The Perfect Immigrant

The topic of immigration has earned many headlines recently, though immigration itself is quite ancient. From the earliest recordings of history there have been accounts of people groups living in the midst of other people groups, or minorities among a majority. And though we may be tempted to think of it as a new trend, issue or threat, the reality is that it is not. Virtually all people groups in history have had to deal with the question of living in the same space with other people groups.

My concern here is not specific policies or theories on dealing with immigration, but rather to delve into what drives our values and thoughts that lead to the formation of those policies. For I have participated in or at least heard many discussions related to immigration, but rarely do those conversations begin with or even include a discussion of the Biblical teachings on immigration. Not surprisingly, and given that the nation of Israel occupied a region that contained many different people groups, both in and around its territory, the Bible does address the issue of immigration. And since there are so many verses that at least mention the topic, rather than include them all in the body of this article, I will leave a (hopefully) comprehensive list at the end of the post and merely bring attention to some of the more thematic passages here.

Wait A Sec…

At this point some may say, “I have read the Bible through before and I don’t recall any talk of immigration”. And that is true. The Bible, translated into English, does not use the word immigrant, but the concept is still there. The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gûr) translates to "to sojourn, abide, dwell in, dwell with, remain, inhabit, be a stranger, be continuing, surely". The related noun, גָּר (often transliterated ger), refers to a "sojourner: a temporary inhabitant, a newcomer lacking inherited rights; of foreigners in Israel, though conceded rights".

One could argue that based on the definitions above, a sojourner (as it is often translated into English, or stranger, depending on the translation) is not the same thing as an immigrant. Rather a sojourner is something more like a visitor, a tourist if you will, or maybe even someone with a student visa, but not someone who has moved to our country and is living here indefinitely. But lets take a look at some of the ways the word is used in scripture:

Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. [ Genesis 15:13 ]¹

In the second usage of the term in the Bible, the LORD tells Abram that he and his offspring will be sojourners for four hundred years. While this is definitely a temporary time period as far as history goes, it is much longer than we tend to think of as someone coming to visit temporarily or for a short time. In fact, it is an even longer time period than the existence of the nation of the United States.

Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, [ Genesis 26:3-4 ]

Here the word sojourn appears to span multiple generations.

If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. [ Exodus 12:48 ]

Here we see there is a rather steep commitment for tourists wanting to partake in the local cultural festivities. More likely, this is intended for those whom have made their semi-permanent, if not permanent, home among the Israelites and adopted their way of life, even their faith.

In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. [ Ruth 1:1-5 ]

In Ruth, Elimelech and his family went to live in Moab because of a famine in Israel. They were there 10 years, with the sons marrying Moabites. From the text, the only apparent reason that Naomi ended up leaving Moab was because of the death of all the males in the family and no means to support herself.

There are other verses in the Bible hinting to the fact that “sojourning” was more than vacationing or a short-term trip. And while there are times that the word “sojourn” is used for a shorter time period, I believe the above verses make it plain that scripture has a more general view of a sojourner than that of a tourist or visitor. A good, broad definition might be “a person that is not in his original home or among his own people”. So as we move ahead, I keep this definition in mind, which encompasses immigrants, expats (what is the difference between these two?), exiles, refugees, students studying abroad, visitors, tourists, etc. And while all these categories may be covered under the term “sojourner”, my inclination is to say that in most cases the Bible uses the term with a longer-term meaning in mind. ²

The Heart Of An Immigrant

You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. [ Exodus 23:9 ]

This, I believe, is the most important, and perhaps the most ethereal concept to grasp when thinking of sojourners from a Biblical perspective. Early in their history the Israelites became sojourners in Egypt. This experience becomes formative to the identity of the nation of Israel. And yet, it is a part of their identity that is easily forgotten. One does not easily forget the experiences or encounters when one is a stranger in a strange land, and yet God has to remind the Israelites throughout their history that they too were once sojourners.

I am not sure if this is an easy concept to grasp for someone who has grown up and lived in the same place or culture their whole lives. As someone who grew up between two cultures, I think I have a certain degree of understanding. But this is the heart of the sojourner: the sense that no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, you will never feel completely at home, you will never feel that you truly belong. No matter the reason that you are a sojourner, you have sacrificed something that you will never have in the land of your sojourning. And while it might be hard for a person that has always lived in the same culture to imagine that there might be another place or culture that is just as worthy to live in, or has just as much to appreciate, this is not so for the sojourner. The sojourner knows that even though he or she has left one place to search for something better, there is something about the home they are leaving that can never be replaced. And so the heart of the sojourner is that of a pilgrim, of someone who is never at home, never fully at ease.

