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In recent months, debates around American policies towards immigrants and refugees have become increasingly divisive. With so many voices and opinions, it can be hard to cut through the noise. But as Christians, we have a powerful tool to do just that — the Bible.
When it comes to discerning God’s heart, and how we can best align with it, we turn to Scripture. While you won’t find the words “refugee” or “immigrant” in many Bible translations, Scripture has much to say about “the foreigner,” “the sojourner” and “the stranger.” In the NIV translation, the word “foreigner” alone is mentioned over 140 times!
At World Relief, we believe the Bible gives us a clear mandate to care for, walk alongside and seek justice on behalf of refugees and other immigrants experiencing vulnerability. Here are 21 Bible verses that teach us how to respond to refugees and other immigrants. We encourage you to read them prayerfully and study them carefully as you discover God’s heart for your immigrant neighbors.
Want to learn more about refugees? Read the stories of refugees like Karungu, Nadiwa and Farrah.
The Bible Tells Us That “The Foreigner” is Near to God’s Heart
In the Bible, we find many verses describing how we should treat “the foreigner,” or the immigrant, who lives in our communities. In these verses, we see that God shows special care and concern for foreigners in response to the unique vulnerabilities people face when outside their homeland.
When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God. — Leviticus 19:9-10
When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God. — Leviticus 19:9-10
He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. — Deuteronomy 10:18-19
I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger. — Job 29:16
The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. — Psalm 146:9
In the Bible, God Himself Takes Up the Cause of Refugees and Immigrants
Throughout Scripture, God’s people are commanded to treat foreigners fairly and justly. Many of these verses speak directly to upholding the legal rights of “the foreigner,” even saying that God himself will testify against those who deprive foreigners of justice.
The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner residing among you. — Exodus 12:49
Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other. — Zechariah 7:10
When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God. — Leviticus 19:33-34
The community is to have the same rules for you and for the foreigner residing among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the foreigner shall be the same before the Lord: The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing among you. — Numbers 15:15-16
And I charged your judges at that time, “Hear the disputes between your people and judge fairly, whether the case is between two Israelites or between an Israelite and a foreigner residing among you. — Deuteronomy 1:16
Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns. — Deuteronomy 24:14
Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this. — Deuteronomy 24:17-18
“Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!” — Deuteronomy 27:19
If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. — Jeremiah 7:5-7
This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. — Jeremiah 22:3
“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty. — Malachi 3:5
You can walk alongside families forced to flee their homes.
The Bible Shows Us That Jesus Identifies With Refugees and Immigrants
John 1:14 says that in Jesus, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” Strikingly, Jesus’ early life was marked by displacement when his family was forced to flee violence in their homeland and seek safety in Egypt — an experience many refugees can relate to today. As God’s embodied Word, Jesus identifies deeply with the “stranger.”
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt … — Matthew 2:13-14
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in … Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?” … The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” — Matthew 25:35-40
The Bible Describes All People as God’s Image Bearers, Created and Loved by Him
From the very beginning, the Bible tells us that God created all people in his own image. That means every person, no matter where they are from, what language they speak or what their journey has been, is loved by God and deserving of dignity. Refugees may be culturally different from those in their host community, but there is beauty, harmony and unity in difference. In these verses, we see that God himself has inspired the diversity of the earth, and that one day we will worship him alongside people of every tribe and tongue.
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them … — Genesis 1:27-28
From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. — Acts 17:26-27
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” — Revelation 7:9-10
As you can see, the Bible is full of verses that testify to God’s deep care and compassion towards “the foreigner” — those who would be described today as refugees and immigrants. If you’re like us, these verses inspire and move you to more fully reflect God’s heart towards your refugee neighbors. And that conviction is needed now more than ever.
For many refugees, this is a critical time. As more people have been forced to flee their homes globally than ever before in history, U.S. policies are making it difficult for those at greatest risk to find safety.
Will you join us in prayer and action on behalf of our refugee and immigrant neighbors? Click the link below to get our free prayer guide. Then, learn more ways you can help.
Kelly Hill is a Content Manager at World Relief. She previously served as Volunteer Services Manager at World Relief Triad in North Carolina. With a background in International and Intercultural Communication, she is passionate about the power of story to connect people of diverse experiences.