Ulangan 16:18-20

Provision for Justice

16:18 You must appoint judges and civil servants ¹  for each tribe in all your villages ²  that the Lord your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly. ³  16:19 You must not pervert justice or show favor. Do not take a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and distort ⁴  the words of the righteous. ⁵  16:20 You must pursue justice alone ⁶  so that you may live and inherit the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Ulangan 17:8-9

Appeal to a Higher Court

17:8 If a matter is too difficult for you to judge – bloodshed, ⁷  legal claim, ⁸  or assault ⁹  – matters of controversy in your villages ¹⁰  – you must leave there and go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. ¹¹  17:9 You will go to the Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and seek a solution; they will render a verdict.

Ulangan 19:17-19

19:17 then both parties to the controversy must stand before the Lord, that is, before the priests and judges ¹²  who will be in office in those days. 19:18 The judges will thoroughly investigate the matter, and if the witness should prove to be false and to have given false testimony against the accused, ¹³  19:19 you must do to him what he had intended to do to the accused. In this way you will purge ¹⁴  evil from among you.

Keluaran 23:6-7

23:6 “You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits. 23:7 Keep your distance ¹⁵  from a false charge ¹⁶  – do not kill the innocent and the righteous, ¹⁷  for I will not justify the wicked. ¹⁸ 

Keluaran 23:2

23:2 “You must not follow a crowd ¹⁹  in doing evil things; ²⁰  in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice, ²¹ 

1 Samuel 23:3

23:3 But David’s men said to him, “We are afraid while we are still here in Judah! What will it be like if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?”

1 Samuel 23:2

23:2 So David asked the Lord, “Should I go and strike down these Philistines?” The Lord said to David, “Go, strike down the Philistines and deliver Keilah.”

1 Samuel 19:6-10

19:6 Saul accepted Jonathan’s advice ²²  and took an oath, “As surely as the Lord lives, he will not be put to death.” 19:7 Then Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he had done formerly. ²³ 

19:8 Now once again there was war. So David went out to fight the Philistines. He defeated them thoroughly ²⁴  and they ran away from him. 19:9 Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon ²⁵  Saul. He was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing the lyre. ²⁶  19:10 Saul tried to nail David to the wall with the spear, but he escaped from Saul’s presence and the spear drove into the wall. ²⁷  David escaped quickly ²⁸  that night.

Ayub 29:7-17

29:7 When I went out to the city gate

and secured my seat in the public square, ²⁹ 

29:8 the young men would see me and step aside, ³⁰ 

and the old men would get up and remain standing;

29:9 the chief men refrained from talking

and covered their mouths with their hands;

29:10 the voices of the nobles fell silent, ³¹ 

and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.

Job’s Benevolence

29:11 “As soon as the ear heard these things, ³²  it blessed me, ³³ 

and when the eye saw them, it bore witness to me,

29:12 for I rescued the poor who cried out for help,

and the orphan who ³⁴  had no one to assist him;

29:13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me, ³⁵ 

and I made the widow’s heart rejoice; ³⁶ 

29:14 I put on righteousness and it clothed me, ³⁷ 

my just dealing ³⁸  was like a robe and a turban;

29:15 I was eyes for the blind

and feet for the lame;

29:16 I was a father ³⁹  to the needy,

and I investigated the case of the person I did not know;

29:17 I broke the fangs ⁴⁰  of the wicked,

and made him drop ⁴¹  his prey from his teeth.

Mazmur 58:1-2

Psalm 58 ⁴² 

For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; ⁴³  a prayer ⁴⁴  of David.

58:1 Do you rulers really pronounce just decisions? ⁴⁵ 

Do you judge people ⁴⁶  fairly?

58:2 No! ⁴⁷  You plan how to do what is unjust; ⁴⁸ 

you deal out violence in the earth. ⁴⁹ 

Mazmur 82:2-4

82:2 He says, ⁵⁰  “How long will you make unjust legal decisions

and show favoritism to the wicked? ⁵¹  (Selah)

82:3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless! ⁵² 

Vindicate the oppressed and suffering!

