Deuteronomy 24:12

Deu 24:12 And if the man [be] poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge:

Ver. 12. Thou shalt not sleep with his pledge.] As those cruel crafties did, {Amo 2:8} that "sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes." {Amo 2:6}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 12. And if the man be poor, c.] Did not this law preclude pledging entirely, especially in case of the abjectly poor? For who would take a pledge in the morning which he knew, if not redeemed, he must restore at night? However, he might resume his claim in the morning, and have the pledge daily returned, and thus keep up his property in it till the debt was discharged See Clarke on Ex 22:26. The Jews in several cases did act contrary to this rule, and we find them cuttingly reproved for it by the Prophet Amos, Am 2:8.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And if the man be poor,.... Which may be thought to be the case of everyone that gives pledges for a debt he owes, or a sum of money he borrows; yet there might be a difference: some might be so very destitute of goods and raiment in their houses, that whatever they parted with was distressing to them, and they could not well do without it:

thou shalt not sleep with his pledge; nor keep it a night; but deliver it to him, before he went to bed, and laid himself down to sleep.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Night, if it be a garment or bed covering, which may be necessary for the poor man. (Haydock) --- By allowing the creditor to keep the pledge such a short time, God wished to discourage the taking of any from such as were in real distress. (Menochius) --- The same regulation required, that if a necessary implement for labour, during the day time, was pledged, it should be returned in the morning. (Calmet) --- This was done every day, to admonish the creditor and the debtor to exercise mercy and justice in their respective situations. The debtor was to remember to do his utmost in order to pay his debts. (St. Augustine, q. 41.) --- These daily debts were not remitted in the sabbatic years, according to the Rabbins, whose opinion seems very hard and inconsistent. (Haydock) --- Solomon advises not to stand bond for another’s debts, Proverbs xx. 16., and xxii. 26. Many nations in the Indies allowed no action at law to recover debts, as the creditor ought to have taken his precautions before he parted with his money or merchandize. (Stobœus.; Strabo, xv.) (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

But restore it before night, which intimates that he should take no such thing for pledge, without which a man cannot sleep, since it were an idle thing to fetch it and carry it every day. See Poole "Exo 22:26,27".

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

12. Thou shalt not sleep with his pledge — As the poor debtor might have nothing to cover him but his outer garment, which served him for his bed. This the creditor was not to keep at night. Comp. Exo_22:25-26.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou shalt not sleep - But restore it before night, which intimates that he should take no such thing for pledge, without which a man cannot sleep.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

And if the man was in distress (עני), the lender was not to lie (sleep) upon his pledge, since the poor man had very often nothing but his upper garment, in which he slept, to give as a pledge. This was to be returned to him in the evening. (A repetition of Exo 22:25-26.) On the expression, "It shall be righteousness unto thee," see Deu 6:25.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

General Information:

Moses speaks to the Israelites as if they were one man, so the words "you" and "your" here are singular. (See: Forms of You)

you must not sleep with his pledge in your possession

"you must not keep his coat overnight"

his pledge

This refers to what he has promised that he would give you if he did not pay back the loan. See how you translated this in Deuteronomy 24:10.

restore to him the pledge

"give him back what he has given you to show that he will pay back the loan"

so that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you

The full meaning of this statement can be made explicit. AT: "so that he will have his coat to keep himself warm when he sleeps, and he will be grateful to you" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

cloak

a coat or other clothing that keeps a person warm at night. This was probably the "pledge" Moses was speaking of in Deuteronomy 24:10-12

it will be righteousness for you before Yahweh your God

"Yahweh your God will approve of the way you handled this matter"

translationWords

pledge

possess

bless

righteous

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

לא תשכב בעבטו THOU SHALT NOT SLEEP IN HIS PLEDGE — This means, thou shalt not go to sleep having his pledge with thee (Sifrei Devarim 277:2; Bava Metzia 111b).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

AND IF HE BE A POOR MAN, [THOU SHALT NOT SLEEP WITH HIS PLEDGE]. The term “poor” applies to him who has no alternative pledge similar to the item he gave him [the creditor]. If he had two utensils of the same kind [and both are required as security for the debt], he [the creditor] may take one and give [the other] one back [to the debtor] whether he is poor or rich with many properties [for, since the debtor has but two utensils and he is in need of one of them the creditor must return it to him].

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.