Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 24:14
Thou shalt not oppress a 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:
14. poor and needy ] See on Deu 15:11.
within thy gates ] See on Deu 12:17. The preceding in thy land, omitted by Sam., LXX, is a gloss.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
14, 15. Payment of the Wage-earner. Whether Israelite or gr, if he be poor, his wage is to be paid the day he earns it; if he has to appeal to God it will be sin to thee. Sg. with brother (not neighbour) and other deuteronomic phrases. Parallel to H, Lev 19:13: thou shalt not oppress thy neighbour the wage of a hireling shall not stay overnight with thee till morning. Cp. Mal 3:5, Tob 4:14 , Jas 5:4. ammurabi fixes the daily money wages of labourers and artisans (273 f.), in other cases wages in kind are paid yearly (257 f., 261).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Either by laying too grievous burdens of work upon him, or by withholding his wages from him, as it follows.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14, 15. Thou shalt not oppress anhired servant that is poor and needyHired servants in the Eastare paid at the close of the day; and for a master to defraud thelaborer of his hire, or to withhold it wrongfully for a night, mighthave subjected a poor man with his family to suffering and wastherefore an injustice to be avoided (Le19:13).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Thou shall not oppress an hired servant,…. That is hired by the day, as appears by De 24:15; though the law may include such as are hired by the week, or month, or year; neither of whom are to be oppressed by any means, and chiefly by detaining their wages; so the Jerusalem Targum explains the phrase,
“ye shall not detain by force the hire of the hired servant;”
nor by fraud, as in Jas 5:4;
[that is] poor and needy; and so cannot bear the lest oppression of this kind, nor to have his wages detained from him any time, and much less wholly to be defrauded of them:
[whether he be] of thy brethren; an Israelite, and so a brother both by nation and religion:
or of thy strangers that [are] in thy land, within thy gates; Jarchi interprets this, both of proselytes of righteousness, and of proselytes of the gate; which latter are plainly described by this clause, and the former must be included; for, if proselytes of the gate are not to be oppressed, much less proselytes of righteousness, who were in all respects as Israelites, the same law was to them both. Jarchi says, the phrase “in thy land” is intended to comprehend the hire of beasts, and of vessels; and these in the Misnah o are said to be comprehended in this precept, as well as the hire of man.
o Bava Metzia, c. 9. sect. 12.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
They were not to oppress a poor and distressed labourer, by withholding his wages. This command is repeated here from Lev 19:13, with special reference to the distress of the poor man. “ And to it (his wages) he lifts up his soul: ” i.e., he feels a longing for it. “Lifts up his soul:” as in Psa 24:4; Hos 4:8; Jer 22:27. On Deu 24:15, see Deu 15:9 and Jam 5:4.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Justice and Generosity. | B. C. 1451. |
14 Thou shalt not oppress a 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: 15 At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee. 16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin. 17 Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge: 18 But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing. 19 When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. 20 When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. 21 When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. 22 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
Here, I. Masters are commanded to be just to their poor servants, Deu 24:14; Deu 24:15. 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 (v. 18), and thou knowest what a grievous thing it is to be oppressed by a task-master, and therefore, in tenderness to those that are servants and strangers, and in gratitude to that God who set thee at liberty and settled thee in a country of thy own, thou shalt not oppress a servant.” Let not masters be tyrants to their servants, for their Master is in heaven. See Job xxxi. 13. 2. They must be faithful and punctual in paying them their wages: “At his day thou shalt give him his hire, not only pay it in time, without further delay. As soon as he had done his day’s work, if he desire it, let him have his day’s wages,” as those labourers (Matt. xx. 8) when evening had come. he that works by day-wages is supposed to live from hand to mouth, and cannot have to-morrow’s bread for his family till be is paid for this day’s labour. If the wages be withheld, (1.) It will be grief to the servant, for, poor man, he sets his heart upon it,. or, as the word is, he lifts up his soul to it, he is earnestly desirous of it, as the reward of his work (Job vii. 2), and depends upon it as the gift of God’s providence for the maintenance of his family. A compassionate master, though it should be somewhat inconvenient to himself, would not disappoint the expectation of a poor servant that was so fond to think of receiving his wages. But that is not the worst. (2.) It will be guilt to the master. “The injured servant will cry against thee to the Lord; since he has no one else to appeal to, he will lodge his appeal in the court of heaven, and it will be sin to thee.” Or, if he do not complain, the cause will speak for itself, the “hire of the labourers which is kept back by fraud will itself cry,” Jam. v. 4. It is a greater sin than most people think it is, and will be found so in the great day, to put hardships upon poor servants, labourers, and workmen, that we employ. God will do them right if men do not.
