Deuteronomy 1:16

16 And at that time I instructed your judges, saying, '{hear out your fellow men},^[a] and [then] judge fairly^[b] between a man and between his brother and between {his opponent who is a resident alien}.^[c]

Deuteronomy 1:16 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 1:16

And I charged your judges at that time
When they were appointed and constituted, even the heads and rulers before spoken of; this charge is also new, and not recorded before:

saying, hear the causes between your brethren;
hear both sides, and all that each of them have to say; not suffer one to say all he has to say, and oblige the other to cut his words short, as the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it; but give them leave and time to tell their case, and give the best evidence they can of it:

and judge righteously;
impartially, just as the case really appears to be, and according to the evidence given:

between every man and his brother;
between an Israelite and an Israelite:

and the stranger that is with him;
between an Israelite and proselyte, whether a proselyte of the gate, or of righteousness; the same justice was to be done to them as to an Israelite.

Deuteronomy 1:16 In-Context

14 "And you answered me, and you said, 'The thing you have said to do is good.'

15 And so I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and [then] I appointed them as leaders over you [as] commanders of [groups of] thousands and commanders of [groups of] hundreds and commanders of [groups of] fifties and commanders of [groups of] tens [as] officials for your tribes.

16 And at that time I instructed your judges, saying, '{hear out your fellow men}, and [then] judge fairly between a man and between his brother and between {his opponent who is a resident alien}.

17 You must not {be partial} {in your judgment}; hear [out] the small [person] as [also] the great [person]; {do not be intimidated by any person}, because the judgment [is] God's; and the case that is too difficult for you, bring [it] to me, and I will hear it [out].'

18 And so I instructed you at that time [concerning] all [of] the things that you should do.

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "hear between your brothers," with the idea of listening carefully in this context
• [b] Or "righteously"
• [c] Literally "between his resident alien/non-Israelite who dwells temporarily among Israel"