Deuteronomy 16:18-19

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 

Deuteronomy 18:3

18:3 This shall be the priests’ fair allotment ⁶  from the people who offer sacrifices, whether bull or sheep – they must give to the priest the shoulder, the jowls, and the stomach.

Deuteronomy 32:4

32:4 As for the Rock, ⁷  his work is perfect,

for all his ways are just.

He is a reliable God who is never unjust,

he is fair ⁸  and upright.

[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.”

[18:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “judgment”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “the priest’s due.”

[32:4]  ¹⁰ tc The LXX reads Θεός (qeos, “God”) for the MT’s “Rock.”

[32:4]  ¹¹ tn Or “just” (KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT) or “righteous” (NASB).