II. Magistrates and judges are commanded to be just in their administrations. 1. In those which we call pleas of the crown a standing rule is here given, that the fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children for the fathers, v. 16. If the children make themselves obnoxious to the law, let them suffer for it, but let not the parents suffer either for them or with them; it is grief enough to them to see their children suffer: if the parents be guilty, let them die for their own sin; but though God, the sovereign Lord of life, sometimes visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, especially the sin of idolatry, and when he deals with nations in their national capacity, yet he does not allow men to do so. Accordingly, we find Amaziah sparing the children, even when the fathers were put to death for killing the king, 2 Kings xiv. 6. It was in an extraordinary case, and no doubt by special direction from heaven, that Saul’s sons were put to death for his offence, and they died rather as sacrifices than as malefactors, 2Sa 21:9; 2Sa 21:14. 2. In common pleas between party and party, great care must be taken that none whose cause was just should fare the worse for their weakness, nor for their being destitute of friends, as strangers, fatherless, and widows (v. 17): “Thou shalt not pervert their judgment, nor force them to give their very raiment for a pledge, by defrauding them of their right.” Judges must be advocates for those that cannot speak for themselves and have no friends to speak for them.
III. The rich are commanded to be kind and charitable to the poor. Many ways they are ordered to be so by the law of Moses. The particular instance of charity here prescribed is that they should not be greedy in gathering in their corn, and grapes, and olives, so as to be afraid of leaving any behind them, but be willing to overlook some, and let the poor have the gleanings, v. 19-22. 1. “Say not, ‘It is all my own, and why should not I have it?’ But learn a generous contempt of property in small matters. One sheaf or two forgotten will make thee never the poorer at the year’s end, and it will do somebody good, if thou have it not.” 2. “Say not, ‘What I give I will give, and know whom I give it to, why should I leave it to be gathered by I know not whom, that will never thank me.’ But trust God’s providence with the disposal of thy charity, perhaps that will direct it to the most necessitous.” Or, “Thou mayest reasonably think it will come to the hands of the most industrious, that are forward to seek and gather that which this law provides for them.” 3. “Say not, ‘What should the poor do with grapes and olives? It is enough for them to have bread and water;’ for, since they have the same senses that the rich have, why should not they have so me little share of the delights of sense?” Boaz ordered handfuls of corn to be left on purpose for Ruth, and God blessed him. All that is left is not lost.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Verses 14, 15:
Compare this text with Lev 19:13.
The employer must pay punctually what is due his employees. This law applied alike to the Israelites and to the “strangers” who lived among them.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
14. Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant. This precept is akin to the foregoing. Moses pronounces that he who has hired a poor person for wages oppresses him unless he gives him immediate recompense for his labor; since the two admonitions, “thou shalt; not; oppress,” and “ thou shalt give him his hire,” are to be read in connection with each other. Hence it follows, that if a hireling suffers from want because we do not pay him what he has earned, we are by our very delay alone convicted of unrighteousness. The reason is now more clearly expressed, viz., because he sustains his life by his daily labors. (101) Although, however, this provision only refers to the poor, lest they should suffer hunger from the negligence or pride of the rich, still humanity in general is enforced, lest, whilst the poor labor for our profit, we should arrogantly abuse them as if they were our slaves, or should be too illiberal and stingy towards them, since nothing can be more disgraceful than that, when they are in our service, they should not at least have enough to live upon frugally. Finally, Moses admonishes us that this tyranny on the part of the rich shall not be unpunished, if they do not supply their workmen with the means of subsistence, even although no account shall be rendered of it before the tribunals of men. Hence we infer that this law is not political, but altogether spiritual, and binding on our consciences before the judgment-seat of God; for although the poor man may not sue us at law, Moses teaches us that it is sufficient for him to appeal to the faithfulness of God. Wherefore, although the earthly judge may absolve us a hundred times over, let us not therefore think that we have escaped; since God will always require of us from heaven, whatever may have been unjustly excused us on earth. The question, however, here arises, whether, if he who has been oppressed should not cry out, the criminality will cease in consequence of his silence; for the words of Moses seem to imply this, when he says, that the rich will be guilty, if the poor cry unto God and make complaint of their wrongs. The reply’ is easy, that Moses had no other intention than to over-. throw the vain confidence of the despisers, whereby they arc, stimulated to greater audacity in sin, and are hardened in iniquity. He says, therefore, that although, as far as men are concerned, they may allow us to pillage and rob, still a more awful judgment is to be dreaded; for God hears the complaints of the poor, who find no protector or avenger on earth. And surely, the more patiently he who is despoiled shall bear his wrong, the more ready will God be to undertake his cause; nor is there any louder cry to Him than patient endurance. If, however, any should object that the cry here spoken of is at variance with Christ’s command, that we should pray for our enemies, we answer at once, that God does not always approve of the prayers which He nevertheless answers. The imprecation of Jotham, the son of Gideon, took effect upon the Shechemites, (Jud 9:20,) although it was plainly the offspring of immoderate anger. Besides, it sometimes happens that the miserable, although they endure their injuries with pious meekness, still cease not to lay their sorrows and their groans in the bosom of God. Nor is this a slight consolation for the poor, that if no one on earth relieves them because their condition is low and abject, still God will hereafter take cognizance of their cause.
