Exodus 23:1

Justice

23:1 ¹ “You must not give ²  a false report. ³  Do not make common cause ⁴  with the wicked ⁵  to be a malicious ⁶  witness.

Leviticus 19:11

Dealing Honestly

19:11 “‘You must not steal, you must not tell lies, and you must not deal falsely with your fellow citizen. ⁷ 

Deuteronomy 19:16-21

19:16 If a false ⁸  witness testifies against another person and accuses him of a crime, ⁹  19:17 then both parties to the controversy must stand before the Lord, that is, before the priests and judges ¹⁰  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, ¹¹  19:19 you must do to him what he had intended to do to the accused. In this way you will purge ¹²  evil from among you. 19:20 The rest of the people will hear and become afraid to keep doing such evil among you. 19:21 You must not show pity; the principle will be a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, and a foot for a foot. ¹³ 

Job 22:23

22:23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; ¹⁴ 

if you remove wicked behavior far from your tent,

Proverbs 4:14-15

4:14 Do not enter the path of the wicked

or walk ¹⁵  in the way of those who are evil.

4:15 Avoid it, do not go on it;

turn away from it, and go on. ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 33:15

33:15 The one who lives ¹⁷  uprightly ¹⁸ 

and speaks honestly;

the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures

and rejects a bribe; ¹⁹ 

the one who does not plot violent crimes ²⁰ 

and does not seek to harm others ²¹  –

Luke 3:14

3:14 Then some soldiers ²²  also asked him, “And as for us – what should we do?” ²³  He told them, “Take money from no one by violence ²⁴  or by false accusation, ²⁵  and be content with your pay.”

Ephesians 4:25

4:25 Therefore, having laid aside falsehood, each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, ²⁶  for we are members of one another.

Ephesians 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ²⁷  urge you to live ²⁸  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ²⁹ 

Ephesians 5:22

Exhortations to Households

5:22 ³⁰ Wives, submit ³¹  to your husbands as to the Lord,

[23:1]  ¹ sn People who claim to worship and serve the righteous judge of the universe must preserve equity and justice in their dealings with others. These verses teach that God’s people must be honest witnesses (1-3); God’s people must be righteous even with enemies (4-5); and God’s people must be fair in dispensing justice (6-9).

[23:1]  ² tn Heb “take up, lift, carry” (נָשָׂא, nasa’). This verb was also used in the prohibition against taking “the name of Yahweh in vain.” Sometimes the object of this verb is physical, as in Jonah 1:12 and 15. Used in this prohibition involving speech, it covers both originating and repeating a lie.

[23:1]  ³ tn Or “a groundless report” (see Exod 20:7 for the word שָׁוְא, shav’).

[23:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “do not put your hand” (cf. KJV, ASV); NASB “join your hand.”

[23:1]  ⁵ tn The word “wicked” (רָשָׁע, rasha’) refers to the guilty criminal, the person who is doing something wrong. In the religious setting it describes the person who is not a member of the covenant and may be involved in all kinds of sin, even though there is the appearance of moral and spiritual stability.

[23:1]  ⁶ tn The word חָמָס (khamas) often means “violence” in the sense of social injustices done to other people, usually the poor and needy. A “malicious” witness would do great harm to others. See J. W. McKay, “Exodus 23:1-43, 6-8: A Decalogue for Administration of Justice in the City Gate,” VT 21 (1971): 311-25.

[19:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “you shall not deal falsely a man with his fellow citizen.”

[19:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “violent” (חָמָס, khamas). This is a witness whose motivation from the beginning is to do harm to the accused and who, therefore, resorts to calumny and deceit. See I. Swart and C. VanDam, NIDOTTE 2:177-80.

[19:16]  ¹⁴ tn Or “rebellion.” Rebellion against God’s law is in view (cf. NAB “of a defection from the law”).

[19:17]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁵ tn Heb “his brother” (also in the following verse).

[19:19]  ³¹ 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).

