Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘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.
- BSB You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly.
- NKJV ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.
- NASB ‘You shall not do injustice in judgment; you shall not show partiality to the poor nor give preference to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.
- NLT “Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly.
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
Judgment must be just, showing partiality neither to the poor nor the great.
Overview
This command demands impartial justice, refusing both favoritism toward the powerful and misplaced sentimentality toward the poor. Righteous judgment treats all people fairly under the same standard. It reflects the character of God, who judges without partiality, and calls his people to mirror that even-handed justice.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Deut 1:17Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.
- Deut 27:19Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.
- Prov 24:23These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.
- Exod 23:2–3Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:
- Exod 23:6–8Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.
- Lev 19:35Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.
- Deut 16:19Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.
- 2 Chr 19:6–7And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment.
- Ps 82:2How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.
- Prov 18:5It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.
- Jas 2:6–9But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
- Deut 25:13–16Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small.
- Exod 18:21Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
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Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 19:15 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
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