'Foreigners' in the Bible

Then the LORD told Abram, "You can be certain about this: Your descendants will be foreigners in a land that isn't theirs. They will be slaves there and will be oppressed for 400 years.

He's treating us like foreigners. He sold us and spent all of the money that rightfully belonged to us.

Jacob came to Isaac his father, to Mamre, to Kiriath Arba (which is Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac lived as foreigners.

They said to Pharaoh, "We have come to live as foreigners in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks. For the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen."

I also established My covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as foreigners.

If she is displeasing to her master, who chose her for himself, then he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners because he has acted treacherously toward her.

“You must not exploit a foreign resident or oppress him, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

You must not oppress a foreign resident; you yourselves know how it feels to be a foreigner because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

“Say to them: Anyone from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who live among them who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice

“Anyone from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who live among them who eats any blood, I will turn against that person who eats blood and cut him off from his people.

"'Any man from the Israelites or from the foreigners who reside in their midst who hunts a wild animal or a bird that may be eaten must pour out its blood and cover it with soil,

You must regard the foreigner who lives with you as the native-born among you. You are to love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt; I am Yahweh your God.

"You are to say to the Israelites, 'Any man from the Israelites or from the foreigners who reside in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death; the people of the land must pelt him with stones.

"Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them, 'When any man from the house of Israel or from the foreigners in Israel presents his offering for any of the votive or freewill offerings which they present to the Lord as a burnt offering,

“The land is not to be permanently sold because it is Mine, and you are only foreigners and temporary residents on My land.

You may also purchase them from the foreigners staying with you, or from their families living among you—those born in your land. These may become your property.

I charged your judges at that time, "When you hold a hearing between brothers, judge fairly between a man and his brother or between foreigners.

who justly treats the orphan and widow, and who loves resident foreigners, giving them food and clothing.

You also must love the foreigner, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

so the descendants of Levi who have no tribal allotment as you do foreigners, orphans, and widows who live in your cities may come, eat, and be satisfied. That way, the LORD your God shall bless you in everything you do."

You shall rejoice before him -- you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites in your villages, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows among you -- in the place where the Lord chooses to locate his name.

Rejoice in your festival you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the descendants of Levi, and foreigners, orphans, and widows, who live in your cities.

“Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether one of your brothers or one of the foreigners residing within a town in your land.

You will celebrate all the good things that the Lord your God has given you and your family, along with the Levites and the resident foreigners among you.

"When you have finished your harvest, reserve the tithe in the third year (the year of the tithe), and give the entire tithe to the descendants of Levi, to the foreigners, to the orphans, and to the widows, so they may eat and be satisfied in your cities.

Then you shall say before the Lord your God, "I have removed the sacred offering from my house and given it to the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows just as you have commanded me. I have not violated or forgotten your commandments.

"I've removed the holy offering from my house and given it to the descendants of Levi, to the foreigners, to the orphans, and to the widows just as you have commanded me. I haven't violated or forgotten your commands. I haven't eaten any part of it while mourning, nor removed any part of it while unclean, nor offered any of it to the dead. I've obeyed the voice of the LORD my God and did all that he commanded me.

The foreigners who reside among you will become higher and higher over you and you will become lower and lower.

your children, your wives, and the foreigners in your camps who cut your wood and draw your water—

"Then the generation to come your descendants after you and the foreigners who come from afar will see plagues and illnesses infecting the land that the LORD will inflict on it.

Gather the people—men, women, children, and foreigners living within your gates—so that they may listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and be careful to follow all the words of this law.

They provoked him to jealousy over foreigners and to anger over detestable things.

All Israel, both foreigners and citizens, together with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on opposite sides of the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD. Half stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half stood in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses, the LORD's servant had commanded at the first, so that they could bless the people of Israel.

There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read before the entire assembly of Israel, including the women, the little children, and the foreigners who were with them.

These are the cities appointed for all the Israelites and foreigners among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there and not die at the hand of the avenger of blood until he stands before the assembly.

But his master replied, "We're not going to turn aside into a city of foreigners who are not part of the Israelis. Instead, we'll go on to Gibeah."

for the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have remained there as resident foreigners until the present time.)

Foreigners submit to me grudgingly;as soon as they hear, they obey me.

Foreigners lose heartand come trembling from their fortifications.

"Foreigners, who do not belong to your people Israel, will come from a distant land because of your reputation.

Then listen from your heavenly dwelling place and answer all the prayers of the foreigners. Then all the nations of the earth will acknowledge your reputation, obey you like your people Israel do, and recognize that this temple I built belongs to you.

Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the foreigners of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word."

So the woman got ready and did what the man of God said. She and her household lived as foreigners in the land of the Philistines for seven years.

The king of Assyria brought foreigners from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the Israelites. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities.

These, registered by name, came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and they attacked their tents and the Meunites (foreigners) who were found there, and utterly destroyed them to this day; and they settled in their place, because there was pasture there for their flocks.

when you were but a few men in number, yes, very few, and foreigners were in it.

So David gave orders to gather the foreigners that were in the land of Israel, and he appointed stonecutters to cut finished stones for building God’s house.

For we live before You as foreigners and temporary residents in Your presence as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.

Solomon took a census of all the male resident foreigners in the land of Israel, after the census his father David had taken. There were 153,600 in all.

"Foreigners, who do not belong to your people Israel, will come from a distant land because of your great reputation and your ability to accomplish mighty deeds; they will come and direct their prayers toward this temple.