God calls the Israelites not to oppress a sojourner because they too were sojourners and understand that a sojourner is already prone to being oppressed and treated unjustly, because they are not deemed by others as one of their own.

He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. [ Deuteronomy 10:18-19 ]

Questions

1. What are my thoughts about immigrants? Are my thoughts being formed by the way my culture views immigrants or by the way the Bible speaks of immigrants?
2. Is understanding the heart of an immigrant a component of whether I agree or disagree with certain policies about immigration?
3. Are my thoughts and feelings towards immigrants driven by God’s love for the sojourner?

One Law

For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute forever throughout your generations. You and the sojourner shall be alike before the LORD. One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you. [ Numbers 15:15-16 ]

…but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. [ Exodus 20:10 ]

“You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress. You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns." [ Deuteronomy 16:13-14 ]

The Mosaic law cut both ways. Sojourners were liable for the same obligations and at the same time beneficiaries of the provisions of the law. All those living under the law of the nation of Israel were subject to the laws of the land. The founders of the United States, I believe, had something similar in mind.

America is the only nation in the world that is founded on a creed. That creed is set forth with dogmatic and even theological lucidity in the Declaration of Independence; perhaps the only piece of practical politics that is also theoretical politics and also great literature. It enunciates that all men are equal in their claim to justice, that governments exist to give them that justice, and that their authority is for that reason just. [ G.K. Chesterton, What I Saw in America ]

The idea that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness has vast implications for government and society. It means that everyone, even convicted criminals, have certain rights, not based on their legal standing, but based on the fact that they have been endowed by their Creator. And the role of government, as the Declaration of Independence goes on to say, is to ensure that those rights are granted and upheld.

All men leaves very little room for exclusion, and the role of government is to ensure that those inalienable rights are upheld for those men within its jurisdiction, whether they have roots in its territory from its inception, were displaced during its inception, or whether they just arrived yesterday. This view is further expounded in the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution:

No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. [ Section 1, Amendment XIV, U.S. Constitution ]

In this regard, I find that the founders of the United States were in line with Biblical teaching on the matter. In fact, it is very likely that at least some of the founders of the United States had the following theology in mind when they penned those words:

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. [ Genesis 1:27 ]

From the very first chapter, Scripture teaches that all men are set apart from the rest of creation. All men carry with them the imprint of God, and are therefore to be regarded as different than the rest of creation.

Questions

1. What are some of the inalienable rights that have been endowed to all men?
2. Are there ways in which I think (or at least act like) the law applies differently to me (and people like me) than to others?
3. How do we distinguish between inalienable rights and other rights and privileges (that may not apply to all men)?

The orphans and widows…

The Bible commands us to care for the orphans and widows. Most believers are at least familiar with this verse:

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. [ James 1:27 ]

And that makes sense to us, because we tend to think of orphans and widows as members of society who are more vulnerable and have little or no safety net. But did you know that in all of about 27 Biblical passages that mention orphans and widows together (the ESV uses fatherless for orphans in the Old Testament), 20 of the verses also mention the sojourner? And of the passages that are commands to Israel or admonishments to care for the orphans and widows, the verse above is the only one that does not also list sojourners along with them? That is because just like orphans and widows, sojourners are more vulnerable than other members of society. Lacking strong roots in the community, family, societal capital and ties, disaster and injustices can be much more devastating for immigrants than for natives of the land.

For the above reasons, the Mosaic law required certain measures to be taken to protect this vulnerable population:

“And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.” [ Leviticus 19:10 ]

“And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.” [ Leviticus 23:22 ]

“At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do." [ Deuteronomy 14:28-29 ]

1. Do I tend to think of immigrants as a population that may need additional safeguards because of their vulnerable position in society?
2. In what ways are current societal views on immigrants in line with the Biblical perspective? How about my views? In what ways do they differ?

Our Citizenship

So far our discussion has remained in large part in the Old Testament, referring to the Israelites or to sojourners among them. But the concept carries over into the New Testament as well. The Septuagint (the earliest Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) translates the word sojourner (גָּר, or ger) as προσήλυτ (proselytos) and sometimes πάροικος (paroikos)². The word paroikos occurs four times in the New Testament. Two of those occurrences refer back to the Old Testament. The remaining two are as follows:

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. [ Ephesians 2:19-22 ]

In the context of this passage, an alien refers to the Gentiles before their conversion. That is, they were strangers or sojourners in the world, separated from God. With their conversion, they have become citizens of the household of God. As members of God’s family, our citizenship is with fellow followers of Christ and is not tied to the world.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. [ 1 Peter 2:9-12 ]

People who are not followers of Christ are aliens and strangers to God. People who do follow Christ are sojourners among non-believers, constantly being pulled and tempted to be swayed by the ways of the world and the passions of the flesh. Our true identity as believers, our true belonging, is that of a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people.