82:4 Rescue the poor and needy!

Deliver them from the power ⁵³  of the wicked!

Amsal 17:15

17:15 The one who acquits the guilty and the one who condemns the innocent ⁵⁴  –

both of them are an abomination to the Lord. ⁵⁵ 

Amsal 31:8-9

31:8 Open your mouth ⁵⁶  on behalf of those unable to speak, ⁵⁷ 

for the legal rights of all the dying. ⁵⁸ 

31:9 Open your mouth, judge in righteousness, ⁵⁹ 

and plead the cause ⁶⁰  of the poor and needy.

Yesaya 1:17

1:17 Learn to do what is right!

Promote justice!

Give the oppressed reason to celebrate! ⁶¹ 

Take up the cause of the orphan!

Defend the rights of the widow! ⁶² 

Yesaya 1:23

1:23 Your officials are rebels, ⁶³ 

they associate with ⁶⁴  thieves.

All of them love bribery,

and look for ⁶⁵  payoffs. ⁶⁶ 

They do not take up the cause of the orphan, ⁶⁷ 

or defend the rights of the widow. ⁶⁸ 

Yesaya 5:23

5:23 They pronounce the guilty innocent for a payoff,

they ignore the just cause of the innocent. ⁶⁹ 

Yesaya 11:4

11:4 He will treat the poor fairly, ⁷⁰ 

and make right decisions ⁷¹  for the downtrodden of the earth. ⁷² 

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, ⁷³ 

and order the wicked to be executed. ⁷⁴ 

Yesaya 32:1-2

Justice and Wisdom Will Prevail

32:1 Look, a king will promote fairness; ⁷⁵ 

officials will promote justice. ⁷⁶ 

32:2 Each of them ⁷⁷  will be like a shelter from the wind

and a refuge from a rainstorm;

like streams of water in a dry region

and like the shade of a large cliff in a parched land.

Yeremia 21:12

21:12 O royal family descended from David. ⁷⁸ 

The Lord says:

‘See to it that people each day ⁷⁹  are judged fairly. ⁸⁰ 

Deliver those who have been robbed from those ⁸¹  who oppress them.

Otherwise, my wrath will blaze out against you.

It will burn like a fire that cannot be put out

because of the evil that you have done. ⁸² 

Yehezkiel 44:24

44:24 “‘In a controversy they will act as judges; ⁸³  they will judge according to my ordinances. They will keep my laws and my statutes regarding all my appointed festivals and will observe ⁸⁴  my Sabbaths.

Mikha 3:1-2

God Will Judge Judah’s Sinful Leaders

3:1 I said,

“Listen, you leaders ⁸⁵  of Jacob,

you rulers of the nation ⁸⁶  of Israel!

You ought to know what is just, ⁸⁷ 

3:2 yet you ⁸⁸  hate what is good, ⁸⁹ 

and love what is evil. ⁹⁰ 

You flay my people’s skin ⁹¹ 

and rip the flesh from their bones. ⁹² 

Habakuk 1:4

1:4 For this reason the law lacks power, ⁹³ 

and justice is never carried out. ⁹⁴ 

Indeed, ⁹⁵  the wicked intimidate ⁹⁶  the innocent. ⁹⁷ 

For this reason justice is perverted. ⁹⁸ 

Habakuk 1:13

1:13 You are too just ⁹⁹  to tolerate ¹⁰⁰  evil;

you are unable to condone ¹⁰¹  wrongdoing.

So why do you put up with such treacherous people? ¹⁰² 

Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour ¹⁰³  those more righteous than they are? ¹⁰⁴ 

Maleakhi 3:18

3:18 Then once more you will see that I make a distinction between ¹⁰⁵  the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not.

