Yohanes 8:15

8:15 You people ¹  judge by outward appearances; ²  I do not judge anyone. ³ 

Ulangan 1:16-17

1:16 I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they ⁴  should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens ⁵  and judge fairly, ⁶  whether between one citizen and another ⁷  or a citizen and a resident foreigner. ⁸  1:17 They ⁹  must not discriminate in judgment, but hear the lowly ¹⁰  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.

Ulangan 16:18-19

Provision for Justice

16:18 You must appoint judges and civil servants ¹¹  for each tribe in all your villages ¹²  that the Lord your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly. ¹³  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 ¹⁴  the words of the righteous. ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 58:1-2

Psalm 58 ¹⁶ 

For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; ¹⁷  a prayer ¹⁸  of David.

58:1 Do you rulers really pronounce just decisions? ¹⁹ 

Do you judge people ²⁰  fairly?

58:2 No! ²¹  You plan how to do what is unjust; ²² 

you deal out violence in the earth. ²³ 

Mazmur 82:2

82:2 He says, ²⁴  “How long will you make unjust legal decisions

and show favoritism to the wicked? ²⁵  (Selah)

Mazmur 94:20-21

94:20 Cruel rulers ²⁶  are not your allies,

those who make oppressive laws. ²⁷ 

94:21 They conspire against ²⁸  the blameless, ²⁹ 

and condemn to death the innocent. ³⁰ 

Amsal 17:15

17:15 The one who acquits the guilty and the one who condemns the innocent ³¹  –

both of them are an abomination to the Lord. ³² 

Amsal 24:23

Further Sayings of the Wise

24:23 These sayings also are from the wise:

To show partiality ³³  in judgment is terrible: ³⁴ 

Yesaya 5:23

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

they ignore the just cause of the innocent. ³⁵ 

Yesaya 11:3-4

11:3 He will take delight in obeying the Lord. ³⁶ 

He will not judge by mere appearances, ³⁷ 

or make decisions on the basis of hearsay. ³⁸ 

11:4 He will treat the poor fairly, ³⁹ 

and make right decisions ⁴⁰  for the downtrodden of the earth. ⁴¹ 

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, ⁴² 

and order the wicked to be executed. ⁴³ 

Yakobus 2:1

Prejudice and the Law of Love

2:1 My brothers and sisters, ⁴⁴  do not show prejudice ⁴⁵  if you possess faith ⁴⁶  in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴⁷ 

Yakobus 2:4

2:4 If so, have you not made distinctions ⁴⁸  among yourselves and become judges with evil motives? ⁴⁹ 

Yakobus 2:9

2:9 But if you show prejudice, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as violators. ⁵⁰ 

[8:15]  ¹ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to indicate that the pronoun and verb (“judge”) in Greek are plural.

[8:15]  ² tn Or “judge according to external things”; Grk “according to the flesh.” These translations are given by BDAG 916 s.v. σάρξ 5.

[8:15]  ³ sn What is the meaning of Jesus’ statement “I do not judge anyone”? It is clear that Jesus did judge (even in the next verse). The point is that he didn’t practice the same kind of judgment that the Pharisees did. Their kind of judgment was condemnatory. They tried to condemn people. Jesus did not come to judge the world, but to save it (3:17). Nevertheless, and not contradictory to this, the coming of Jesus did bring judgment, because it forced people to make a choice. Would they accept Jesus or reject him? Would they come to the light or shrink back into the darkness? As they responded, so were they judged – just as 3:19-21 previously stated. One’s response to Jesus determines one’s eternal destiny.

[1:16]  ⁴ tn Or “you.” A number of English versions treat the remainder of this verse and v. 17 as direct discourse rather than indirect discourse (cf. KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[1:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “brothers.” The term “brothers” could, in English, be understood to refer to siblings, so “fellow citizens” has been used in the translation.

[1:16]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew word צֶדֶק (tsedeq, “fairly”) carries the basic idea of conformity to a norm of expected behavior or character, one established by God himself. Fair judgment adheres strictly to that norm or standard (see D. Reimer, NIDOTTE 3:750).

[1:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “between a man and his brother.”

[1:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “his stranger” or “his sojourner”; NAB, NIV “an alien”; NRSV “resident alien.” The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger) commonly means “foreigner.”

[1:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “you,” and throughout the verse (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[1:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the small,” but referring to social status, not physical stature.

[16:18]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Heb “gates.”

[16:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “with judgment of righteousness”; ASV, NASB “with righteous judgment.”

[16:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “twist, overturn”; NRSV “subverts the cause.”

[16:19]  ¹⁵ tn Or “innocent”; NRSV “those who are in the right”; NLT “the godly.”

[58:1]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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]  ²² 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]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and the face of the wicked lift up.”

[94:20]  ²⁶ tn Heb “a throne of destruction.” “Throne” stands here by metonymy for rulers who occupy thrones.

[94:20]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Is a throne of destruction united to you, one that forms trouble upon a statute?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “Of course not!” The translation, while not preserving the interrogative form of the statement, reflects its rhetorical force.

[94:21]  ²⁸ tn Or “attack.”

[94:21]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the life of the blameless.”

[94:21]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and the blood of the innocent they declare guilty.”

[17:15]  ³¹ 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]  ³² tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.”

[24:23]  ³³ tn Heb “to recognize faces”; KJV, ASV “to have respect of persons”; NLT “to show favoritism.”

[24:23]  ³⁴ tn Heb “not good.” This is a figure known as tapeinosis – a deliberate understatement to emphasize a worst-case scenario: “it is terrible!”

[5:23]  ³⁵ 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).

[11:3]  ³⁶ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “and his smelling is in the fear of the Lord.” In Amos 5:21 the Hiphil of רוּחַ (ruakh, “smell”) carries the nuance of “smell with delight, get pleasure from.” There the Lord declares that he does not “smell with delight” (i.e., get pleasure from) Israel’s religious assemblies, which probably stand by metonymy for the incense offered during these festivals. In Isa 11:3 there is no sacrificial context to suggest such a use, but it is possible that “the fear of the Lord” is likened to incense. This coming king will get the same kind of delight from obeying (fearing) the Lord, as a deity does in the incense offered by worshipers. Some regard such an explanation as strained in this context, and prefer to omit this line from the text as a virtual dittograph of the preceding statement.

[11:3]  ³⁷ tn Heb “by what appears to his eyes”; KJV “after the sight of his eyes”; NIV “by what he sees with his eyes.”

[11:3]  ³⁸ tn Heb “by what is heard by his ears”; NRSV “by what his ears hear.”

[11:4]  ³⁹ tn Heb “with justice” (so NAB) or “with righteousness” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[11:4]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “make decisions with rectitude”; cf. ASV, NRSV “and decide with equity.”

[11:4]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² 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]  ⁴³ 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.

[2:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[2:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “partiality.”

[2:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “do not have faith with personal prejudice,” with emphasis on the last phrase.

[2:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “our Lord Jesus Christ of glory.” Here δόξης (doxhs) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[2:4]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “have you not made distinctions” (as the conclusion to the series of “if” clauses in vv. 2-3).

[2:4]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “judges of evil reasonings.”

[2:9]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “transgressors.”