There are a couple of other passages in the New Testament that, while they don’t explicitly use the word sojourner or one of its derivatives, do very much lend themselves to the discussion:

Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. [ Philippians 3:17-21 ]

Brothers, our citizenship does not belong to any nation on earth. Our citizenship is in heaven. We too are sojourners on this earth and are not meant to feel at home here. There will always be the temptation to make this place our home, to make ourselves as comfortable as possible, to forget eternity and focus on temporal things. But that is not our calling. Paul warns us in the passage above what happens to those who succumb to that temptation. May we be in prayer for one another that we join in imitating Paul, focusing our eyes on Christ and those that walk with him.

We have the example of those that have gone before us, of those who remained faithful, even when they did not know where their faith would lead them.

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. [ Hebrews 11:13-17 ]

But They’re Illegal…

Surely the Biblical texts aren’t referring to illegal immigrants. Surely the Bible has in mind people who have legal standing before the law. Taking the Bible’s teaching as a starting point, as opposed to any preconceived ideas we may have, I find it a more compelling argument that if the Bible intended to make a distinction between legal and illegal residents then it would do so. Arguments from silence are not very strong and there are no notable distinctions made that I can tell. Beyond that, there are a few more observations to be made:

1. Even though there were definitely national borders for Israel, the land was always seen (at least by God) as belonging to God.

   The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me. [ Leviticus 25:23 ]

   Not only were the strangers and sojourners living among the Israelites strangers and sojourners, but the Israelites themselves were strangers and sojourners.

2. The previous section discusses that for followers of Christ, our identity, our citizenship, belongs primarily in heaven. All other earthly types of identities are secondary. Prudence is needed, because if we start to make our identity as citizens of an earthly nation our primary identity, we will start to regard immigrants (and all outsiders) as our nation and culture dictate, and not from a Biblical worldview.

3. English is a curious language. One of its curiosities (though it is not unique in this) is the placement of adjectives before nouns. When we say illegal immigrant, it’s as if the person were illegal before being an immigrant. Almost as if a tall man were tall before being a man. But the opposite is true, being a man is more essential than being tall. Just as it is more important that a red car is a car; its color is secondary. Because of the language, it is tempting to put a person under the category of illegal and then in a subcategory of immigrant. In reality it is more important that the person is an immigrant and then we use the subcategory of illegal, otherwise we are tempted to think that he or she has no right to existence, or to any other rights endowed by our Creator.

I by no means intend to imply that it is wrong for a nation to have borders or for there to be laws to restrict immigration. Again, this is not a post intended to promote a certain political stance. Rather, my intent is to help us think through what our attitude as believers might be given Biblical teaching, which at times will put us at odds with the rest of society. I am not so much concerned how this or that nation enforces border and immigration policies. Nations will come and go, and no nation will perfectly reflect God’s will for humanity. But as followers of Christ, we are tasked with living a life that is inline with Biblical teaching and upholding values that are consistent with the Scriptures.

I think that sometimes we as believers box ourselves in and constrain ourselves to the current culture. But what if there is another way? What if the solutions that our nation or culture offer are limited because of their inability to see beyond the culture by which they are bound? When reading the Declaration of Independence recently, I found it very curious that one of the reasons for breaking from the King of England was that the bar was set too high for people wanting to become naturalized citizens, or to migrate to the colony³. Is it possible that certain nations have a bar set so high that immigrants are actually encouraged to enter by means other than the proper legal process? I am no legal expert and do not pretend to offer a comprehensive solution to any nation’s border policies, but as people who know the Truth we are not bound by the solutions, rhetoric or attitudes of the culture we live in. We have the opportunity to see beyond our current time and culture and offer fresh perspectives to a fallen and decaying world. As Peter compelled us in the previous section:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. [ 1 Peter 2:9 ]

Questions

1. What would be some signs that we have started to make our earthy citizenship primary over our heavenly citizenship?
2. Would a believing illegal immigrant be a believer, illegal or immigrant first? How does prioritizing each one affect our attitude towards that person?
3. What would border policies look like that both help maintain a nation’s sovereignty and at the same time uphold God’s concern for the sojourner?