Matius 3:10

3:10 Even now the ax is laid at ¹⁰⁶  the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

[16:18]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term וְשֹׁטְרִים (vÿshoterim), usually translated “officers” (KJV, NCV) or “officials” (NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), derives from the verb שֹׁטֵר (shoter, “to write”). The noun became generic for all types of public officials. Here, however, it may be appositionally epexegetical to “judges,” thus resulting in the phrase, “judges, that is, civil officers,” etc. Whoever the שֹׁטְרִים are, their task here consists of rendering judgments and administering justice.

[16:18]  ² tn Heb “gates.”

[16:18]  ³ tn Heb “with judgment of righteousness”; ASV, NASB “with righteous judgment.”

[16:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “twist, overturn”; NRSV “subverts the cause.”

[16:19]  ⁵ tn Or “innocent”; NRSV “those who are in the right”; NLT “the godly.”

[16:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “justice, justice.” The repetition is emphatic; one might translate as “pure justice” or “unadulterated justice” (cf. NLT “true justice”).

[17:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “between blood and blood.”

[17:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “between claim and claim.”

[17:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “between blow and blow.”

[17:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “gates.”

[17:8]  ¹¹ tc Several Greek recensions add “to place his name there,” thus completing the usual formula to describe the central sanctuary (cf. Deut 12:5, 11, 14, 18; 16:6). However, the context suggests that the local Levitical towns, and not the central sanctuary, are in mind.

[19:17]  ¹² tn The appositional construction (“before the Lord, that is, before the priests and judges”) indicates that these human agents represented the Lord himself, that is, they stood in his place (cf. Deut 16:18-20; 17:8-9).

[19:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “his brother” (also in the following verse).

[19:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “you will burn out” (בִּעַרְתָּ, bi’arta). Like a cancer, unavenged sin would infect the whole community. It must, therefore, be excised by the purging out of its perpetrators who, presumably, remained unrepentant (cf. Deut 13:6; 17:7, 12; 21:21; 22:21-22, 24; 24:7).

[23:7]  ¹⁵ tn Or “stay away from,” or “have nothing to do with.”

[23:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “a false matter,” this expression in this context would have to be a case in law that was false or that could only be won by falsehood.

[23:7]  ¹⁷ tn The two clauses probably should be related: the getting involved in the false charge could lead to the death of an innocent person (so, e.g., Naboth in 1 Kgs 21:10-13).

[23:7]  ¹⁸ sn God will not declare right the one who is in the wrong. Society should also be consistent, but it cannot see the intents and motives, as God can.

[23:2]  ¹⁹ tn The word רָבִּים (rabbim), here rendered “crowd,” is also used infrequently to refer to the “mighty,” people of importance in society (Job 35:9; cf. Lev 19:15).

[23:2]  ²⁰ tn For any individual to join a group that is bent on acting wickedly would be a violation of the Law and would incur personal responsibility.

[23:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “you will not answer in a lawsuit to turn after the crowd to turn.” The form translated “agrees with” (Heb “to turn after”) is a Qal infinitive construct from נָטָה (natah); the same root is used at the end of the verse but as a Hiphil infinitive construct, “to pervert [justice].”

[19:6]  ²² tn Heb “and Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan.”

[19:7]  ²³ tn Heb “and he was before him as before.”

[19:8]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and he struck them down with a great blow.”

[19:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “[was] to.”

[19:9]  ²⁶ tn The Hebrew text adds here “with his hand.”

[19:10]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and he drove the spear into the wall.”

[19:10]  ²⁸ tn Heb “fled and escaped.”

[29:7]  ²⁹ sn In the public square. The area referred to here should not be thought of in terms of modern western dimensions. The wide space, plaza, or public square mentioned here is the open area in the gate complex where legal and business matters were conducted. The area could be as small as a few hundred square feet.

[29:8]  ³⁰ tn The verb means “to hide; to withdraw.” The young men out of respect would withdraw or yield the place of leadership to Job (thus the translation “step aside”). The old men would rise and remain standing until Job took his seat – a sign of respect.

