Leviticus 19:15

Justice, Love, and Propriety

19:15 “‘You ¹  must not deal unjustly in judgment: ²  you must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich. ³  You must judge your fellow citizen fairly. ⁴ 

Leviticus 19:2

19:2 “Speak to the whole congregation of the Israelites and tell them, ‘You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

Leviticus 19:6-7

19:6 It must be eaten on the day of your sacrifice and on the following day, ⁵  but what is left over until the third day must be burned up. ⁶  19:7 If, however, it is eaten ⁷  on the third day, it is spoiled, ⁸  it will not be accepted,

Psalms 82:1-4

Psalm 82 ⁹ 

A psalm of Asaph.

82:1 God stands in ¹⁰  the assembly of El; ¹¹ 

in the midst of the gods ¹²  he renders judgment. ¹³ 

82:2 He says, ¹⁴  “How long will you make unjust legal decisions

and show favoritism to the wicked? ¹⁵  (Selah)

82:3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless! ¹⁶ 

Vindicate the oppressed and suffering!

82:4 Rescue the poor and needy!

Deliver them from the power ¹⁷  of the wicked!

Proverbs 27:5

27:5 Better is open ¹⁸  rebuke

than hidden ¹⁹  love.

Proverbs 27:2

27:2 Let another ²⁰  praise you, and not your own mouth; ²¹ 

someone else, ²²  and not your own lips.

Colossians 1:16

1:16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, ²³  whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him.

Galatians 2:11

Paul Rebukes Peter

2:11 But when Cephas ²⁴  came to Antioch, ²⁵  I opposed him to his face, because he had clearly done wrong. ²⁶ 

Galatians 2:1

Confirmation from the Jerusalem Apostles

2:1 Then after fourteen years I went up to Jerusalem ²⁷  again with Barnabas, taking Titus along too.

Galatians 5:20

5:20 idolatry, sorcery, ²⁸  hostilities, ²⁹  strife, ³⁰  jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, ³¹  factions,

Titus 2:15

2:15 So communicate these things with the sort of exhortation or rebuke ³²  that carries full authority. ³³  Don’t let anyone look down ³⁴  on you.

[19:15]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “You shall not do injustice in judgment” (NASB similar); cf. NIV “do not pervert justice.”

[19:15]  ³ tn Heb “You shall not lift up faces of poor [people] and you shall not honor faces of great.”

[19:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “In righteousness you shall judge your fellow citizen.”

[19:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “from the following day” (HALOT 572 s.v. מָחֳרָת 2.b).

[19:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “shall be burned with fire”; KJV “shall be burnt in the fire.” Because “to burn with fire” is redundant in contemporary English the present translation simply has “must be burned up.”

[19:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “And if being eaten [infinitive absolute] it is eaten [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.

[19:7]  ⁸ tn Or “desecrated,” or “defiled,” or “forbidden.” For this difficult term see J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:422, on Lev 7:18.

[82:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 82. The psalmist pictures God standing in the “assembly of El” where he accuses the “gods” of failing to promote justice on earth. God pronounces sentence upon them, announcing that they will die like men. Having witnessed the scene, the psalmist then asks God to establish his just rule over the earth.

[82:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “presides over.”

[82:1]  ¹¹ tn The phrase עֲדַת אֵל (’adat ’el, “assembly of El”) appears only here in the OT. (1) Some understand “El” to refer to God himself. In this case he is pictured presiding over his own heavenly assembly. (2) Others take אֵל as a superlative here (“God stands in the great assembly”), as in Pss 36:6 and 80:10. (3) The present translation assumes this is a reference to the Canaanite high god El, who presided over the Canaanite divine assembly. (See Isa 14:13, where El’s assembly is called “the stars of El.”) In the Ugaritic myths the phrase ’dt ’ilm refers to the “assembly of the gods,” who congregate in King Kirtu’s house, where Baal asks El to bless Kirtu’s house (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 91). If the Canaanite divine assembly is referred to here in Ps 82:1, then the psalm must be understood as a bold polemic against Canaanite religion. Israel’s God invades El’s assembly, denounces its gods as failing to uphold justice, and announces their coming demise. For an interpretation of the psalm along these lines, see W. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” EBC 5:533-36.

[82:1]  ¹² sn The present translation assumes that the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “gods”) here refers to the pagan gods who supposedly comprise El’s assembly according to Canaanite religion. Those who reject the polemical view of the psalm prefer to see the referent as human judges or rulers (אֱלֹהִים sometimes refers to officials appointed by God, see Exod 21:6; 22:8-9; Ps 45:6) or as angelic beings (אֱלֹהִים sometimes refers to angelic beings, see Gen 3:5; Ps 8:5).

[82:1]  ¹³ sn The picture of God rendering judgment among the gods clearly depicts his sovereign authority as universal king (see v. 8, where the psalmist boldly affirms this truth).

[82:2]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and the face of the wicked lift up.”

[82:3]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9). Because they were so vulnerable and were frequently exploited, fatherless children are often mentioned as epitomizing the oppressed (see Pss 10:14; 68:5; 94:6; 146:9; as well as Job 6:27; 22:9; 24:3, 9; 29:12; 31:17, 21).

[82:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “hand.”

[27:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “revealed” or “uncovered” (Pual participle from גָּלָה, galah). This would specify the reproof or rebuke as direct, honest, and frank, whether it was coming from a friend or an enemy.

[27:5]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew term translated “hidden” (a Pual participle from סָתַר, satar) refers to a love that is carefully concealed; this is contrasted with the open rebuke in the first line. What is described, then, is someone too timid, too afraid, or not trusting enough to admit that reproof is a genuine part of love (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 610). It is a love that is not expressed in proper concern for the one loved. See also, e.g., 28:23 and 29:3.

[27:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “a stranger.” This does not necessarily refer to a non-Israelite, as has been demonstrated before in the book of Proverbs, but these are people outside the familiar and accepted circles. The point is that such a person would be objective in speaking about your abilities and accomplishments.

[27:2]  ²¹ sn “Mouth” and “lips” are metonymies of cause; they mean “what is said.” People should try to avoid praising themselves. Self praise can easily become a form of pride, even if it begins with trivial things. It does not establish a reputation; reputation comes from what others think about you.

[27:2]  ²² tn “a foreigner”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV “a stranger.”

[1:16]  ²³ tn BDAG 579 s.v. κυριότης 3 suggests “bearers of the ruling powers, dominions” here.

[2:11]  ²⁴ sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

[2:11]  ²⁵ map For location see JP1 F2; JP2 F2; JP3 F2; JP4 F2.

[2:11]  ²⁶ tn Grk “because he stood condemned.”

[2:1]  ²⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:20]  ²⁸ tn Or “witchcraft.”

[5:20]  ²⁹ tn Or “enmities,” “[acts of] hatred.”

[5:20]  ³⁰ tn Or “discord” (L&N 39.22).

[5:20]  ³¹ tn Or “discord(s)” (L&N 39.13).

[2:15]  ³² tn Or “reproof,” “censure.” The Greek word ἐλέγχω (elencw) implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction.

[2:15]  ³³ tn Grk “speak these things and exhort and rebuke with all authority.”

[2:15]  ³⁴ tn Or “let anyone despise you”; or “let anyone disregard you.”