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New Living Translation

Exodus 23:3

And do not slant your testimony in favor of a person just because that person is poor.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Court;   Injustice;   Justice;   Poor;   Rulers;   The Topic Concordance - Judgment;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Courts of Justice;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Ethics;   Judge;   Justice;   Poor;   Punishment;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Amos, Theology of;   Justice;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Poor;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Court Systems;   Exodus, Book of;   Judge (Office);   Poor, Orphan, Widow;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Canon of the Old Testament;   Covenant, Book of the;   Ethics;   Hexateuch;   Law;   Leviticus;   Priests and Levites;   Ten Commandments;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Law of Moses;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Justice;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Other Laws;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Blindness, Judicial;   Countenance;   Covenant, the Book of the;   Criticism (the Graf-Wellhausen Hypothesis);   Face;   Judge;   Justice;   Poor;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Commandments, the 613;   Ethics;   Repentance;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
neither shall you favor a poor man in his cause.
King James Version
Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.
Lexham English Bible
You will not be partial to a powerless person in his legal dispute.
New Century Version
If a poor person is in court, you must not take his side just because he is poor.
New English Translation
and you must not show partiality to a poor man in his lawsuit.
Amplified Bible
nor shall you favor or be partial to a poor man in his dispute [simply because he is poor].
New American Standard Bible
nor shall you show favor to a poor person in his dispute.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Thou shalt not esteeme a poore man in his cause.
Legacy Standard Bible
nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his case.
Contemporary English Version
And don't favor the poor, simply because they are poor.
Complete Jewish Bible
On the other hand, don't favor a person's lawsuit simply because he is poor.
Darby Translation
Neither shalt thou favour a poor man in his cause.
Easy-to-Read Version
"In court, don't treat a person in a special way simply because that person is poor.
English Standard Version
nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.
George Lamsa Translation
Neither shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.
Good News Translation
Do not show partiality to a poor person at his trial.
Christian Standard Bible®
Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit.
Literal Translation
And you shall not favor the lowly in his lawsuit.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Thou shalt not paynte a poore mas cause.
American Standard Version
neither shalt thou favor a poor man in his cause.
Bible in Basic English
But, on the other hand, do not be turned from what is right in order to give support to a poor man's cause.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Neither shalt thou esteeme a poore man in his cause.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
neither shalt thou favour a poor man in his cause.
King James Version (1611)
Neither shalt thou countenance a poore man in his cause.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And thou shalt not spare a poor man in judgment.
English Revised Version
neither shalt thou favour a poor man in his cause.
Berean Standard Bible
And do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Also thou schalt not haue mercy of a pore man in a `cause, ethir doom.
Young's Literal Translation
and a poor man thou dost not honour in his strife.
Update Bible Version
neither shall you favor a poor man in his cause.
Webster's Bible Translation
Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.
World English Bible
neither shall you favor a poor man in his cause.
New King James Version
You shall not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute.
New Life Bible
And do not show favor to a poor man when he has a problem.
New Revised Standard
nor shall you be partial to the poor in a lawsuit.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Even a poor man, shalt thou not prefer in his quarrel.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Neither shalt thou favour a poor man in judgment.
Revised Standard Version
nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his suit.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his dispute.

Contextual Overview

1 "You must not pass along false rumors. You must not cooperate with evil people by lying on the witness stand. 2 "You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you are called to testify in a dispute, do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice. 3 And do not slant your testimony in favor of a person just because that person is poor. 4 "If you come upon your enemy's ox or donkey that has strayed away, take it back to its owner. 5 If you see that the donkey of someone who hates you has collapsed under its load, do not walk by. Instead, stop and help. 6 "In a lawsuit, you must not deny justice to the poor. 7 "Be sure never to charge anyone falsely with evil. Never sentence an innocent or blameless person to death, for I never declare a guilty person to be innocent. 8 "Take no bribes, for a bribe makes you ignore something that you clearly see. A bribe makes even a righteous person twist the truth. 9 "You must not oppress foreigners. You know what it's like to be a foreigner, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Psalms 82:2, Psalms 82:3, James 3:17

Reciprocal: Exodus 23:6 - General Leviticus 19:15 - General Deuteronomy 1:16 - Hear Deuteronomy 1:17 - ye shall hear Job 13:8 - General Isaiah 56:11 - all look 1 Corinthians 15:15 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 10:15
Canaan's oldest son was Sidon, the ancestor of the Sidonians. Canaan was also the ancestor of the Hittites,
Genesis 23:5
The Hittites replied to Abraham,
Genesis 23:7
Then Abraham bowed low before the Hittites
Genesis 25:10
This was the field Abraham had purchased from the Hittites and where he had buried his wife Sarah.
Genesis 27:46
Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm sick and tired of these local Hittite women! I would rather die than see Jacob marry one of them."
Genesis 49:30
This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a permanent burial site.
1 Samuel 26:6
"Who will volunteer to go in there with me?" David asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother. "I'll go with you," Abishai replied.
2 Samuel 23:39
Uriah the Hittite. There were thirty-seven in all.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause. Because he is a poor man, and for that reason endeavour to carry his cause for him, right or wrong, from a foolish pity to him as a poor man, and from an affectation of gaining the applause of people on that account; or "thou shalt not honour" or "adorn" a poor man u, by a set speech in favour of his cause, though wrong, dressed up in the best manner, and set off with all the colourings of art, to make it appear in the most plausible manner; the law is against respect of persons, as not the person of the rich, so neither is the person of the poor to be accepted, but the justice of their cause is to be regarded; so the Targum of Jonathan,

"the poor that is guilty in his judgment or cause, his face (or person) thou shalt not accept to have pity on him, for no person is to be accepted in judgment.''

u לא תהדר "non honorabis", Pagninus, Vatablus, Drusius, Cartwright; "non decorabis", Montanus; "ne ornes", Tigurine version; "ne honorato", Junius Tremellius "ne ornato", Piscator.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

These four commands, addressed to the conscience, are illustrations of the ninth commandment, mainly in reference to the giving of evidence in legal causes. Compare 1 Kings 21:10; Acts 6:11.

Exodus 23:2

This verse might be more strictly rendered, “Thou shalt not follow the many to evil; neither shalt thou bear witness in a cause so as to incline after the many to pervert justice.”

Exodus 23:3

Countenance - Rather, show partiality to a man’s cause because he is poor (compare Leviticus 19:15).

These four commands, addressed to the conscience, are illustrations of the ninth commandment, mainly in reference to the giving of evidence in legal causes. Compare 1 Kings 21:10; Acts 6:11.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 23:3. Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause. — The word דל dal, which we translate poor man, is probably put here in opposition to רבים rabbim, the great, or noble men, in the preceding verse: if so, the meaning is, Thou shalt neither be influenced by the great to make an unrighteous decision, nor by the poverty or distress of the poor to give thy voice against the dictates of justice and truth. Hence the ancient maxim, FIAT JUSTITIA, RUAT COELUM. "Let justice be done, though the heavens should be dissolved."


 
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