[29:10]  ³¹ tn The verb here is “hidden” as well as in v. 8. But this is a strange expression for voices. Several argue that the word was erroneously inserted from 8a and needs to be emended. But the word “hide” can have extended meanings of “withdraw; be quiet; silent” (see Gen 31:27). A. Guillaume relates the Arabic habi’a, “the fire dies out,” applying the idea of “silent” only to v. 10 (it is a form of repetition of words with different senses, called jinas). The point here is that whatever conversation was going on would become silent or hushed to hear what Job had to say.

[29:11]  ³² tn The words “these things” and “them” in the next colon are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[29:11]  ³³ tn The main clause is introduced by the preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive (see GKC 327 §111.h); the clause before it is therefore temporal and circumstantial to the main clause.

[29:12]  ³⁴ tn The negative introduces a clause that serves as a negative attribute; literally the following clause says, “and had no helper” (see GKC 482 §152.u).

[29:13]  ³⁵ tn The verb is simply בּוֹא (bo’, “to come; to enter”). With the preposition עַל (’al, “upon”) it could mean “came to me,” or “came upon me,” i.e., descended (see R. Gordis, Job, 320).

[29:13]  ³⁶ tn The verb אַרְנִן (’arnin) is from רָנַן (ranan, “to give a ringing cry”) but here “cause to give a ringing cry,” i.e., shout of joy. The rejoicing envisioned in this word is far greater than what the words “sing” or “rejoice” suggest.

[29:14]  ³⁷ tn Both verbs in this first half-verse are from לָבַשׁ (lavash, “to clothe; to put on clothing”). P. Joüon changed the vowels to get a verb “it adorned me” instead of “it clothed me” (Bib 11 [1930]: 324). The figure of clothing is used for the character of the person: to wear righteousness is to be righteous.

[29:14]  ³⁸ tn The word מִשְׁפָּטִי (mishpati) is simply “my justice” or “my judgment.” It refers to the decisions he made in settling issues, how he dealt with other people justly.

[29:16]  ³⁹ sn The word “father” does not have a wide range of meanings in the OT. But there are places that it is metaphorical, especially in a legal setting like this where the poor need aid.

[29:17]  ⁴⁰ tn The word rendered “fangs” actually means “teeth,” i.e., the molars probably; it is used frequently of the teeth of wild beasts. Of course, the language is here figurative, comparing the oppressing enemy to a preying animal.

[29:17]  ⁴¹ tn “I made [him] drop.” The verb means “to throw; to cast,” throw in the sense of “to throw away.” But in the context with the figure of the beast with prey in its mouth, “drop” or “cast away” is the idea. Driver finds another cognate meaning “rescue” (see AJSL 52 [1935/36]: 163).

[58:1]  ⁴² sn Psalm 58. The psalmist calls on God to punish corrupt judges because a vivid display of divine judgment will convince observers that God is the just judge of the world who vindicates the godly.

[58:1]  ⁴³ tn Heb “do not destroy.” Perhaps this refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. These words also appear in the heading to Pss 57, 59, and 75.

[58:1]  ⁴⁴ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam) which also appears in the heading to Pss 16 and 56-57, 59-60 is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[58:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “Really [in] silence, what is right do you speak?” The Hebrew noun אֵלֶם (’elem, “silence”) makes little, if any, sense in this context. Some feel that this is an indictment of the addressees’ failure to promote justice; they are silent when they should make just decisions. The present translation assumes an emendation to אֵלִם (’elim), which in turn is understood as a defectively written form of אֵילִים (’elim, “rulers,” a metaphorical use of אַיִל, ’ayil, “ram”; see Exod 15:15; Ezek 17:13). The rhetorical question is sarcastic, challenging their claim to be just. Elsewhere the collocation of דָּבַר (davar, “speak”) with צֶדֶק (tsedeq, “what is right”) as object means “to speak the truth” (see Ps 52:3; Isa 45:19). Here it refers specifically to declaring what is right in a legal setting, as the next line indicates.

[58:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “the sons of mankind.” The translation assumes the phrase is the object of the verb “to judge.” Some take it as a vocative, “Do you judge fairly, O sons of mankind?” (Cf. NASB; see Ezek 20:4; 22:2; 23:36.)

