The family huddles together in the back of a pickup truck, everything they own stuffed into two worn duffel bags as they flee violence that has torn their homeland apart. A young mother clutches her toddler while standing in line at an immigration office, hoping that today she’ll receive the documents that will let her work legally and provide for her children. An elderly man sits alone in a refugee camp, wondering if he’ll ever see his grandchildren again or if this temporary shelter will become his permanent home.
Throughout human history, people have been forced to leave familiar places in search of safety, opportunity, or simply the chance to survive. Wars, persecution, natural disasters, economic collapse, and political upheaval create waves of displacement that touch every corner of our world. Behind every immigration statistic is a human story of loss, hope, courage, and the fundamental desire for a place to belong.
If you’re wrestling with how to respond to immigrants and refugees in your community or nation, Scripture offers clear guidance rooted in God’s character and His heart for all people, regardless of their country of origin.
Bible Verses About Supporting Immigrants and Refugees
1. Leviticus 19:34 – The Foreigner Residing Among You Must Be Treated as Your Native-Born
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.
New International Version (NIV)
2. Hebrews 13:2 – Do Not Forget to Show Hospitality to Strangers
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
English Standard Version (ESV)
3. Deuteronomy 10:19 – And You Are to Love Those Who Are Foreigners
Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
New King James Version (NKJV)
4. Matthew 25:35 – I Was a Stranger and You Invited Me In
For I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you invited me into your home.
New Living Translation (NLT)
5. Exodus 22:21 – Do Not Mistreat or Oppress a Foreigner
You must not exploit or oppress a resident alien, for you yourselves were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
6. Ruth 1:16 – Where You Go I Will Go
But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
7. Deuteronomy 24:17-18 – Do Not Deprive the Foreigner or the Fatherless of Justice
Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge: But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
King James Version (KJV)
8. Jeremiah 22:3 – Do No Wrong or Violence to the Foreigner
Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place.
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
9. Isaiah 16:3-4 – Hide the Fugitives, Do Not Betray the Refugees
“Give us counsel, make a decision. Make your shadow like night—at high noon. Hide the fugitives, do not betray the refugees. Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you; be their shelter from the destroyer.”
The Message (MSG)
10. Zechariah 7:9-10 – Show Mercy and Compassion to One Another
“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Execute true justice, show mercy and compassion everyone to his brother. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother.'”
Amplified Bible (AMP)
11. Malachi 3:5 – I Will Be Quick to Testify Against Those Who Oppress the Foreigner
“I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, who refuse justice to the foreigner, and do not fear me,” says the Lord who rules over all.
New English Translation (NET)
12. 1 Peter 2:11 – Dear Friends, I Urge You, as Foreigners and Exiles
Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and temporary residents to abstain from fleshly desires that war against you.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
13. Ephesians 2:19 – You Are No Longer Foreigners and Strangers
Now you Gentiles are no longer strangers to God and foreigners to heaven, but you are members of God’s very own family, citizens of God’s country, and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
14. Genesis 18:2-3 – Abraham Ran to Meet Them and Bowed Low
He looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by.”
Good News Translation (GNT)
15. Job 31:32 – But No Stranger Had to Spend the Night in the Street
No stranger ever had to spend the night outside, because I always welcomed travelers into my home.
New Century Version (NCV)
16. 3 John 1:5-6 – You Are Faithful in What You Are Doing for the Brothers
Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God.
International Standard Version (ISV)
17. Romans 12:13 – Share with the Lord’s People Who Are in Need
Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Tree of Life Version (TLV)
18. Leviticus 25:35 – If Any of Your Fellow Israelites Become Poor
“And if your brother becomes poor and his hand falters beside you, then you shall support him like a stranger and a sojourner, that he may live beside you.”
Lexham English Bible (LEB)
19. Galatians 3:28 – There Is Neither Jew nor Gentile
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
World English Bible (WEB)
20. Numbers 15:15-16 – The Community Is to Have the Same Rules
For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you, a statute for ever throughout your generations: as ye are, so shall the sojourner be before Jehovah. One law and one ordinance shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.
American Standard Version (ASV)
21. Acts 17:26 – From One Man He Made All the Nations
And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.
Revised Standard Version (RSV)
22. Psalm 146:9 – The Lord Watches Over the Foreigner
The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
New American Bible (NAB)
23. Isaiah 58:6-7 – Is Not This the Fast That I Have Chosen?
Is not this the fast that I haue chosen, to loose the bandes of wickednesse, to take off the heauie burdens, and to let the oppressed goe free, and that ye breake euery yoke? Is it not to deale thy bread to the hungrie, and that thou bring the poore that wander, into thy house?
Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB)
24. 1 Kings 8:41-43 – As for the Foreigner Who Does Not Belong to Your People Israel
Moreover concerning the stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come from a far country for thy name’s sake; (for they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy mighty hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for.
English Revised Version (ERV)
25. Deuteronomy 27:19 – Cursed Is Anyone Who Withholds Justice from the Foreigner
Cursed is he who is turning aside the judgment of fatherless, sojourner, and widow,’ — and all the people have said, ‘Amen.’
