Deuteronomy 24:19-22

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 24:14-22

Here, I. Masters are commanded to be just to their poor servants, Deut. 24:14, 15. 1. They must not oppress them, by overloading them with work, by giving them undue and unreasonable rebukes, or by withholding from them proper maintenance. A servant, though a stranger to the commonwealth of Israel, must not be abused: ?For thou wast a bondman in the land where thou wast a stranger (Deut. 24:18), and thou knowest what a grievous thing it is to be oppressed by a task-master, and therefore, in... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 24:19

When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field ,.... Whether barley harvest or wheat harvest, when either of them are ripe for cutting, mowing, or reaping, and are cutting down: and hast forgot a sheaf in the field ; Jarchi says the phrase "in the field" is to include standing corn, some of which is forgotten in cutting down, and so is subject to this law as well as a sheaf; and a sheaf claimed by this name is one that is forgotten both by the workman and the owner; if by the one and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 24:20

When thou beatest thine olive tree ,.... With sticks and staves, to get off the olives when ripe: thou shall not go over the boughs again ; to beat off some few that may remain; they were not nicely to examine the boughs over again, whether there were any left or not: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow ; who might come into their oliveyards after the trees had been beaten, and gather what were left. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 24:21

When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard ,.... Which was done much about the same time that the olives were gathered, and both after wheat harvest, about the latter end of June, or beginning of July; for they were more forward in those hot countries: thou shall not glean it afterwards ; go over the vines a second time, to pick off every berry or bunch that escaped them at first gathering: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow ; as the forgotten... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 24:22

And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt ,.... When they would have been glad to have enjoyed the like favours, as small as they might seem to be, even to glean in their fields, vineyards, and oliveyards: therefore I command thee to do this thing ; to suffer the poor to take the forgotten sheaf, and to come into their oliveyards and vineyards, and gather what olives and grapes remained after the first beating of the one, and the ingathering of the other. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 24:19

When thou cuttest down thine harvest - This is an addition to the law, Leviticus 19:9 ; Leviticus 23:22 . The corners of the field, the gleanings, and the forgotten sheaf, were all the property of the poor. This the Hebrews extended to any part of the fruit or produce of a field, which had been forgotten in the time of general ingathering, as appears from the concluding verses of this chapter. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 24:19

Verse 19 God here inculcates liberality upon the possessors of land, when their fruits are gathered: for, when His bounty is exercised before our eyes, it invites us to imitate Him; and it is a sign of ingratitude, unkindly and maliciously, to withhold what we derive from His blessing. God does not indeed require that those who have abundance should so profusely give away their produce, as to despoil themselves by enriching others; and, in fact, Paul prescribes this as the measure of our alms,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 24:6-22

Neighborly love and good will to be cultivated in detail. One golden thread runs through all the varied precepts of this chapter. They are most interesting illustrations, one and all, of the spirit of humanity and of far-reaching wisdom which pervades the Mosaic Law. The following heading include the gist of the several injunctions here given, and show also their relation to each other. 1. Man's "inhumanity to man" is sternly restrained. No Israelite, however poor, is to be kidnapped... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 24:10-22

Consideration for the poor and needy. After giving a cursory reference to leprosy as a Divine judgment to be divinely removed and ceremonially purged away ( Deuteronomy 24:8 , Deuteronomy 24:9 ), Moses enters in these verses into the consideration which should be shown to the poor and needy. The debtor is not to be pressed for his pledge, and, if raiment, it must be restored in time for him to sleep with due clothing. The hired servant, engaged for the day, is to get his pay punctually... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 24:16-22

Doing justice and loving mercy. I. EACH SOUL IS TO BEAR ITS OWN SIN . ( Deuteronomy 24:16 .) This verse lays down the rule of human jurisprudence. Loss and suffering to the innocent, as a result of the course of justice inflicting punishment on the guilty, cannot always be avoided. But this is an incidental, not a designed result. With those wider movements of Divine justice, which seem to turn on the federal constitution of the race, and involve different principles,... read more

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