[58:2]  ⁴⁷ tn The particle אַף (’af, “no”) is used here as a strong adversative emphasizing the following statement, which contrasts reality with the rulers’ claim alluded to in the rhetorical questions (see Ps 44:9).

[58:2]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “in the heart unjust deeds you do.” The phrase “in the heart” (i.e., “mind”) seems to refer to their plans and motives. The Hebrew noun עַוְלָה (’avlah, “injustice”) is collocated with פָּעַל (pa’al, “do”) here and in Job 36:23 and Ps 119:3. Some emend the plural form עוֹלֹת (’olot, “unjust deeds”; see Ps 64:6) to the singular עָוֶל (’avel, “injustice”; see Job 34:32), taking the final tav (ת) as dittographic (note that the following verbal form begins with tav). Some then understand עָוֶל (’avel, “injustice”) as a genitive modifying “heart” and translate, “with a heart of injustice you act.”

[58:2]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “in the earth the violence of your hands you weigh out.” The imagery is from the economic realm. The addressees measure out violence, rather than justice, and distribute it like a commodity. This may be ironic, since justice was sometimes viewed as a measuring scale (see Job 31:6).

[82:2]  ⁵⁰ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation to indicate that the following speech is God’s judicial decision (see v. 1).

[82:2]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and the face of the wicked lift up.”

[82:3]  ⁵² tn The Hebrew noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9). Because they were so vulnerable and were frequently exploited, fatherless children are often mentioned as epitomizing the oppressed (see Pss 10:14; 68:5; 94:6; 146:9; as well as Job 6:27; 22:9; 24:3, 9; 29:12; 31:17, 21).

[82:4]  ⁵³ tn Heb “hand.”

[17:15]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “he who justifies the wicked and and he who condemns the righteous” (so NASB). The first colon uses two Hiphil participles, מַצְדִּיק (matsdiq) and מַרְשִׁיעַ (marshia’). The first means “to declare righteous” (a declarative Hiphil), and the second means “to make wicked [or, guilty]” or “to condemn” (i.e., “to declare guilty”). To declare someone righteous who is a guilty criminal, or to condemn someone who is innocent, are both abominations for the Righteous Judge of the whole earth.

[17:15]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.”

[31:8]  ⁵⁶ sn The instruction to “open your mouth” is a metonymy of cause; it means “speak up for” (so NIV, TEV, NLT) or in this context “serve as an advocate in judgment” (cf. CEV “you must defend”).

[31:8]  ⁵⁷ sn The instruction compares people who cannot defend themselves in court with those who are physically unable to speak (this is a figure of speech known as hypocatastasis, an implied comparison). The former can physically speak; but because they are the poor, the uneducated, the oppressed, they are unable to conduct a legal defense. They may as well be speechless.

[31:8]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “of all the defenseless.” The noun חֲלוֹף (khalof) means “passing away; vanishing” (properly an infinitive); in this construction “the sons of the passing away” means people who by nature are transitory, people who are dying – mortals. But in this context it would indicate people who are “defenseless” as opposed to those who are healthy and powerful.

[31:9]  ⁵⁹ tn The noun צֶדֶק (tsedeq) serves here as an adverbial accusative of manner. The decisions reached (שְׁפָט, shÿfat) in this advocacy must conform to the standard of the law. So it is a little stronger than “judging fairly” (cf. NIV, NCV), although it will be fair if it is done righteously for all.

[31:9]  ⁶⁰ sn Previously the noun דִּין (din, judgment”) was used, signifying the legal rights or the pleas of the people. Now the imperative דִּין is used. It could be translated “judge,” but in this context “judge the poor” could be misunderstood to mean “condemn.” Here advocacy is in view, and so “plead the cause” is a better translation (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV “defend the rights”). It was – and is – the responsibility of the king (ruler) to champion the rights of the poor and needy, who otherwise would be ignored and oppressed. They are the ones left destitute by the cruelties and inequalities of life (e.g., 2 Sam 14:4-11; 1 Kgs 3:16-28; Pss 45:3-5, 72:4; Isa 9:6-7).

