Deuteronomy 24:18

Summary

The verse instructs the addressee to remember having been a slave in Egypt and that Yehovah his God redeemed him from there. On the basis of that remembered redemption, the speaker states that he is commanding the addressee to perform "this thing."

Key words

• za.khar.Ta ("you will remember", H2142) — qal perfect, second person masculine singular, functioning as a sequential command continuing the narrative chain begun by the preceding vav; it frames the whole verse as an act of memory.
• 'E.ved ("a slave", H5650) — masculine singular noun, used here as a predicate describing the addressee's former status, without the definite article.
• yif.de.kha ("he redeemed you", H6299) — qal narrative (vav-consecutive) form, third person masculine singular verb with second-person suffix -kha ("you"), marking the redemption as a completed narrative event following the remembering.
• 'a.no.Khi ("I", H0595) — independent personal pronoun placed before the participle, giving emphasis to the speaker's identity as the one commanding.
• me.tza.ve.kha ("[am] commanding you", H6680) — piel participle, masculine singular construct with suffix -kha, presenting the command as an ongoing, present action ("the one commanding") rather than a simple past or future verb.

What the text says

The sentence opens with the sequential form za.khar.Ta ("you will remember", H2142), attached by the narrative vav (H9001) to what precedes, so grammatically it continues a chain of instructions rather than standing as an isolated imperative. The content of the remembering is introduced by ki ("that", H3588A): the addressee "was" (ha.Yi.ta, H1961, qal perfect) "a slave" ('E.ved, H5650) "in Egypt" (be.mitz.Ra.yim, H4714G with preposition H9003). This perfect verb marks the slavery as a completed state prior to the redemption.

The redemption itself is narrated with yif.de.kha ("he redeemed you", H6299), a qal narrative form that sequences after the perfect verb, so the grammar itself encodes the order of events: first the state of slavery, then the act of redemption. The subject of this verb is Yehovah (H3068G) followed by 'e.lo.Hei.kha ("your God", H0430G), a construct plural noun with a second-person suffix. The phrase mi.Sham ("from there", H8033G with H9006) specifies the place of redemption as Egypt, referring back to the earlier clause.

The result clause begins with 'al-ken ("there-fore", H5921A + H3651C), a compound adverbial expression marking logical consequence. The pronoun 'a.no.Khi ("I", H0595) is placed explicitly before the participle me.tza.ve.kha ("commanding you", H6680), a piel participle construct form that presents the command as a present, ongoing act rather than a completed one. The infinitive la.'a.Sot ("to do", H6213A with H9005) introduces the purpose, followed by the object marked with 'et- (H0853) and ha.da.Var ha.Zeh ("this thing", H1697I + H2088), the definite object of the command.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders 'E.ved ("a slave", H5650, singular) with the plural "οἰκέτης" is actually singular in the Greek text given, matching the Hebrew singular, though the English BSB translates it as plural "slaves." The Vulgate uses "servieris" ("you served"), a verb form, where the Hebrew has a noun-plus-verb construction ("you were a slave"). The Vulgate also renders 'al-ken ("there-fore") as "Idcirco," and shifts me.tza.ve.kha (present participle "commanding") into "præcipio tibi" ("I command you"), a finite present-tense verb rather than a participial construction.