Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Exodus 22:29 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 29. 29Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The line at 22:29 records “Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt…” and gives this movement its next narrated or instructed action.
Read It With
- Exodus 22:16–31
Read Exodus 22:29 with 22:16–31. The line at 22:29 records “Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt…” and gives this movement its next narrated or instructed action. The whole unit shows: 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.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Exodus 22:1–15 establishes the preceding movement: Restitution cases address stolen livestock, burglary, grazing, fire, entrusted property, disputed custody, rented or borrowed animals, and degrees of responsibility. This unit applies that movement: 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. At 22:29, the wording “Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt…” makes this verse's contribution precise. The line at 22:29 records “Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt…” and gives this movement its next narrated or instructed action.
Follow the Context
- The unit opens at 22:16 with this development: 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.
- By 22:31, the narrated speech, instruction, action, or outcome has completed the movement named “Sex, Sorcery, Worship, Outsiders, Loans, and Holiness.”
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt…”
In plain language: The line at 22:29 records “Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt…” and gives this movement its next narrated or instructed action.
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. The phrase belongs to 22:16–31.
Why it matters: 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? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
Exodus 22:29 does not detach the verse's specific words—“Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt…”—from their role in “Sex, Sorcery, Worship, Outsiders, Loans, and Holiness” or turn them into an independent command, promise, judgment, ritual, or authorization. Read Exodus 22:29 with 22:16–31. Ancient case law does not function as a complete modern code, authorize vigilantism or cruelty, erase unequal status, or let religious leaders bypass due process and survivor protection. In context, The line at 22:29 records “Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt…” and gives this movement its next narrated or instructed action.
What Remains True
Because Exodus 22:29 contributes “Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt…” to “Sex, Sorcery, Worship, Outsiders, Loans, and Holiness,” its proportionate enduring truth is: Concrete cases train a community to connect actions with responsibility, restitution, evidence, power, and the lives affected by judgment.
How It Can Shape Life
- At Exodus 22:29, the line “Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt…” serves this contextual meaning: 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. The bounded action is: A proportionate application of “Sex, Sorcery, Worship, Outsiders, Loans, and Holiness” is this: Translate the case into its protected interest and power imbalance, then use transparent evidence, proportionate remedies, and safeguards stronger than the ancient social order provided.
Teach It Back
Explain why Exodus 22:29 says “Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt…” inside 22:16–31. Name its actor and effect, one historical, Hebrew, compositional, legal, ritual, or ethical limit, one person or group bearing risk, and one conclusion the verse does not authorize.
Your explanation stays in this browser. It is not sent or saved.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Exodus 22:16–31 — Sex, Sorcery, Worship, Outsiders, Loans, and HolinessSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Exodus 22:29 remains inside this material limit: 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.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
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 ↗