1 If there be a controversy between men, and they resort to judgment, and they judge [their case]; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.
If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between cause and cause, and between stroke and stroke, matters of controversy within thy gates, then shalt thou arise, and go up to the place which Jehovah thy God will choose. And thou shalt come unto the priests, the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and inquire; and they shall declare unto thee the sentence of judgment;
And I said, Hear, I pray you, ye heads of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know judgment? Ye who hate the good, and love evil; who pluck off their skin from them, and their flesh from off their bones;
Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of thy poor in his cause. Thou shalt keep far from the cause of falsehood; and the innocent and righteous slay not; for I will not justify the wicked.
Open thy mouth for the dumb, for the cause of all those that are left desolate. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and minister justice to the afflicted and needy.
{To the chief Musician. 'Destroy not.' Of David. Michtam.} Is righteousness indeed silent? Do ye speak it? Do ye judge with equity, ye sons of men? Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.
When I went out to the gate by the city, when I prepared my seat on the broadway, The young men saw me, and hid themselves; and the aged arose [and] stood up; Princes refrained from talking, and laid the hand on their mouth; The voice of the nobles was hushed, and their tongue cleaved to their palate. When the ear heard [me], then it blessed me, and when the eye saw [me], it gave witness to me; For I delivered the afflicted that cried, and the fatherless who had no helper. The blessing of him that was perishing came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was as a mantle and a turban. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame; I was a father to the needy, and the cause which I knew not I searched out; And I broke the jaws of the unrighteous, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.
And he said to the judges, Take heed what ye do; for ye judge not for man, but for Jehovah, who will be with you in the matter of judgment. And now, let the terror of Jehovah be upon you; be careful what ye do, for there is no iniquity with Jehovah, nor respect of persons, nor taking of presents. -- And moreover in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set some of the Levites and priests, and of the chief fathers of Israel, for the judgment of Jehovah and for causes. -- And they returned to Jerusalem. And he charged them saying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of Jehovah faithfully and with a perfect heart. And what cause soever comes to you of your brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and ordinances, ye shall even warn them that they trespass not against Jehovah, and so wrath come upon you and upon your brethren: this do and ye shall not trespass.
then both the men between whom the controversy is shall stand before Jehovah, before the priests and the judges that shall be in those days; and the judges shall make thorough inquiry; and if the witness be a false witness, and he have testified falsely against his brother, then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother; and thou shalt put evil away from thy midst.
Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes, that they may judge the people with just judgment. Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a bribe; for the bribe blindeth the eyes of the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous. Perfect justice shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and possess the land that Jehovah thy God giveth thee.
And I commanded your judges at that time, saying, Hear [the causes] between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and him also that sojourneth with him. Ye shall not respect persons in judgment: ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God's; and the matter that is too hard for you shall ye bring to me, that I may hear it.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Deuteronomy 25
Commentary on Deuteronomy 25 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 25
De 25:1-19. Stripes Must Not Exceed Forty.
2, 3. if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten—In judicial sentences, which awarded punishment short of capital, scourging, like the Egyptian bastinado, was the most common form in which they were executed. The Mosaic law, however, introduced two important restrictions; namely: (1) The punishment should be inflicted in presence of the judge instead of being inflicted in private by some heartless official; and (2) The maximum amount of it should be limited to forty stripes, instead of being awarded according to the arbitrary will or passion of the magistrate. The Egyptian, like Turkish and Chinese rulers, often applied the stick till they caused death or lameness for life. Of what the scourge consisted at first we are not informed; but in later times, when the Jews were exceedingly scrupulous in adhering to the letter of the law and, for fear of miscalculation, were desirous of keeping within the prescribed limit, it was formed of three cords, terminating in leathern thongs, and thirteen strokes of this counted as thirty-nine stripes (2Co 11:24).
4. Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn—In Judea, as in modern Syria and Egypt, the larger grains were beaten out by the feet of oxen, which, yoked together, day after day trod round the wide open spaces which form the threshing-floors. The animals were allowed freely to pick up a mouthful, when they chose to do so: a wise as well as humane regulation, introduced by the law of Moses (compare 1Co 9:9; 1Ti 5:17, 18).
5-10. the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother … shall take her to him to wife—This usage existed before the age of Moses (Ge 38:8). But the Mosaic law rendered the custom obligatory (Mt 22:25) on younger brothers, or the nearest kinsman, to marry the widow (Ru 4:4), by associating the natural desire of perpetuating a brother's name with the preservation of property in the Hebrew families and tribes. If the younger brother declined to comply with the law, the widow brought her claim before the authorities of the place at a public assembly (the gate of the city); and he having declared his refusal, she was ordered to loose the thong of his shoe—a sign of degradation—following up that act by spitting on the ground—the strongest expression of ignominy and contempt among Eastern people. The shoe was kept by the magistrate as an evidence of the transaction, and the parties separated.
13-16. Thou shalt not have … divers weights—Weights were anciently made of stone and are frequently used still by Eastern shopkeepers and traders, who take them out of the bag and put them in the balance. The man who is not cheated by the trader and his bag of divers weights must be blessed with more acuteness than most of his fellows [Roberts]. (Compare Pr 16:11; 20:10).
17-19. Remember what Amalek did—This cold-blooded and dastardly atrocity is not narrated in the previous history (Ex 17:14). It was an unprovoked outrage on the laws of nature and humanity, as well as a daring defiance of that God who had so signally shown His favor towards Israel (see on 1 Samuel 15; 27. 8; 30).