Keluaran 18:16

18:16 When they have a dispute, ¹  it comes to me and I decide ²  between a man and his neighbor, and I make known the decrees of God and his laws.” ³ 

Imamat 19:15

Justice, Love, and Propriety

19:15 “‘You ⁴  must not deal unjustly in judgment: ⁵  you must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich. ⁶  You must judge your fellow citizen fairly. ⁷ 

[18:16]  ¹ tn Or “thing,” “matter,” “issue.”

[18:16]  ² tn The verb שָׁפַט (shafat) means “to judge”; more specifically, it means to make a decision as an arbiter or umpire. When people brought issues to him, Moses decided between them. In the section of laws in Exodus after the Ten Commandments come the decisions, the מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishppatim).

[18:16]  ³ tn The “decrees” or “statutes” were definite rules, stereotyped and permanent; the “laws” were directives or pronouncements given when situations arose. S. R. Driver suggests this is another reason why this event might have taken place after Yahweh had given laws on the mountain (Exodus, 165).

[19:15]  ⁴ tc Smr has the singular rather than the plural “you” of the MT, which brings this verb form into line with the ones surrounding it.

[19:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “You shall not do injustice in judgment” (NASB similar); cf. NIV “do not pervert justice.”

[19:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “You shall not lift up faces of poor [people] and you shall not honor faces of great.”

[19:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “In righteousness you shall judge your fellow citizen.”