Leviticus 19:34 (WEB)

Passage

The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 19:32 “‘You shall rise up before the gray head, and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God. I am Yahweh.

Leviticus 19:33 “‘If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.

Leviticus 19:34 The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.

Leviticus 19:35 “‘You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity.

Leviticus 19:36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin. I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "stranger", "lives", "foreigner", "shall", "native-born", "love", and "yourself". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "stranger" and "lives", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 33's "If a stranger lives as a foreigner..." into verse 35's "You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment...", so "stranger" and "lives" belong inside that flow. In Leviticus context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "stranger" and "lives" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.