| Leviticus 25:40 | As a hired servant, and as a temporary resident, he shall be with you; he shall serve with you until the Year of Jubilee. |
| Leviticus 25:43 | You shall not rule over him with harshness, but shall fear your God. |
| Deuteronomy 15:12 | If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. |
| Deuteronomy 15:18 | It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for he has been double the value of a hired hand as he served you six years. Yahweh your God will bless you in all that you do. |
| Job 24:10 | so that they go around naked without clothing. Being hungry, they carry the sheaves. |
| Job 24:11 | They make oil within the walls of these men. They tread wine presses, and suffer thirst. |
| Job 31:13 | “If I have despised the cause of my male servant or of my female servant, when they contended with me, |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
7 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin insists that failing to pay a hired worker promptly is itself a form of oppression, because the poor depend on each day's wages to sustain their lives. He warns that such neglect, even if it escapes human courts, will not escape God's judgment.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentary highlights the Hebrew word nephesh (desire or soul) in "sets his heart" to show that a poor worker's entire life depends on his daily wage. Delaying payment is not merely a financial wrong; it becomes a sin that calls to God because the worker cannot be indifferent to what he needs to survive.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note stresses that the command not to oppress a poor hired worker applies equally to fellow Israelites and to foreigners living in the land. No distinction is made: both are equally protected from injustice by this law.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill insists the prohibition against oppressing a hired worker covers every form of payment, including wages detained by force or fraud. He expands the law's reach to include not just daily, weekly, or yearly laborers, but also resident aliens and even the hire of animals and equipment.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB highlights the ancient Eastern practice of paying hired workers at the end of each day. Withholding that wage even for a single night would cause real suffering for the poor laborer and his family. The command forbids such injustice because it directly threatens a vulnerable worker's daily survival.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch highlight the phrase about the laborer lifting up his soul to his wages, meaning he desperately longs for his pay. This repetition of the command from Leviticus now stresses the poor worker's emotional distress, not just the injustice of withheld payment.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry specifies that oppressing a hired servant includes overloading them with work, giving unreasonable rebukes, or withholding proper maintenance. He ties this command to Israel’s own memory: because they were once bondmen in a foreign land, they must treat even a stranger among them with justice and compassion.