Exodus 22:16–31, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Exodus 22:16–31
Sex, Sorcery, Worship, Outsiders, Loans, and Holiness
A dense list from seduction to holy eating
If a man entices an unbetrothed maid and lies with her, he must endow her as his wife; if her father refuses, he still pays the dowry of virgins. A witch is not to be suffered to live. Bestiality is a death case. Sacrifice to any god but the LORD is devoted to destruction.
The cluster is not one topic. Sexual harm, occult practice, rival worship, and then social protection sit side by side in an ancient covenant collection. Capital lines here are not a warrant for later witch-hunts or for treating a seduced young woman as if marriage automatically heals the wrong.
The stranger, the widow, the orphan, and the pledged cloak
They shall not vex or oppress a stranger, for they were strangers in Egypt. They shall not afflict widow or fatherless child. If they do, and the afflicted cry, God will hear; wrath will wax hot; he will kill with the sword, and their own wives and children will become widows and fatherless.
Loans to the poor must not carry usury. A neighbor's pledged garment is returned by sunset; it is his covering, his raiment for his skin. When he cries, God hears, 'for I am gracious.' They are not to revile God (KJV 'the gods') or curse the ruler. First ripe produce, firstborn sons, and firstborn animals are given; a firstborn stays with its dam seven days. They are to be holy and not eat flesh torn in the field.
Egypt memory here is a legal motive: you know the stranger's heart. Divine hearing of the poor is as material as the firstborn laws. The unit's social core is not cancelled by the severe cultic sentences around it.
How this should shape us
Start with the people this speech says God hears: the outsider, the widow, the fatherless, the poor debtor whose only cloak you hold overnight. Do not harvest the capital verses for a purge, and do not delay the first share that belongs to God while squeezing the neighbor who has to sleep.
Teach it back
Explain Exodus 22:16–31 in your own words. Include both movements, its place in Exodus, one historical or compositional uncertainty, one affected person or group, and one conclusion the complete context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Careful interpreters agree that the received text states the following: A dense series addresses seduction and bride-price, severe capital laws, sacrifice, resident outsiders, widows and orphans, interest, pledges, authorities, first produce, firstborn, animals, and holy eating. They disagree over source layers, date, historical recovery, archaeology, Hebrew details, ritual development, legal use, and canonical relationship in different proportions; this study treats the final form directly while marking those alternatives as probable or uncertain rather than settled fact.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exodus 22:16–31, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, speech, law, ritual vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Exod.xml, words and morphology for 22:16–31
Supports: Unit-bounded Hebrew, syntax, lexical, textual, name, measure, legal, ritual, and older-English notes; silence is not evidence.
NET Bible Exodus PDF, complete 127-page PDF, translation and verse-attached translator notes for 22:16–31
Supports: Case-law form, ancient Near Eastern comparanda, social setting, slavery and gender inequality, legal restraint, and limits of direct modern transfer.
Yale Bible Study, 'The Book of the Covenant,' complete study guide pp. 1–5, ancient Near Eastern law, slavery, lex talionis, property, justice, worship, and legal dating limits; applied to Exodus 22:16–31
Supports: Mountain location uncertainty, covenant and treaty comparison, source plurality, mediation, Decalogue, covenant blood, and priestly dwelling instruction.
Yale Bible Study, 'Sinai,' complete study guide pp. 1–6, covenant, Moses and the mountain, Decalogue, Exodus 24, and tabernacle framing; applied to Exodus 22:16–31
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Exodus 22:16–31, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Exodus
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, speech, law, ritual vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Exod.xml, words and morphology for 22:16–31
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Exodus with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
eBible.org distribution of the NET Bible, PDF generated 2026-08-12
Supports: Unit-bounded Hebrew, syntax, lexical, textual, name, measure, legal, ritual, and older-English notes; silence is not evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible Exodus PDF, complete 127-page PDF, translation and verse-attached translator notes for 22:16–31
Open source ↗open university course study guide
The Book of the Covenant Study Guide
Joel S. Baden and John J. Collins
Yale Bible Study, 2019 course edition
Supports: Case-law form, ancient Near Eastern comparanda, social setting, slavery and gender inequality, legal restraint, and limits of direct modern transfer.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, 'The Book of the Covenant,' complete study guide pp. 1–5, ancient Near Eastern law, slavery, lex talionis, property, justice, worship, and legal dating limits; applied to Exodus 22:16–31
Open source ↗open university course study guide
Sinai Study Guide
Joel S. Baden and John J. Collins
Yale Bible Study, 2019 course edition
Supports: Mountain location uncertainty, covenant and treaty comparison, source plurality, mediation, Decalogue, covenant blood, and priestly dwelling instruction.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, 'Sinai,' complete study guide pp. 1–6, covenant, Moses and the mountain, Decalogue, Exodus 24, and tabernacle framing; applied to Exodus 22:16–31
Open source ↗