Proverbs 18:5

18:5 It is terrible ¹  to show partiality ²  to the wicked, ³ 

by depriving ⁴  a righteous man of justice.

Proverbs 24:23

Further Sayings of the Wise

24:23 These sayings also are from the wise:

To show partiality ⁵  in judgment is terrible: ⁶ 

Exodus 23:2

23:2 “You must not follow a crowd ⁷  in doing evil things; ⁸  in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice, ⁹ 

Exodus 23:8

23:8 “You must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see ¹⁰  and subverts the words of the righteous.

[18:5]  ¹ tn Heb “not good.” This is a figure known as tapeinosis, a deliberate understatement to emphasize a worst-case scenario: “it is terrible!”

[18:5]  ² tn The idiom “lifting up the face of” (שְׂאֵת פְּנֵי, sÿ’et pÿne) means “to show partiality” in decisions (e.g., Deut 10:17; Mal 2:9); cf. CEV, NLT “to favor.” The verbal form is the Qal infinitive construct from נָשָׂא (nasa’), which functions as the subject of the clause.

[18:5]  ³ tn Or “the guilty,” since in the second colon “righteous” can also be understood in contrast as “innocent” (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT).

[18:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “to turn aside” (so ASV); NASB “to thrust aside.” The second half of the verse may illustrate this reprehensible action. The Hiphil infinitive construct לְהַטּוֹת (lÿhatot) may serve either (1) as result, “showing partiality…so that the righteous are turned away,” or (2) as epexegetical infinitive, “showing partiality…by turning the righteous away.” The second is preferred in the translation. Depriving the innocent of their rights is a perversion of justice.

[24:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “to recognize faces”; KJV, ASV “to have respect of persons”; NLT “to show favoritism.”

[24:23]  ⁶ tn Heb “not good.” This is a figure known as tapeinosis – a deliberate understatement to emphasize a worst-case scenario: “it is terrible!”

[23:2]  ⁷ tn The word רָבִּים (rabbim), here rendered “crowd,” is also used infrequently to refer to the “mighty,” people of importance in society (Job 35:9; cf. Lev 19:15).

[23:2]  ⁸ tn For any individual to join a group that is bent on acting wickedly would be a violation of the Law and would incur personal responsibility.

[23:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “you will not answer in a lawsuit to turn after the crowd to turn.” The form translated “agrees with” (Heb “to turn after”) is a Qal infinitive construct from נָטָה (natah); the same root is used at the end of the verse but as a Hiphil infinitive construct, “to pervert [justice].”

[23:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “blinds the open-eyed.”