“Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly.
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.
- KJV 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.
- 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.
- ESV “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.
- 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.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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 1:17You 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.”
- Deut 27:19‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, fatherless, and widow.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
- Prov 24:23These also are sayings of the wise. To show partiality in judgment is not good.
- Exod 23:2–3“You shall not follow a crowd to do evil. You shall not testify in court to side with a multitude to pervert justice.
- Exod 23:6–8“You shall not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.
- Lev 19:35“‘You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity.
- Deut 16:19You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality. You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous.
- 2 Chr 19:6–7and said to the judges, “Consider what you do, for you don’t judge for man, but for Yahweh; and he is with you in the judgment.
- Ps 82:2“How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?” Selah.
- Prov 18:5To be partial to the faces of the wicked is not good, nor to deprive the innocent of justice.
- Jas 2:6–9But you have dishonored the poor man. Don’t the rich oppress you, and personally drag you before the courts?
- Deut 25:13–16You shall not have in your bag diverse weights, one heavy and one light.
- Exod 18:21Moreover you shall provide out of all the people able men which fear God: men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, 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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