Christian Standard Bible
Exodus 23:6
6“You must not deny justice to a poor person among you in his lawsuit.
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 come across your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him. 5“If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying helpless under its load, and you want to refrain from helping it, you must help with it. “You must not deny justice to a poor person among you in his lawsuit. 7Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent and the just, because I will not justify the guilty. 8You must not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and corrupts the words 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 23:2“You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice.
- Deuteronomy 16:19Do not deny justice or show partiality to anyone. Do not accept a bribe, for it blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
- Deuteronomy 27:19‘The one who denies justice to a resident alien, a fatherless child, or a widow is cursed.’ And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
- 2 Chronicles 19:7And now, may the terror of the Lord be on you. Watch what you do, for there is no injustice or partiality or taking bribes with the Lord our God.”
- Job 31:13If I have dismissed the case of my male or female servants when they made a complaint against me,
- Psalms 82:3Provide justice for the needy and the fatherless; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.
- Ecclesiastes 5:8If you see oppression of the poor and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don’t be astonished at the situation, because one official protects another official, and higher officials protect them.
- Isaiah 10:1Woe to those enacting crooked statutes and writing oppressive laws
- Jeremiah 5:28They have become fat and sleek. They have also excelled in evil matters. They have not taken up cases, such as the case of the fatherless, so they might prosper, and they have not defended the rights of the needy.
- Jeremiah 6:28All are stubborn rebels spreading slander. They are bronze and iron; all of them are corrupt.
- Jeremiah 7:6if you no longer oppress the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow and no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods, bringing harm on yourselves,
- Amos 5:11Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact a grain tax from him, you will never live in the houses of cut stone you have built; you will never drink the wine from the lush vineyards you have planted.
- Micah 3:1Then I said, “Now listen, leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel. Aren’t you supposed to know what is just?
- Zephaniah 3:1Woe to the city that is rebellious and defiled, the oppressive city!
- Malachi 3:5“I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the hired worker, the widow, and the fatherless; and against those who deny justice to the resident alien. They do not fear me,” says the Lord of Armies.
- James 2:5Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Didn’t God choose the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he has 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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