[1:17]  ⁶¹ tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The translation assumes an emendation of חָמוֹץ (khamots, “oppressor [?]”) to חָמוּץ (khamuts, “oppressed”), a passive participle from II חָמַץ (khamats, “oppress”; HALOT 329 s.v. II חמץ) and takes the verb II אָשַׁר (’ashar) in the sense of “make happy” (the delocutive Piel, meaning “call/pronounce happy,” is metonymic here, referring to actually effecting happiness). The parallelism favors this interpretation, for the next two lines speak of positive actions on behalf of the destitute. The other option is to retain the MT pointing and translate, “set right the oppressor,” but the nuance “set right” is not clearly attested elsewhere for the verb I אשׁר. This verb does appear as a participle in Isa 3:12 and 9:16 with the meaning “to lead or guide.” If it can mean to “lead” or “rebuke/redirect” in this verse, the prophet could be contrasting this appeal for societal reformation (v. 17c) with a command to reorder their personal lives (v. 17a-b). J. A. Motyer (The Prophecy of Isaiah, 47) suggests that these three statements (v. 17a-c) provide “the contrast between the two ends of imperfect society, the oppressor and the needy, the one inflicting and the other suffering the hurt. Isaiah looks for a transformed society wherever it needs transforming.”

[1:17]  ⁶² tn This word refers to a woman who has lost her husband, by death or divorce. The orphan and widow are often mentioned in the OT as epitomizing the helpless and impoverished who have been left without the necessities of life due to the loss of a family provider.

[1:23]  ⁶³ tn Or “stubborn”; CEV “have rejected me.”

[1:23]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “and companions of” (so KJV, NASB); CEV “friends of crooks.”

[1:23]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “pursue”; NIV “chase after gifts.”

[1:23]  ⁶⁶ sn Isaiah may have chosen the word for gifts (שַׁלְמוֹנִים, shalmonim; a hapax legomena here), as a sarcastic pun on what these rulers should have been doing. Instead of attending to peace and wholeness (שָׁלוֹם, shalom), they sought after payoffs (שַׁלְמוֹנִים).

[1:23]  ⁶⁷ sn See the note at v. 17.

[1:23]  ⁶⁸ sn The rich oppressors referred to in Isaiah and the other eighth century prophets were not rich capitalists in the modern sense of the word. They were members of the royal military and judicial bureaucracies in Israel and Judah. As these bureaucracies grew, they acquired more and more land and gradually commandeered the economy and legal system. At various administrative levels bribery and graft become commonplace. The common people outside the urban administrative centers were vulnerable to exploitation in such a system, especially those, like widows and orphans, who had lost their family provider through death. Through confiscatory taxation, conscription, excessive interest rates, and other oppressive governmental measures and policies, they were gradually disenfranchised and lost their landed property, and with it, their rights as citizens. The socio-economic equilibrium envisioned in the law of Moses was radically disturbed.

[5:23]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “and the just cause of the innocent ones they turn aside from him.”

[5:23]  sn In vv. 22-23 the prophet returns to themes with which he opened his speech. The accusatory elements of vv. 8, 11-12, 18-23 are arranged in a chiastic manner: (A) social injustice (8), (B) carousing (11-12a), (C) spiritual insensitivity (12b) // (C') spiritual insensitivity (18-21), (B') carousing (22), (A') social injustice (23).

[11:4]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “with justice” (so NAB) or “with righteousness” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[11:4]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “make decisions with rectitude”; cf. ASV, NRSV “and decide with equity.”

[11:4]  ⁷² tn Or “land” (NAB, NCV, CEV). It is uncertain if the passage is picturing universal dominion or focusing on the king’s rule over his covenant people. The reference to God’s “holy mountain” in v. 9 and the description of renewed Israelite conquests in v. 14 suggest the latter, though v. 10 seems to refer to a universal kingdom (see 2:2-4).