Young’s Literal Translation (YLT)
26. Ezekiel 47:22 – You Are to Consider Them as Native-Born Israelites
And it shall come to pass that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, who shall beget children among you; and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel: they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
Darby Translation (DARBY)
27. Matthew 2:13-14 – Take the Child and His Mother and Escape to Egypt
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the young child and His mother, and flee into Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod will seek the young child to destroy Him.” So he arose and took the young child and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt.
Weymouth New Testament (WNT)
28. Psalm 39:12 – Hear My Prayer, Lord, Listen to My Cry for Help
Here my preier, Lord, and my cry; perceyne thou my teeris. Be thou not stille, for Y am a comelyng at thee; and a pilgrim, as alle my fadris.
Wycliffe Bible (WYC)
29. 2 Chronicles 6:32-33 – As for the Foreigner Who Does Not Belong to Your People
Moreouer, as touching ye stranger which is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come out of a farre countrey for thy great Names sake, and thy mighty hande, and thy stretched out arme: when they shall come and pray in this house.
Geneva Bible (GNV)
30. Joshua 20:9 – Any of the Israelites or Any Foreigner Living Among Them
These were the cities appoynted for all the children of Israel, and for the straunger that soiourned amonge them, that whosoeuer kylled any person vnwares, might flee thyther.
Bishop’s Bible
31. Acts 10:34-35 – God Does Not Show Favoritism
Then Peter opened his mouth and sayde: of a trueth I perceyue, that God is not parciall, but in all people, he that feareth him and worketh righteousnes, is accepted with him.
Tyndale Bible
32. Colossians 3:11 – Here There Is No Gentile or Jew
In this new life one’s nationality or race or education or social position is unimportant; such things mean nothing. Whether a person has Christ is what matters, and he is equally available to all.
The Living Bible (TLB)
33. Luke 10:25-37 – The Parable of the Good Samaritan
Jesus answered his question with a story: “There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw the man he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man. A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him.”
The Passion Translation (TPT)
34. James 2:1-4 – Do Not Show Favoritism
My brothers and sisters, practice your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus the Anointed without showing favoritism. For instance, two people enter your meeting. One person is wearing fine clothes and a gold ring, and another is wearing shabby clothes. If you look favorably on the one wearing fine clothes and say, “Please, take this good seat,” but you say to the poor person, “You can stand over there, or sit on the floor,” then you have made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil motives.
The Voice Bible (VOICE)
35. Revelation 7:9 – A Great Multitude from Every Nation, Tribe, People and Language
After this I looked, and there in front of me was a huge crowd, too big for anyone to count, from every nation, tribe, people and language. They were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb.
New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)
Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About Supporting Immigrants and Refugees
Scripture reveals that hospitality to strangers and foreigners isn’t optional charity but a fundamental expression of God’s character and a test of our faithfulness. The Bible’s consistent message across both Old and New Testaments is clear: how we treat the vulnerable stranger among us reflects our relationship with God, who himself cares for the displaced and marginalized.
What strikes me most about biblical teaching on this topic is how personal and experiential it is. God repeatedly reminds the Israelites to remember their own experience as foreigners in Egypt, suggesting that empathy born from shared human experience should drive our response to immigrants and refugees. The Bible doesn’t allow us to see displaced people as abstract policy problems but calls us to recognize them as fellow image-bearers deserving dignity, justice, and care.
The New Testament expands this vision to include the spiritual reality that all believers are foreigners and exiles in this world, united across ethnic and national lines in God’s kingdom. This theological truth should shape how we view earthly citizenship and national boundaries. While Scripture doesn’t eliminate the concept of nations or borders, it consistently prioritizes human dignity, justice, and compassion over political convenience or economic advantage when these values conflict.
Say This Prayer
Heavenly Father, You are a God who sees and cares for all people, regardless of their nationality or immigration status. I pray for immigrants and refugees around the world who have left everything familiar in search of safety, opportunity, or simply the chance to survive. Comfort those who are separated from loved ones, provide for those facing economic hardship, and protect those fleeing persecution or violence.
Give me wisdom to see immigrants and refugees through Your eyes, as fellow image-bearers deserving dignity and compassion rather than as threats or burdens. Help me to remember that my own ancestors were likely strangers in foreign lands at some point, and that You call all Your children to practice radical hospitality.
Show me practical ways to support immigrants and refugees in my community, whether through volunteering, advocacy, friendship, or simply treating them with respect and kindness. Help me to oppose policies and attitudes that dehumanize or exploit vulnerable people while supporting approaches that balance compassion with wisdom.
For those in positions of authority who make decisions about immigration policy, grant them the wisdom to create systems that protect the vulnerable while maintaining just and orderly processes. Help nations to respond to global displacement with both generosity and prudence.
Transform hearts that harbor prejudice or fear toward immigrants and refugees. Help our communities become places of welcome and integration rather than division and suspicion.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.