Tim Walz quotes Bible verse Matthew 25:40 during VP Debate

TOPSHOT - Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz speaks during the Vice Presidential debate with US Senator and Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, hosted by CBS News at the CBS Broadcast Center in New Y …

During Tuesday night’s Vice Presidential Debate in New York City, Democratic nominee Tim Walz quoted a Bible verse while addressing immigration.

"I don’t talk about my faith a lot," said Walz, the Governor of Minnesota, "but Matthew 25:40 talks about ‘To the least amongst us, you do unto me.’ I think that’s true of most Americans."

Watch live: Tim Walz, JD Vance face off in vice presidential debate

Tuesday's debate will be the biggest television and online audience either running mate will face before Election Day.

Walz used the verse to emphasize a humane approach to handling the U.S. border crisis. He argued that most Americans want the issue to be addressed in an organized manner and expressed support for a bipartisan Senate border bill that former President Donald Trump opposed.

Matthew 25:40

The verse Walz referenced, Matthew 25:40, reads in the King James Bible: "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

Walz framed the bill as a solution that would bring order to immigration, while also caring for those most vulnerable. 

Walz's simplified version of the popular verse still retains the meaning: that the way we treat the most vulnerable or marginalized individuals is a reflection of how we treat Christ himself.