Exodus 23:6

6 ¹“You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit.

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 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him.

5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.

6 “You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit.

7 Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked.

8 And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.

Cross References

• 1. 23:6 Deut. 27:19; Eccles. 5:8; Isa. 10:1, 2; Jer. 5:28, 29; Mal. 3:5