Exodus 23:3-6

23:3 and you must not show partiality ¹  to a poor man in his lawsuit.

23:4 “If you encounter ²  your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return ³  it to him. 23:5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen under its load, you must not ignore him, ⁴  but be sure to help ⁵  him with it. ⁶ 

23:6 “You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits.

[23:3]  ¹ tn The point here is one of false sympathy and honor, the bad sense of the word הָדַר (hadar; see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 237).

[23:4]  ² tn Heb “meet” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

[23:4]  ³ tn The construction uses the imperfect tense (taken here as an obligatory imperfect) and the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[23:5]  ⁴ tn The line reads “you will cease to forsake him” – refrain from leaving your enemy without help.

[23:5]  ⁵ tn The law is emphatic here as well, using the infinitive absolute and the imperfect of instruction (or possibly obligation). There is also a wordplay here: two words עָזַב (’azav) are used, one meaning “forsake” and the other possibly meaning “arrange” based on Arabic and Ugaritic evidence (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 297-98).

[23:5]  ⁶ sn See H. B. Huffmon, “Exodus 23:4-5: A Comparative Study,” A Light Unto My Path, 271-78.