[19:21]  ³⁷ sn This kind of justice is commonly called lex talionis or “measure for measure” (cf. Exod 21:23-25; Lev 24:19-20). It is likely that it is the principle that is important and not always a strict application. That is, the punishment should fit the crime and it may do so by the payment of fines or other suitable and equitable compensation (cf. Exod 22:21; Num 35:31). See T. S. Frymer-Kensky, “Tit for Tat: The Principle of Equal Retribution in Near Eastern and Biblical Law,” BA 43 (1980): 230-34.

[22:23]  ⁴³ tc The MT has “you will be built up” (תִּבָּנֶה, tibbaneh). But the LXX has “humble yourself” (reading תְּעַנֶּה [tÿ’anneh] apparently). Many commentators read this; Dahood has “you will be healed.”

[4:14]  ⁴⁹ tn The verb אָשַׁר (’ashar, “to walk”) is not to be confused with the identically spelled homonym אָשַׁר “to pronounce happy” as in BDB 80 s.v. אָשַׁר.

[4:15]  ⁵⁵ sn The verb עָבַר (’avar, “to cross over; to travel through”) ends both cola. In the first it warns against going on wrong paths; in the second it means “to go your own way,” but may hint that the way will cross over the wrong way. The rapid sequence of commands stresses the urgency of the matter.

[33:15]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “walks” (so NASB, NIV).

[33:15]  ⁶² tn Or, possibly, “justly”; NAB “who practices virtue.”

[33:15]  ⁶³ tn Heb “[who] shakes off his hands from grabbing hold of a bribe.”

[33:15]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “[who] shuts his ear from listening to bloodshed.”

[33:15]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “[who] closes his eyes from seeing evil.”

[3:14]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “And soldiers.”

[3:14]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “And what should we ourselves do?”

[3:14]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “Rob no one.” The term διασείσητε (diaseishte) here refers to “shaking someone.” In this context it refers to taking financial advantage of someone through violence, so it refers essentially to robbery. Soldiers are to perform their tasks faithfully. A changed person is to carry out his tasks in life faithfully and without grumbling.

[3:14]  ⁷⁰ tn The term translated “accusation” (συκοφαντήσητε, sukofanthshte) refers to a procedure by which someone could bring charges against an individual and be paid a part of the fine imposed by the court. Soldiers could do this to supplement their pay, and would thus be tempted to make false accusations.

[4:25]  ⁷³ sn A quotation from Zech 8:16.

[4:1]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

[4:1]  ⁸⁰ tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

[4:1]  ⁸¹ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.

[5:22]  ⁸⁵ tn Many scholars regard Eph 5:21 as the verse which introduces this section, rather than 5:22. This is due in part to the lack of a main verb in this verse (see tc note which follows). This connection is not likely, however, because it requires the participle ὑποτασσόμενοι (Jupotassomenoi, “submitting”) in 5:21 to act as the main verb of the section, and this participle more likely is linked to the command “be filled by the Spirit” in 5:18 as a participle of result (see sn above). In any case, 5:21 does form a strong link between 5:18-21 and what follows, so the paragraph division which has been placed between 5:21 and 22 should not be viewed as a complete break in the author’s thought.

[5:22]  ⁸⁶ tc The witnesses for the shorter reading (in which the verb “submit” is only implied) are minimal (Ì⁴⁶ B Cl Hier^mss), but significant and early. The rest of the witnesses add one of two verb forms as required by the sense of the passage (picking up the verb from v. 21). Several of these witnesses have ὑποτασσέσθωσαν (Jupotassesqwsan), the third person imperative (so א A I P Ψ 0278 33 81 1175 1739 1881 al lat co), while other witnesses, especially the later Byzantine cursives, read ὑποτάσσεσθε (Jupotassesqe), the second person imperative (D F G Ï sy). The text virtually begs for one of these two verb forms, but the often cryptic style of Paul’s letters argues for the shorter reading. The chronology of development seems to have been no verb – third person imperative – second person imperative. It is not insignificant that early lectionaries began a new day’s reading with v. 22; these most likely caused copyists to add the verb at this juncture.