Exodus 22:27 · Bible study
Exodus 22:27 Commentary: Grace That Hears the Poor
Hebrew · 7 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Exodus 22:27 reveals God's compassion: He commands returning a poor man's cloak as his only covering and promises to hear his cry because He is gracious.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God commands returning a poor man's cloak before nightfall because it is his only bedding, and He promises to hear his cry because God is gracious.
- Key words: covering (the outer cloak used for sleep), garment for his skin (next to the body), gracious (God's character as the foundation for compassionate law).
- Main debate: Whether the command applies literally to clothing or functions as a broad principle protecting basic necessities.
- Theological theme: God's gracious nature is the basis for social justice and the assurance that He hears the oppressed.
- Best use: Preaching or teaching on God's heart for the poor, ethical lending, and the connection between divine character and human responsibility.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? And if he cries out to Me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
WEB World English Bible 2000
for that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What would he sleep in? It will happen, when he cries to me, that I will hear, for I am gracious.
KJV King James Version 1769
For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
for that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
for it alone is his covering, it is his garment for his skin; wherein doth he lie down? and it hath come to pass, when he doth cry unto Me, that I have heard, for I am gracious.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
for that is his only covering, his garment for his skin: on what shall he lie down? And it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
For that same is the only thing, wherewith he is covered, the clothing of his body, neither hath he any other to sleep in: if he cry to me, I will hear him, because I am compassionate.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Porque sólo aquello es su cubierta, es aquél el vestido para cubrir sus carnes, en el que ha de dormir: y será que cuando él á mí clamare, yo entonces le oiré, porque soy misericordioso.
Porque somente aquilo é sua coberta, é aquela a roupa para cobrir suas carnes, no que há de dormir: e será que quando ele a mim clamar, eu então lhe ouvirei, porque sou misericordioso.
car c’ est sa seule couverture, c’ est le vêtement dont il s’enveloppe le corps: dans quoi coucherait-il? S’ il crie à moi, je l’entendrai, car je suis miséricordieux.
[22:26] denn sein Kleid ist seine einzige Decke seiner Haut, darin er schläft. Wird er aber zu mir schreien, so werde ich ihn erhören; denn ich bin gnädig.
Want dat alleen is zijn deksel, het is zijn kleed over zijn huid; waarin zou hij liggen? Het zal dan geschieden, wanneer hij tot Mij roept, dat Ik het zal horen; want Ik ben genadig!
perché esso è l’unica sua coperta, è la veste con cui si avvolge il corpo. Su che dormirebb’egli? E se avverrà ch’egli gridi a me, io l’udrò; perché sono misericordioso.
Bo to odzienie jego tylko to jest nakrycie ciała jego, na którem sypia; będzieli do mnie wołał, wysłucham go, bom Ja miłosierny.
ибо она есть единственный покров у него, она — одеяние тела его: в чем будет он спать? итак, когда он возопиет ко Мне, Я услышу, ибо Я милосерд.
因 他 只有 這一件當蓋頭，是 他蓋身 的衣服，若是沒有，他拿甚麼 睡覺呢？ 他哀求 我，我就應允，因為 我 是有恩惠的。
For it is the only thing he has for covering his skin; what is he to go to sleep in? and when his cry comes up to me, I will give ear, for my mercy is great.
Verse in Context
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across Protestant traditions agree on the core meaning. The garment in view is the outer cloak, used by the poor as a blanket for sleep. Keil and Delitzsch note that in the East the poorer classes use this 'large square piece of cloth' to sleep in. Gill adds that to withhold it overnight would leave the man naked and cold. The command to return it by sunset (v. 26) is a direct curb on the creditor's power. Yet the verse does not stop with the rule. It gives the reason: 'for I am gracious.' Matthew Henry observes that God's own compassion becomes both the model and the motivation. The promise to hear the poor man's cry links back to Exodus 2:23, 24, where God heard Israel's groaning. As the Cambridge Bible notes, this is part of a set of protections for the vulnerable. The scholarly consensus: the law reflects God's character, and the poor can trust that their cry reaches the One who made them.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: God commands the return of a needed garment because He is gracious, and He promises to hear the cry of the poor when they call out to Him.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Return of the pledged garment | Christians agree that the law requires returning a needed garment before nightfall to protect the borrower's dignity and health. | Some read it as a specific ancient rule for Israel's economy; others see it as a timeless principle that prohibits depriving anyone of necessities, even temporarily. |
| God's gracious character | All Christians affirm that God is gracious, merciful, and compassionate, as demonstrated in Exodus 34:6 and throughout Scripture. | Traditions differ on whether this grace is conditional or unconditional, some emphasize that it comes in response to the cry of the faithful, while others stress its freely-given nature apart from human response. |
| Hearing the cry of the poor | God hears and responds to the oppressed. This assurance runs from Exodus through the Psalms (e.g., Psalm 34:6; 72:12) to the New Testament. | Interpreters vary on whether God's hearing guarantees temporal deliverance in every case or primarily points to ultimate justice and eschatological hope. |
Historical & Cultural Context
In ancient Israel, lending to the poor often involved a pledge, something left as security until the debt was repaid. The most common item offered was the outer garment, a large rectangular cloth worn during the day and used as a blanket at night. Keil and Delitzsch explain that for the poorest Israelites this cloak was their only covering. The law in Exodus 22:26, 27 therefore required the creditor to return it before sundown each day. Without it, the borrower would have nothing to sleep in. This rule is not unique to Israel. The Cambridge Bible notes a parallel in the Code of Hammurabi (§241), which also restricted a creditor from keeping a needed garment. But Israel's law goes further: it grounds the requirement in God's own nature. The phrase 'for I am gracious' echoes the name God proclaims to Moses in Exodus 34:6: 'Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God.'
