Verse 17
They must not discriminate in judgment, but hear the lowly and the great alike. Nor should they be intimidated by human beings, for judgment belongs to God. If the matter being adjudicated is too difficult for them, they should bring it before me for a hearing.
Referenced Verses
- Exod 18:26 : 26 They judged the people under normal circumstances; the difficult cases they would bring to Moses, but every small case they would judge themselves.
- Deut 16:19 : 19 You must not pervert justice or show favor. Do not take a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and distort the words of the righteous.
- 2 Chr 19:6 : 6 He told the judges,“Be careful what you do, for you are not judging for men, but for the LORD, who will be with you when you make judicial decisions.
- Lev 19:15 : 15 Justice, Love, and Propriety“‘You must not deal unjustly in judgment: you must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich. You must judge your fellow citizen fairly.
- Prov 24:23 : 23 Further Sayings of the Wise These sayings also are from the wise: To show partiality in judgment is terrible:
- Exod 18:22 : 22 They will judge the people under normal circumstances, and every difficult case they will bring to you, but every small case they themselves will judge, so that you may make it easier for yourself, and they will bear the burden with you.
- Jas 2:9 : 9 But if you show prejudice, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as violators.
- Deut 10:17 : 17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God who is unbiased and takes no bribe,
- Exod 23:6-7 : 6 “You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits. 7 Keep your distance from a false charge– do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not justify the wicked.
- Prov 22:22-23 : 22 Do not exploit a poor person because he is poor and do not crush the needy in court, 23 for the LORD will plead their case and will rob the life those who are robbing them.
- Prov 29:25 : 25 The fear of people becomes a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD will be set on high.
- Jer 1:17 : 17 “But you, Jeremiah, get yourself ready! Go and tell these people everything I instruct you to say. Do not be terrified of them, or I will give you good reason to be terrified of them.
- Jer 5:28-29 : 28 That is how they have grown fat and sleek. There is no limit to the evil things they do. They do not plead the cause of the fatherless in such a way as to win it. They do not defend the rights of the poor. 29 I will certainly punish them for doing such things!” says the LORD.“I will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this!
- Amos 5:11-12 : 11 Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops and exact a grain tax from them, you will not live in the houses you built with chiseled stone, nor will you drink the wine from the fine vineyards you planted. 12 Certainly I am aware of your many rebellious acts and your numerous sins. You torment the innocent, you take bribes, and you deny justice to the needy at the city gate.
- Mic 2:1-3 : 1 Land Robbers Will Lose Their Land Beware wicked schemers, those who devise calamity as they lie in bed. As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, because they have the power to do so. 2 They confiscate the fields they desire, and seize the houses they want. They defraud people of their homes, and deprive people of the land they have inherited. 3 Therefore the LORD says this:“Look, I am devising disaster for this nation! It will be like a yoke from which you cannot free your neck. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of catastrophe.
- Mic 3:1-4 : 1 God Will Judge Judah’s Sinful Leaders I said,“Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the nation of Israel! You ought to know what is just, 2 yet you hate what is good, and love what is evil. You flay my people’s skin and rip the flesh from their bones. 3 You devour my people’s flesh, strip off their skin, and crush their bones. You chop them up like flesh in a pot– like meat in a kettle. 4 Someday these sinful leaders will cry to the LORD for help, but he will not answer them. He will hide his face from them at that time, because they have done such wicked deeds.”
- Mic 7:3-4 : 3 They are experts at doing evil; government officials and judges take bribes, prominent men announce what they wish and then they plan it out. 4 The best of them is like a thorn; their godly are like a thorn bush. Woe to your watchmen; your appointed punishment is on the way. The time of their confusion is now.
- Matt 22:16 : 16 They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians, saying,“Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality.
- Mark 12:14 : 14 When they came they said to him,“Teacher, we know that you are truthful and do not court anyone’s favor, because you show no partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”
- Luke 20:21 : 21 Thus they asked him,“Teacher, we know that you speak and teach correctly, and show no partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
- Acts 10:34-35 : 34 Then Peter started speaking:“I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people, 35 but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is welcomed before him.
- Rom 2:11 : 11 For there is no partiality with God.
