Deuteronomy 24:14-15
“You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers, or one of your foreigners who are in your land within your gates. In his day you shall give him his wages, neither shall the sun go down on it; for he is poor, and sets his heart on it: lest he cry against you to Yahweh, and it be sin to you.”
This passage is part of the Law given to the people of Israel through Moses, likely written down around the 7th-5th centuries BCE, as they prepared to enter the Promised Land. It instructs them on how to build a just society, covering aspects of civil and social life, including specific protections for vulnerable members of the community.
What responsibility does this passage suggest we hold towards those whose livelihood depends on immediate payment for their labor?