New International Version
Exodus 23:6
6“Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.
Exodus 23:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“In a lawsuit, you must not deny justice to the poor.
Context of Exodus 23:6
4“If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. 5If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it. “Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty. 8“Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.
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“Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd,
- Deuteronomy 16:19Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the innocent.
- Deuteronomy 27:19“Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
- 2 Chronicles 19:7Now let the fear of the Lord be on you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.”
- Job 31:13“If I have denied justice to any of my servants, whether male or female, when they had a grievance against me,
- Psalms 82:3Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
- Ecclesiastes 5:8If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still.
- Isaiah 10:1Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees,
- Jeremiah 5:28and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not seek justice. They do not promote the case of the fatherless; they do not defend the just cause of the poor.
- Jeremiah 6:28They are all hardened rebels, going about to slander. They are bronze and iron; they all act corruptly.
- Jeremiah 7:6if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm,
- Amos 5:11You levy a straw tax on the poor and impose a tax on their grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them; though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not drink their wine.
- Micah 3:1Then I said, “Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel. Should you not embrace justice,
- Zephaniah 3:1Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled!
- Malachi 3:5“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty.
- James 2:5Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised 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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