Deuteronomy 24:16

Hebrew Bible

14 You must not oppress a lowly and poor servant, whether one from among your fellow Israelites or from the resident foreigners who are living in your land and villages. 15 You must pay his wage that very day before the sun sets, for he is poor and his life depends on it. Otherwise he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin. 16 Fathers must not be put to death for what their children do, nor children for what their fathers do; each must be put to death for his own sin. 17 You must not pervert justice due a resident foreigner or an orphan, or take a widow’s garment as security for a loan. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do all this.

2 Kings 14:6

Hebrew Bible

4 But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places. 5 When he had secured control of the kingdom, he executed the servants who had assassinated his father. 6 But he did not execute the sons of the assassins. He obeyed the Lord’s commandment as recorded in the scroll of the law of Moses, “Fathers must not be put to death for what their sons do, and sons must not be put to death for what their fathers do. A man must be put to death only for his own sin.” 7 He defeated 10,000 Edomites in the Salt Valley; he captured Sela in battle and renamed it Joktheel, a name it has retained to this very day. 8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel. He said, “Come, let’s meet face to face.”

 Notes and References

"... On some occasions, there can be no doubt that the text of Deuteronomy 5—26 is in view. Quoting Deuteronomy 24:16, the author of 2 Kings 14:6 (compare 2 Chron 25:4) states that Amaziah (c. 800-783 B.C.) “did not put to death the children of the murderers; according to what is written in the book of the law of Moses, where the LORD commanded, ‘The parents shall not be put to death for the children, or the children be put to death for the parents; but all shall be put to death for their own sins’” (NRSV). Although no quotation is provided, Nehemiah 13:1 unmistakably alludes to Deuteronomy 23:3, which states that Ammonites and Moabites should be excluded from the assembly of God ..."

Alexander, T. Desmond, and David W. Baker Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (p. 68) InterVarsity Press, 2003

 User Comments

Do you have questions or comments about these texts? Please submit them here.