The command continues: Do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor; and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.\u2014specifying the concrete content of justice and mercy by identifying vulnerable populations and requiring their protection. Widows, orphans, strangers, and the poor represent those without natural protectors or resources; their protection is a litmus test for genuine covenant obedience. The prohibition against devising evil in one's heart addresses the interior motivation: it is not sufficient to avoid overt oppression; the heart itself must be reoriented away from malice and toward mercy. The specification of heart suggests that true transformation requires internal reformation, not merely external compliance. This verse represents the prophetic summary of covenant ethics: care for the vulnerable, honesty, and internal integrity constitute God's actual requirements. The emphasis on these virtues follows naturally from the earlier teaching: these are the practices God has consistently required through the prophets.

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