Thou shalt not oppress the stranger Though aliens might not inherit lands among them; yet, they must have justice done them. It is an instance of the equity of our law, that if an alien be tried for any crime, except treason, the one half of his jury, if he desire it, shall be foreigners; a kind provision that strangers may not be oppressed. For ye know the heart of a stranger That is, ye know by experience what a distressed, friendless condition that of a stranger is. The disposition, dejection, and distress of his heart, make him an object of pity, not of malice or injustice. Ye know his heart is easily depressed, and very unable to bear repulses. There is a great beauty in the expression.
Related Commentaries of Exodus 23:9
Exodus 23:9
9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heartd of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.