Some politicians make a lot of noise about putting the Ten Commandments in public places. For example, last year Texas Republicans tried, and failed, to pass a law that would have have required public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
As if there really were only ten. While it’s true that according to Exodus there were commandments inscribed into stone tablets, the Bible actually lists the commandments slightly differently in the three places where they are mentioned: Exodus 34:28, Deuteronomy 4:13, and Deuteronomy 10:4, and different religious traditions interpret them in different ways.
Moreover, there are not only Ten Commandments, but hundreds. For example, Exodus 22:21:
Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.
Or if you prefer the Authorized or King James Version:
Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Check out the Biblegateway site for a whole range of different translations.
Given that according to Genesis, the Hebrew people were actually immigrants in Egypt and this verse draws a parallel between their time in Egypt and how they should treat others, perhaps the commandment should be translated:
Do not mistreat or oppress an immigrant, for you were immigrants in Egypt.
Hey, aren’t those Republicans who were trying to mandate the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools, aren’t they the same ones who are railing against immigrants?
Hmmmm…