You shall not favor a poor man in his cause.
Parallel translations
- KJV Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.
- BSB And do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.
- NKJV You shall not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute.
- NASB nor shall you show favor to a poor person in his dispute.
- NLT And do not slant your testimony in favor of a person just because that person is poor.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
You shall not show partiality even to a poor man in his lawsuit. Justice must be impartial, favoring neither rich nor poor.
Overview
While Scripture defends the poor against oppression, justice itself must remain blind, never twisting a verdict out of misplaced sympathy. God's law demands truthful, evenhanded judgment for all. This perfect impartiality reflects God's own righteous character, who judges every person without favoritism (Romans 2:11).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Lev 19:15“‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor show favoritism to the great; but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness.
- Jas 3:17But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
- Ps 82:2–3“How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?” Selah.
- Deut 1:17You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 23:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.