The Perfect Immigrant

I do not blame the disappointed reader, whom, based on the title of the post, has read this far, perhaps an immigrant himself, and perhaps seeking a set of prescriptions for self-improvement. Or perhaps the disappointed reader is a goodly neighbor seeking to offer advice or a set of norms to live by to his fellow sojourner. To this I can offer no help at present. No, instead I would like to draw out one last observation from Scripture. There is a sense in which God Himself became an immigrant on this earth for our own benefit. While Scripture does not use the word immigrant or sojourner to describe Jesus, I believe the concept is still there. First of all, Jesus was in a literal sense a sojourner, if not for a very brief time:

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” [ Matthew 2:13-15 ]

But there is yet a fuller sense in which Jesus was a sojourner on this earth.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. [ John 1:14 ]

Here the word dwelt translates literally as tabernacled. The tabernacle was a temporary place of worship while the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness. In other words, God incarnate dwelt among us temporarily, He sojourned among us.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. [ Philippians 2:5-8 ]

As I discussed earlier, people who have become immigrants have had to make sacrifices (family, home, citizenship, etc.) in order to seek a better life. The Bible and Christian life are full of paradoxes. As G.K. Chesterton has rightly pointed out, there are paradoxes that give life and there are paradoxes that point to death ⁴. The Bible is full of paradoxes that give life, and here we have one such one, possibly the greatest one. For immigrants as we know them, do make sacrifices, but these sacrifices are for their own benefit. God, on the other hand, made sacrifices, even the ultimate sacrifice, not to seek a better life, but a life of affliction. He sacrificed, not for His own benefit, God be praised, but for our benefit. And so it was necessary. The curse could not be broken, nor our relationship with God restored, had Jesus, the perfect immigrant, not come to sojourn among us.

Final Thoughts

So where does this leave us? Does the Bible’s teaching offer us a comprehensive guide that can help us develop detailed border or immigration policies? By no means, nor is that the purpose of the Scriptures. But the Scriptures do serve to show us God’s will, His heart for his creation and His people. Our responsibility as Christians is to, first of all, look at the Scriptures to help us understand and make sense of the world from God’s perspective. Only after we have done so can we reflect Him and be lights in a crooked and twisted generation.

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Compilation of Biblical Verses on the Topic of Immigration ⁵⁶