The broader context (vv. 21, 27) protects the resident alien, the widow, the orphan, and the poor. God warns that if they cry out, He will hear, just as He heard the Israelites in Egypt (Exodus 2:23, 24). The garment-return law, then, is not merely procedural. As Keil and Delitzsch observe, God uses these commands to attack the sins of selfishness and covetousness at their root. The law creates a society where the powerful remember that God defends the powerless. The poor person sleeps covered, knowing that the God of Israel is on his side.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Exodus 22:27. The Masoretic Text is stable, and ancient versions (Septuagint, Targums, Vulgate) translate without substantive disagreement. The verse is consistently quoted in later Jewish and Christian ethical teaching without textual dispute.
Reception History
This verse has been used throughout church history to teach God's compassion for the poor. Early church writers such as Ambrose and Chrysostom appealed to it when urging the rich to care for the needy. During the Reformation, Calvin and Luther emphasized that God's character motivates ethical action. Protestant commentators like Matthew Henry and Keil highlight the link between divine grace and social justice. Jewish tradition also values this command as an expression of God's concern for basic human dignity. Today, the verse is frequently cited in discussions of economic ethics and God's heart for the vulnerable, reminding believers that the law of God rests on the grace of God.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Vulnerability. The poor man's cloak represents human fragility and dependence. Without it, he has nothing to cover his body or to sleep in. The law begins by acknowledging this reality.
- Protection. The command to return the garment before sunset limits the creditor's power and preserves the borrower's basic dignity. God draws a boundary around human need.
- Promise. God's gracious character guarantees that He hears the cry of the oppressed. The law is not an abstract rule; it is anchored in who God is.
Five-point outline
- The specific context: lending to the poor among God's people (v. 25).
- The pledge: the outer garment, the only security a poor borrower can offer (v. 26).
- The command: return it before sunset, every day (v. 26).
- The reason: it is his only covering, his garment for his skin, his bed (v. 27a).
- The foundation: 'for I am gracious', God's identity undergirds the whole law (v. 27b).
Illustration hooks
- A family whose home is at risk because a lender demands the house as collateral, what if the law required returning the keys each night?
- A single mother whose only car breaks down, leaving her unable to get to work. The principle: basic tools for survival cannot be taken.
- A refugee family with one blanket in a shelter. The command says: give it back before dark.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does God really hear me when I am desperate?
- How can I lend or help someone without exploiting their need?
- What does it mean that God is gracious, and how should that shape my daily choices?
Leading a Discussion
This verse shows how God's character shapes His commands. He does not merely tell us to be kind; He tells us why: because He is kind. The law protects the poor, and the promise grounds their hope.
Discussion questions
- Read Exodus 22:25, 27. What situation does the law address? (Observation)
- Why is the garment described as 'his only covering' and 'his garment for his skin'? What does this tell you about the man's poverty? (Observation)
- What difference would it make for a creditor to return the garment each evening? How might this change the relationship? (Interpretation)
- God says, 'when he cries to me, I will hear, for I am gracious.' What does this reveal about God's nature? (Interpretation)
- In what ways do we see a similar concern for basic human dignity in the New Testament? (Interpretation)
- What are modern equivalents of 'taking a garment in pledge'? How can this principle guide our lending, giving, or supporting others? (Application)
- How does knowing that God hears the cry of the poor affect how we pray and how we act? (Application)
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 2:23 | In the course of those many days, the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. |
| Exodus 2:24 | God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. |
| Exodus 22:23 | If you take advantage of them at all, and they cry at all to me, I will surely hear their cry; |
| Exodus 34:6 | Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed, “Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth, |
| II Chronicles 30:9 | For if you turn again to Yahweh, your brothers and your children will find compassion with those who led them captive, and will come again into this land, because Yahweh your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you if you return to him.” |
| Psalms 34:6 | This poor man cried, and Yahweh heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. |
| Psalms 72:12 | For he will deliver the needy when he cries; the poor, who has no helper. |
| Psalms 86:15 | But you, Lord, are a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth. |
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.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes observes that the law about pledges is expanded in the following verses, adding specific regulations on how a debtor's collateral may be taken and returned. This development protects the poor by limiting what can be seized and requiring prompt return.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
This commentary highlights the humanitarian intent behind these ancient laws protecting the poor, resident foreigners, widows, and orphans. It notes the restrictions on creditors, such as returning a pledged garment by nightfall, and draws parallels to both Deuteronomy and the Code of Hammurabi.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The note emphasizes that God will listen when a poor person cries out because his only covering has been taken, and He hears him simply because He is merciful. The point is that God's own character of mercy, not the sufferer's merit, guarantees He will respond.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses the cruelty of keeping a poor man's cloak overnight, since it is his only bed covering and lies next to his skin. To withhold it leaves him with nothing to sleep in. God hears such a man's cry and takes up his cause, because He is gracious and detests all unmerciful treatment.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch notes that the command to return a poor man's cloak before sunset is grounded in stark practical necessity: in the East, that outer garment serves as his only blanket for sleep. They then point out that God follows these rules by directly addressing the heart, targeting selfishness and covetousness as the root sin behind all such oppression.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange sees these laws as training for freedom within a theocracy, not merely a criminal code. He notes they begin with emancipation regulations, indirectly promoting personal liberty by regulating existing servitude in the spirit of God's people. Each section corresponds to a commandment of the Decalogue, showing how civil life was shaped by the covenant.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that this law forbids charging interest when someone borrows out of urgent need, not in all lending. The poor who borrow for survival are not to be treated as business opportunities; compassion, not profit, governs such loans.