[11:4]  ⁷³ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and he will strike the earth with the scepter of his mouth.” Some have suggested that in this context אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) as an object of judgment seems too broad in scope. The parallelism is tighter if one emends the word to ץ(י)עָרִ (’arits, “potentate, tyrant”). The phrase “scepter of his mouth” refers to the royal (note “scepter”) decrees that he proclaims with his mouth. Because these decrees will have authority and power (see v. 2) behind them, they can be described as “striking” the tyrants down. Nevertheless, the MT reading may not need emending. Isaiah refers to the entire “earth” as the object of God’s judgment in several places without specifying the wicked as the object of the judgment (Isa 24:17-21; 26:9, 21; 28:22; cf. 13:11).

[11:4]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “and by the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked.” The “breath of his lips” refers to his speech, specifically in this context his official decrees that the wicked oppressors be eliminated from his realm. See the preceding note.

[32:1]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “will reign according to fairness.”

[32:1]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “will rule according to justice.”

[32:2]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “a man,” but אִישׁ (’ish) probably refers here to “each” of the officials mentioned in the previous verse.

[21:12]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “house of David.” This is essentially equivalent to the royal court in v. 11.

[21:12]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “to the morning” = “morning by morning” or “each morning.” See Isa 33:2 and Amos 4:4 for parallel usage.

[21:12]  ⁸⁰ sn The kings of Israel and Judah were responsible for justice. See Pss 122:5. The king himself was the final court of appeals judging from the incident of David with the wise woman of Tekoa (2 Sam 14), Solomon and the two prostitutes (1 Kgs 3:16-28), and Absalom’s attempts to win the hearts of the people of Israel by interfering with due process (2 Sam 15:2-4). How the system was designed to operate may be seen from 2 Chr 19:4-11.

[21:12]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “from the hand [or power] of.”

[21:12]  ⁸² tn Heb “Lest my wrath go out like fire and burn with no one to put it out because of the evil of your deeds.”

[44:24]  ⁸³ sn For a historical illustration of the priest carrying out this function, see 2 Chr 19:9-11.

[44:24]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “sanctify, set apart.”

[3:1]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “heads.”

[3:1]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “house.”

[3:1]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “Should you not know justice?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you should!”

[3:2]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “the ones who.”

[3:2]  ⁸⁹ tn Or “good.”

[3:2]  ⁹⁰ tn Or “evil.”

[3:2]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “their skin from upon them.” The referent of the pronoun (“my people,” referring to Jacob and/or the house of Israel, with the Lord as the speaker) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ⁹² tn Heb “and their flesh from their bones.”

[3:2]  sn Micah compares the social injustice perpetrated by the house of Jacob/Israel to cannibalism, because it threatens the very lives of the oppressed.

[1:4]  ⁹³ tn Heb “the law is numb,” i.e., like a hand that has “fallen asleep” (see Ps 77:2). Cf. NAB “is benumbed”; NIV “is paralyzed.”

[1:4]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “never goes out.”

[1:4]  ⁹⁵ tn Or “for.”

[1:4]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “surround” (so NASB, NRSV).

[1:4]  ⁹⁷ tn Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[1:4]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “comes out crooked.”

[1:13]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “[you] are too pure of eyes.” God’s “eyes” here signify what he looks at with approval. His “eyes” are “pure” in that he refuses to tolerate any wrongdoing in his presence.

[1:13]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “to see.” Here “see” is figurative for “tolerate,” “put up with.”

[1:13]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “to look at.” Cf. NEB “who canst not countenance wrongdoing”; NASB “You can not look on wickedness with favor.”

[1:13]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “Why do you look at treacherous ones?” The verb בָּגַד (bagad, “be treacherous”) is often used of those who are disloyal or who violate agreements. See S. Erlandsson, TDOT 1:470-73.

[1:13]  ¹⁰³ tn Or “swallow up.”

[1:13]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “more innocent than themselves.”

[3:18]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “you will see between.” Cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT “see the difference.”

[3:10]  ¹⁰⁶ sn Laid at the root. That is, placed and aimed, ready to begin cutting.