Exodus 23:6

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Thou shalt not wrest the justice [due] to thy poor in his cause.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

לֹ֥א תַטֶּ֛ה מִשְׁפַּ֥ט אֶבְיֹנְךָ֖ בְּרִיבֽוֹ׃

Transliteration

Not taṭṭeh mišpaṭ ʾebyōnkā in-rîbô

Grammar Details

• *taṭṭeh*: hiphil imperfect 2nd person masculine singular - turn/pervert/distort
• *mišpaṭ*: noun masculine singular construct - judgment/justice/right
• *ʾebyōnkā*: noun masculine singular with 2nd person masculine singular suffix - your poor/needy one
• *rîbô*: noun masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - his dispute/case

Word Meanings

• *taṭṭeh*: turn/pervert/distort/bend
• *mišpaṭ*: judgment/justice/legal right/due
• *ʾebyōnkā*: your poor/needy/destitute person
• *rîbô*: his dispute/case/legal matter

Referenced Verses

• Exod 23:2-3 : 2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to turn aside after a multitude to wrest [justice]: 3 neither shalt thou favor a poor man in his cause.
• Lev 19:15 : 15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor.
• Deut 16:19 : 19 Thou shalt not wrest justice: thou shalt not respect persons; neither shalt thou take a bribe; for a bribe doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.
• Deut 27:19 : 19 Cursed be he that wresteth the justice [due] to the sojourner, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.
• Eccl 5:8 : 8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of justice and righteousness in a province, marvel not at the matter: for one higher than the high regardeth; and there are higher than they.
• Isa 10:1-2 : 1 Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write perverseness; 2 to turn aside the needy from justice, and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
• Jer 5:28 : 28 They are waxed fat, they shine: yea, they overpass in deeds of wickedness; they plead not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, that they may prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
• Mal 3:5 : 5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the sojourner [from his right], and fear not me, saith Jehovah of hosts.
• Jas 2:5-6 : 5 Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world [to be] rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him? 6 But ye have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you, and themselves drag you before the judgment-seats?
• Jer 6:28 : 28 They are all grievous revolters, going about with slanders; they are brass and iron: they all of them deal corruptly.
• Jer 7:6 : 6 if ye oppress not the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your own hurt:
• Amos 5:11-12 : 11 Forasmuch therefore as ye trample upon the poor, and take exactions from him of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink the wine thereof. 12 For I know how manifold are your transgressions, and how mighty are your sins— ye that afflict the just, that take a bribe, and that turn aside the needy in the gate [from their right].
• Mic 3:1-4 : 1 And I said, Hear, I pray you, ye heads of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel: is it not for you to know justice? 2 ye who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; 3 who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them, and break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron. 4 Then shall they cry unto Jehovah, but he will not answer them; yea, he will hide his face from them at that time, according as they have wrought evil in their doings.
• Zeph 3:1-4 : 1 Woe to her that is rebellious and polluted! to the oppressing city! 2 She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in Jehovah; she drew not near to her God. 3 Her princes in the midst of her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they leave nothing till the morrow. 4 Her prophets are light and treacherous persons; her priests have profaned the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
• 2 Chr 19:7 : 7 Now therefore let the fear of Jehovah be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with Jehovah our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribes.
• Job 31:13 : 13 If I have despised the cause of my man-servant or of my maid-servant, When they contended with me;
• Job 31:21-22 : 21 If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, Because I saw my help in the gate: 22 Then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder-blade, And mine arm be broken from the bone.
• Ps 82:3-4 : 3 Judge the poor and fatherless: Do justice to the afflicted and destitute. 4 Rescue the poor and needy: Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.