Then listen from your heavenly dwelling place and answer all the prayers of the foreigners. Then all the nations of the earth will acknowledge your reputation, obey you like your people Israel do, and recognize that this temple I built belongs to you.

Then the whole assembly of Judah with the priests and Levites, the whole assembly that came from Israel, the foreigners who came from the land of Israel, and those who were living in Judah, rejoiced.

and said, “We have done our best to buy back our Jewish countrymen who were sold to foreigners, but now you sell your own countrymen, and we have to buy them back.” They remained silent and could not say a word.

Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the guilt of their fathers.

So when they heard the law, they excluded all foreigners from Israel.

And I purified them from all foreigners, and appointed the charges of the priests and the Levites, every one in his service;

Foreigners submit to me grudgingly;as soon as they hear, they obey me.

Foreigners lose heartand come trembling from their fortifications.

You made us an object of ridicule among the nations; foreigners treat us with contempt.

For foreigners attack me; ruthless men, who do not respect God, seek my life. (Selah)

I will give you thanks before the nations, O Master! I will sing praises to you before foreigners!

Let foreigners rejoice and celebrate! For you execute justice among the nations, and govern the people living on earth. (Selah)

A psalm of Asaph. O God, foreigners have invaded your chosen land; they have polluted your holy temple and turned Jerusalem into a heap of ruins.

The wicked kill widows and foreigners; they murder orphans.

when they were but a few men in number, yes, very few, and foreigners in it.

I will give you thanks before the nations, O Lord! I will sing praises to you before foreigners!

May creditors seize all his possessions, and may foreigners loot the property he has acquired.

Praise the Lord, all you nations! Applaud him, all you foreigners!

Reach down from heaven;rescue me from deep water, and set me freefrom the grasp of foreigners

Set me free and rescue mefrom the grasp of foreignerswhose mouths speak lies,whose right hands are deceptive.

The Lord protects foreignersand helps the fatherless and the widow,but He frustrates the ways of the wicked.

in order to take revenge on the nations, and punish foreigners.

so that strangers don't enrich themselves at your expense, and your work won't end up the possession of foreigners.

Take his garment,for he has put up security for a stranger;get collateral if it is for foreigners.

Take his garment,for he has put up security for a stranger;get collateral if it is for foreigners.

Your land is desolate,your cities burned with fire;foreigners devour your fieldsbefore your very eyes—a desolation demolished by foreigners.

For You have abandoned Your people,the house of Jacob,because they are full of divination from the Eastand of fortune-tellers like the Philistines.They are in league with foreigners.

Then the lambs will graze in their pasture; fatlings and foreigners will eat among the waste places of the rich."

However, the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will once again choose Israel. He will settle them in their own land, and foreigners will join them, affiliating themselves with the house of Jacob.

Nations will take them and bring them back to their own place. Then the family of Jacob will make foreigners their servants as they settle in the Lord's land. They will make their captors captives and rule over the ones who oppressed them.

For you have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified city into a ruin; the foreigners' citadel is no longer a city it will never be rebuilt!

and the noise of foreigners is like the heat of the desert. Just as you subdue heat by the shade of clouds, so the victory songs of violent men will be stilled.

Very well, then, through the mouths of foreigners and foreign languages the LORD will speak to this people

And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lordminister to Him, love the name of Yahwehand become His servants,all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating itand who hold firmly to My covenant—

Foreigners will build up your walls,and their kings will serve you.Although I struck you in My wrath,yet I will show mercy to you with My favor.

Strangers will stand and feed your flocks,and foreigners will be your plowmen and vinedressers.

The Lord has sworn with His right handand His strong arm:I will no longer give your grainto your enemies for food,and foreigners will not drink your new wineyou have labored for.

“[Cease your mad running after idols to]Keep your feet from becoming bareAnd your throat from becoming dry;But you said, ‘It is hopeless!For I have loved strangers and foreign gods,And I will walk after them.’

"So then, Jeremiah, when your people ask, 'Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?' tell them, 'It is because you rejected me and served foreign gods in your own land. So you must serve foreigners in a land that does not belong to you.'

Stop oppressing foreigners who live in your land, children who have lost their fathers, and women who have lost their husbands. Stop killing innocent people in this land. Stop paying allegiance to other gods. That will only bring about your ruin.

The Lord says, "Do what is just and right. Deliver those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Do not exploit or mistreat foreigners who live in your land, children who have no fathers, or widows. Do not kill innocent people in this land.

the foreigners living in Egypt; all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the land of the Philistines, the people of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, the people who had been left alive from Ashdod;

On that day,' declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "I'll break the yoke from your neck and will tear off your restraints. Foreigners will no longer make you serve them.

Kill all the farmers who sow the seed in the land of Babylon. Kill all those who wield the sickle at harvest time. Let all the foreigners return to their own people. Let them hurry back to their own lands to escape destruction by that enemy army.

A sword is against his horses and chariotsand against all the foreigners among them,and they will be like women.A sword is against her treasuries,and they will be plundered.

I'll send foreigners to Babylon, and they'll winnow her, and devastate her land. They'll come against her from every side on the day of her disaster.

Foreigners living there will say, 'We tried to heal her, but she could not be healed. Let's leave Babylonia and each go back to his own country. For judgment on her will be vast in its proportions. It will be like it is piled up to heaven, stacked up into the clouds.'

We are ashamedbecause we have heard insults.Humiliation covers our facesbecause foreigners have enteredthe holy places of the Lord’s temple.

Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,our houses to foreigners.

I will hand these things overto foreigners as plunderand to the wicked of the earth as spoil,and they will profane them.