(101) The expression on which C. founds this statement is translated by himself “ea ( i. e. , mercede) sustentat animam suam;” in our A. V. , “setteth his heart upon it;“ margin, “ Heb. , lifteth his soul unto it.” Dathe has, “eam anhelat;” Ainsworth, “and unto it he lifteth up his soul,” and his note is, “that is, hopeth for and desireth it for the maintenance of his life. So the Greek here translateth, he hath hope; and in. Jer 22:27, and Jer 44:14, the lifting up of the soul signifieth a desire; and the soul is often put for the life. Hereupon the Hebrews say, Whosoever with-holdeth the hireling’s wage, is as if he took away his soul (or life) from him” etc.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(12) PAYING THE POOR HIRED SERVANT (Deu. 24:14-15)
14 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: 15 in his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto Jehovah, and it be sin unto thee.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 24:14, 15
421.
If Jehovah loved all His children with an equal love, why are some poor and others rich?
422.
What is suggested in the word oppress as here used?
423.
Nothing is said of the pay scale, Why not? Are all servants to be paid every day? Discuss.
AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 24:14, 15
14 You shall not oppress or extort from a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is of your brethren, or of your strangers and sojourners who are in your land inside your towns.
15 You shall give him his hire on the day he earns it, before the sun goes down; for he is poor, and sets his heart upon it; lest he cry against you to the Lord, and it be sin to you.
COMMENT 24:14, 15
See also Lev. 19:13. As in the previous case the pledged garment was to be returned on the same day before the sun set, so here he was to be paid the same day and for the same reasonhe needed it! And when a man is truly down and out he naturally setteth his heart upon it.
In Jas. 5:1-6 the wicked and oppressive rich are described as holding back the needed wages of the poor. Their wages were kept back by fraud and therefore crieth out against the hoarding masters. Jesus taught the laborer is worthy of his hire, Luk. 10:7. See also Mat. 10:10, 1Ti. 5:18.
The righteous taketh knowledge of the cause of the poor (Pro. 29:7 a).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(14, 15) Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant.So Lev. 19:13. The wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning. (Comp. also Jer. 22:13; Mal. 3:5; Jas. 5:4.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14, 15. Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant These merciful provisions for the poor are in the main from Lev 19:13.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The justice, to say nothing of the mercy, of this precept, is too obvious. The LORD grant, that no cry of my poor brother, or of a stranger, may ever go up to my GOD against me. Reader! think only what a discordant thing it would be, if while you are sending up a prayer for mercy, another should be sending up a prayer for justice upon your head. Read that scripture: Jas 5:4 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Deu 24:14-15
14You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns. 15You shall give him his wages on his day before the sun sets, for he is poor and sets his heart on it; so that he will not cry against you to the LORD and it become sin in you.
Deu 24:14 or one of your aliens God’s care for the widow, orphan, and alien is clearly seen in Deuteronomy (cf. Deu 10:18; Deu 14:29; Deu 16:11; Deu 16:14; Deu 24:17; Deu 24:19-21; Deu 26:12-13; Deu 27:19).
Deu 24:15 You shall give him his wages on his day The poor needed (i.e., set his heart on it) the daily wage to buy food for himself and his family. The landowner wanted to keep it to assure that the worker would return to work the next day (cf. Lev 19:13; Mal 3:5; Jas 5:4).
so that he will not cry against you to the LORD God cares and hears the cry of the poor, alienated and ostracized! See note at Deu 24:13.
it become sin in you In context this is the opposite condition of righteousness in Deu 24:13.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
oppress = defraud. Compare Lev 19:13.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Lev 25:40-43, Job 24:10, Job 24:11, Job 31:13-15, Pro 14:31, Pro 22:16, Eze 22:7, Amo 2:7, Amo 4:1, Amo 8:4, Mal 3:5, Luk 10:7
Reciprocal: Exo 20:10 – thy stranger Exo 23:9 – thou shalt not Lev 19:13 – the wages Lev 19:33 – And if Deu 1:16 – the stranger Psa 103:6 – executeth Isa 16:4 – mine Jer 22:13 – buildeth Zec 7:10 – oppress Rom 13:8 – Owe Eph 6:9 – ye Col 4:1 – give 1Ti 5:18 – The labourer Jam 5:4 – the hire
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Deu 24:14-15. Not oppress a hired servant By detaining his wages from him when due, which is the meaning of oppression here, as appears from the next verse. At his day thou shalt give him his hire That is, at the time appointed, weekly or daily. He speaks of a hireling who was so poor as not to be able to provide himself and family with necessaries without his wages, and who therefore eagerly expected them as the support of their lives.