Exodus 23:6

6 You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in their lawsuits.

Exodus 23:6 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 23:6

Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.
] As the poor man was not to be favoured when his cause was bad through an affected pity for him as a poor man, so his judgment was not to be wrested or perverted, when his cause was good, because of his poverty; which is too often the case, through the power of rich men, and the prevalence of their gifts and bribes, and to curry favour with them: the phrase, "thy poor", is very emphatic, and intended to engage judges to regard them, as being of the same flesh and blood with them, of the same nation and religion; and who were particularly committed to their care and protection under God, who is the Judge and protector of the poor, of the widow and the fatherless.

Exodus 23:6 In-Context

4 When you come upon your enemy's ox or donkey going astray, you shall bring it back
5 When you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden and you would hold back from setting it free, you must help to set it free.
6 You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in their lawsuits.
7 Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and those in the right, for I will not acquit the guilty.
8 You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the officials, and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.