Deuteronomy 1:17
in Deuteronomy 1Show no partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. And bring to me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; ye shall hear the small and the great alike; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you ye shall bring unto me, and I will hear it.
KJV
Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 1
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThou shalt not long for division, but shalt bring those who contend to peace. Thou shalt judge righteously, thou shalt not respect persons in reproving for transgressions. Thou shalt not be undecided whether it shall be or no.
This site's exposition
And I charged your judges at that time
on Deuteronomy 1:16-18
The charge has four parts: hear the causes, judge righteously, cover the stranger as well as the brother, and hear the small as well as the great. The ground given is that the judgment is God's, so the bench is held on loan, and Jehoshaphat repeats the same reasoning to his own judges at 2 Chronicles 19:6. Clarke notes that the Hebrew behind respect persons is literally to know faces, so both halves of verse 17 turn on the same figure, the face of the great man and the face of the poor one.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
You are God's vicegerents, you act for him, and therefore must act like him; you are his representatives, but if you judge unrighteously, you misrepresent him. The judgment is his, and therefore he will protect you in doing right, and will certainly call you to account if you do wrong." 3.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Respect persons - Hebrew. Not know, or acknowledge faces, that is, not give sentence according to the outward qualities of the person, as he is poor or rich, your friend or enemy, but purely according to the merit of the cause.
Ye shall not respect persons in judgment,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Ye shall not respect persons - Heb. faces. Let not the bold, daring countenance of the rich or mighty induce you to give an unrighteous decision; and let not the abject look of the poor man induce you either to favor him in an unrighteous cause, or to give judgment against him at the demand of the oppressor. Be uncorrupt and incorruptible, for the judgment is God’s; ye minister in the place of God, act like Him.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
A reference is here made to the suggestion of Jethro (Ex 18:18). In noticing his practical adoption of a plan by which the administration of justice was committed to a select number of subordinate officers, Moses, by a beautiful allusion to the patriarchal blessing, ascribed the necessity of that memorable change in the government to the vast increase of the population.
The words behind it
22 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַכִּ֨ירוּ | takiru | you will pay regard to | H5234 → | 49 times |
| פָנִ֜ים | fanim | faces | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| בַּמִּשְׁפָּ֗ט | bamishpat | in <the> judgment | H4941 → | 422 times |
| כַּקָּטֹ֤ן | kakaton | as the small | H6996 → | 101 times |
| כַּגָּדֹל֙ | kagadol | as the great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| תִּשְׁמָע֔וּן | tishmaun | you will listen ! | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תָג֙וּרוּ֙ | taguru | you will be afraid | H1481 → | 97 times |
| מִפְּנֵי־ | mipenei- | of <the face of> | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אִ֔ישׁ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הַמִּשְׁפָּ֖ט | hamishpat | the judgment | H4941 → | 422 times |
| לֵאלