Amplified Bible
Exodus 23:6
6“You shall not pervert (bend) the justice due to your poor in his dispute.
Exodus 23:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.
- New International Version (NIV)“Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute.
Context of Exodus 23:6
4“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering off, you must bring it back to him. 5If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall not leave the man to deal with it [alone]; you must help him release the animal [from its burden]. “You shall not pervert (bend) the justice due to your poor in his dispute. 7Keep far away from a false charge or action, and do not condemn to death the innocent or the righteous, for I will not justify and acquit the guilty. 8“You shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the testimony and the cause of the righteous.
Read all of Exodus 23Exodus 23:6 word by word
לֹ֥א תַטֶּ֛ה מִשְׁפַּ֥ט אֶבְיֹנְךָ֖ בְּרִיבֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 23:6
- Exodus 23:2You shall not follow a crowd to do [something] evil, nor shall you testify at a trial or in a dispute so as to side with a crowd in order to pervert justice;
- Deuteronomy 16:19You shall not distort justice; you shall not be partial, and you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.
- Deuteronomy 27:19‘Cursed is he who distorts (perverts) the justice due to a stranger, an orphan, and a widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
- 2 Chronicles 19:7So now let the fear (reverent awe) of the Lord be on you [to keep you from making unjust decisions]; be careful in what you do, for there is no injustice with the Lord our God, or partiality, or acceptance of a bribe.”
- Job 31:13“If I have despised and rejected the claim of my male or female servants When they filed a complaint against me,
- Psalms 82:3Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice and maintain the rights of the afflicted and destitute.
- Ecclesiastes 5:8If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be shocked at the sight [of corruption]; for a higher official watches over another official, and there are higher ones over them [looking out for one another].
- Isaiah 10:1Woe (judgment is coming) to those [judges] who issue evil statutes, And to those [magistrates] who constantly record unjust and oppressive decisions,
- Jeremiah 5:28They are fat and they are sleek (prosperous), They excel in acts of wickedness; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the orphan, so that they [the wicked] may prosper, And they do not defend the rights of the poor.
- Jeremiah 6:28They are all the worst [kind] of [stiff-necked, godless] rebels, Going around spreading slander. They are [not gold and silver ore, but] bronze and iron; They are all corrupt.
- Jeremiah 7:6if you do not oppress the transient and the foreigner, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood [by oppression and by unjust judicial murders] in Jerusalem, nor follow after other gods to your own ruin,
- Amos 5:11Therefore, because you impose heavy rent on the poor And demand a tribute (food-tax) of grain from them, Though you have built [luxurious] houses of square stone, You will not live in them; You have planted beautiful vineyards, but you will not drink their wine.
- Micah 3:1And I said, “Hear now, heads of Jacob And rulers of the house of Israel. Is it not for you to know and administer justice?
- Zephaniah 3:1Woe (judgment is coming) to her who is rebellious and defiled, The tyrannical city [Jerusalem]!
- Malachi 3:5“Then I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against perjurers, and against those who oppress the laborer in his wages and widows and the fatherless, and against those who turn away the alien [from his right], and those who do not fear Me [with awe-filled reverence],” says the Lord of hosts.
- James 2:5Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and [as believers to be] heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
Commentaries on Exodus 23:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor - Thou shalt neither countenance him in his crimes, nor condemn him in his righteousness. See Exodus 23:5, Exodus 23:7.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6-9Verses 6-9 Four precepts evidently addressed to those in authority as judges: (a) To do justice to the poor. Comparing Exodus 23:6 with Exodus 23:3, it was the part of the judge to defend the poor against the oppression of the rich, and the part of the witness to take care lest his feelings of natural pity should tempt him to falsify evidence. (b) To be cautious of inflicting capital punishment on one whose guilt was not clearly proved. A doubtful case…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-9This call for justice includes a mixed list of covenant requirements. Most of these requirements deal with fairness and honesty in daily life. They show how God’s people should treat others with integrity.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-331. put not thine hand--join not hands.Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 23:6
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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