- Eph 6:9 : 9 Masters, treat your slaves the same way, giving up the use of threats, because you know that both you and they have the same master in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
- Col 3:25 : 25 For the one who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there are no exceptions.
- 1 Thess 2:4 : 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we declare it, not to please people but God, who examines our hearts.
- Jas 2:1-5 : 1 Prejudice and the Law of Love My brothers and sisters, do not show prejudice if you possess faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. 2 For if someone comes into your assembly wearing a gold ring and fine clothing, and a poor person enters in filthy clothes, 3 do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say,“You sit here in a good place,” and to the poor person,“You stand over there,” or“Sit on the floor”? 4 If so, have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil motives? 5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! Did not God choose the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?
- Job 22:6-9 : 6 “For you took pledges from your brothers for no reason, and you stripped the clothing from the naked. 7 You gave the weary no water to drink and from the hungry you withheld food. 8 Although you were a powerful man, owning land, an honored man living on it, 9 you sent widows away empty-handed, and the arms of the orphans you crushed.
- Job 29:11-17 : 11 Job’s Benevolence“As soon as the ear heard these things, it blessed me, and when the eye saw them, it bore witness to me, 12 for I rescued the poor who cried out for help, and the orphan who had no one to assist him; 13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me, and I made the widow’s heart rejoice; 14 I put on righteousness and it clothed me, my just dealing was like a robe and a turban; 15 I was eyes for the blind and feet for the lame; 16 I was a father to the needy, and I investigated the case of the person I did not know; 17 I broke the fangs of the wicked, and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
- Job 31:13-16 : 13 “If I have disregarded the right of my male servants or my female servants when they disputed with me, 14 then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment; when he intervenes, how will I respond to him? 15 Did not the one who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us in the womb? 16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
- Job 31:34 : 34 because I was terrified of the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I remained silent and would not go outdoors–
- Ps 82:3-4 : 3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless! Vindicate the oppressed and suffering! 4 Rescue the poor and needy! Deliver them from the power of the wicked!
- Exod 18:18 : 18 You will surely wear out, both you and these people who are with you, for this is too heavy a burden for you; you are not able to do it by yourself.
- Exod 23:2-3 : 2 “You must not follow a crowd in doing evil things; in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice, 3 and you must not show partiality to a poor man in his lawsuit.
- Deut 17:8-9 : 8 Appeal to a Higher Court If a matter is too difficult for you to judge– bloodshed, legal claim, or assault– matters of controversy in your villages– you must leave there and go up to the place the LORD your God chooses. 9 You will go to the Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and seek a solution; they will render a verdict. 10 You must then do as they have determined at that place the LORD chooses. Be careful to do just as you are taught.
- Deut 24:17 : 17 You must not pervert justice due a resident foreigner or an orphan, or take a widow’s garment as security for a loan.
- 1 Sam 12:3-4 : 3 Here I am. Bring a charge against me before the LORD and before his chosen king. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I wronged? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I taken a bribe so that I would overlook something? Tell me, and I will return it to you!” 4 They replied,“You have not wronged us or oppressed us. You have not taken anything from the hand of anyone.”
- 1 Sam 16:7 : 7 But the LORD said to Samuel,“Don’t be impressed by his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do. People look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
- 2 Sam 14:14 : 14 Certainly we must die, and are like water spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered up again. But God does not take away life; instead he devises ways for the banished to be restored.
- 1 Kgs 21:8-9 : 8 She wrote out orders, signed Ahab’s name to them, and sealed them with his seal. She then sent the orders to the leaders and to the nobles who lived in Naboth’s city. 9 This is what she wrote:“Observe a time of fasting and seat Naboth in front of the people. 10 Also seat two villains opposite him and have them testify,‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.” 11 The men of the city, the leaders and the nobles who lived there, followed the written orders Jezebel had sent them. 12 They observed a time of fasting and put Naboth in front of the people. 13 The two villains arrived and sat opposite him. Then the villains testified against Naboth right before the people, saying,“Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they dragged him outside the city and stoned him to death. 14 Then they reported to Jezebel,“Naboth has been stoned to death.”
- 1 Pet 1:17 : 17 And if you address as Father the one who impartially judges according to each one’s work, live out the time of your temporary residence here in reverence.