Expand/Collapse Verses

Reference	Verse
Gen 12:10	[10] Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.
Gen 15:13	[13] Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.
Gen 19:9	[9] But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down.
Gen 23:4	[4] “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
Gen 26:3	[3] Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.
Exo 2:22	[22] She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”
Exo 6:4	[4] I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners.
Exo 12:19	[19] For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land.
Exo 12:48	[48] If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it.
Exo 18:3	[3] along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land”),
Exo 20:10	[10] but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.
Gen 47:4	[4] They said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.”
Exo 22:21	[21] “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
Exo 23:9	[9] “You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
Lev 17:15	[15] And every person who eats what dies of itself or what is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or a sojourner, shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening; then he shall be clean.
Lev 17:8-13	[8] “And you shall say to them, Any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice [9] and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it to the LORD, that man shall be cut off from his people. [10] “If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. [11] For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. [12] Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood. [13] “Any one also of the people of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth.
Lev 19:10	[10] And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.
Lev 20:2	[2] “Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones.
Lev 22:18	[18] “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel and say to them, When any one of the house of Israel or of the sojourners in Israel presents a burnt offering as his offering, for any of their vows or freewill offerings that they offer to the LORD,
Lev 23:22	[22] “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.”
Lev 24:16	[16] Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.
Lev 24:22	[22] You shall have the same rule for the sojourner and for the native, for I am the LORD your God.
Lev 25:6	[6] The Sabbath of the land shall provide food for you, for yourself and for your male and female slaves and for your hired worker and the sojourner who lives with you,
Lev 25:35	[35] If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you.
Lev 25:39-40	[39] If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: [40] he shall be with you as a hired worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee.
Lev 25:47-48a	[47] “If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger’s clan [48] then after he is sold he may be redeemed.
Lev 25:23	[23] “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me.
Lev 25:45	[45] You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property.
Num 9:14	[14] And if a stranger sojourns among you and would keep the Passover to the LORD, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its rule, so shall he do. You shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native.”
Num 15:15-16	[15] For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute forever throughout your generations. You and the sojourner shall be alike before the LORD. [16] One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.
Num 15:30	[30] But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from among his people.
Num 35:15	[15] These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there.
Deu 5:14	[14] but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.
Deu 10:18-19	[18] He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. [19] Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
Deu 14:21, 29	[21] “You shall not eat anything that has died naturally. You may give it to the sojourner who is within your towns, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk. … [29] And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.
Deu 16:11, 14	[11] And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name dwell there. … [14] You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns.
Deu 23:7	[7] “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land.
Deu 24:14	[14] “You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns.
Deu 24:17-21	[17] “You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow’s garment in pledge, [18] but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this. [19] “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. [20] When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. [21] When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.
Deu 26:11-13	[11] And you shall rejoice in all the good that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you. [12] “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled, [13] then you shall say before the LORD your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them.
Deu 27:19	[19] “‘Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Deu 28:43	[43] The sojourner who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower.
Deu 29:11	[11] your little ones, your wives, and the sojourner who is in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water,
Deu 31:12	[12] Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law,
Jos 8:33	[33] And all Israel, sojourner as well as native born, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded at the first, to bless the people of Israel.
Jos 8:35	[35] There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among them.
Jdg 17:8-9	[8] And the man departed from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn where he could find a place. And as he journeyed, he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah. [9] And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to sojourn where I may find a place.”
Rth 1:1	[1] In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
2 Sa 1:13	[13] And David said to the young man who told him, “Where do you come from?” And he answered, “I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.”
2 Sa 4:3	[3] the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have been sojourners there to this day.
1 Ki 17:20	[20] And he cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?”
2 Ki 8:1	[1] Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can, for the LORD has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years.”
1 Ch 16:19	[19] When you were few in number, of little account, and sojourners in it,
1 Ch 29:15	[15] For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding.
2 Ch 30:25	[25] The whole assembly of Judah, and the priests and the Levites, and the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and the sojourners who lived in Judah, rejoiced.
Job 31:32	[32] (the sojourner has not lodged in the street; I have opened my doors to the traveler),
Psa 39:12	[12] “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers.
Psa 15:1	[1] A Psalm of David. O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
Psa 94:6	[6] They kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless;
Psa 105:12	[12] When they were few in number, of little account, and sojourners in it,
Psa 119:19	[19] I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!
Psa 120:5	[5] Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
Psa 146:9	[9] The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
Isa 14:1	[1] For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob.
Isa 16:4	[4] let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,
Isa 52:4	[4] For thus says the Lord GOD: “My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing.
Jer 7:6	[6] if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm,
Jer 35:7	[7] You shall not build a house; you shall not sow seed; you shall not plant or have a vineyard; but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.’
Jer 49:18	[18] As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities were overthrown, says the LORD, no man shall dwell there, no man shall sojourn in her.
Jer 49:33	[33] Hazor shall become a haunt of jackals, an everlasting waste; no man shall dwell there; no man shall sojourn in her.
Jer 50:40	[40] As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the LORD, so no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.
Eze 14:7	[7] For any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, who separates himself from me, taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to a prophet to consult me through him, I the LORD will answer him myself.
Eze 20:38	[38] I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
Eze 22:7	[7] Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you.
Eze 22:29	[29] The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice.
Eze 47:22	[22] You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. They shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.
Eze 47:23	[23] In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord GOD.
Zec 7:10	[10] do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”
Mal 3:5	[5] “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.
Act 7:6	[6] And God spoke to this effect–that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years.
Act 7:29	[29] At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
Eph 2:19	So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,[fn] but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
1Pe 2:11	[11] Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

Biblical Passages that Mention Orphans and Widows ⁷

Expand/Collapse Verses

Reference	Verse
Exo 22:21-24	[21] You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. [22] You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. [23] If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, [24] and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.
Deu 10:18	[18] He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.
Deu 14:29	[29] And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.
Deu 16:11	[11] And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name dwell there.
Deu 16:14	[14] You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns.
Deu 24:19	[19] When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
Deu 24:20	[20] When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.
Deu 24:21	[21] When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.
Deu 26:12	[12] When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled,
Deu 26:13	[13] then you shall say before the LORD your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them.
Deu 27:19	[19] ‘Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Job 22:9	[9] You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless were crushed.
Job 31:18, 32	[18] (for from my youth the fatherless grew up with me as with a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow)… [32] (the sojourner has not lodged in the street; I have opened my doors to the traveler),
Psa 68:5	[5] Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.
Psa 94:6	[6] They kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless;
Psa 109:9	[9] May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow!
Psa 146:9	[9] The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
Isa 9:17	[17] Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men, and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows; for everyone is godless and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.
Isa 10:2	[2] to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
Jer 7:6	[6] if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm,
Jer 22:3	[3] Thus says the LORD: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.
Jer 49:11	[11] Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive; and let your widows trust in me."
Lam 5:2-3	[2] Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to foreigners. [3] We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are like widows.
Eze 22:7	[7] Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you.
Zec 7:10	[10] do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart."
Mal 3:5	[5] Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.
Jas 1:27	[27] Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.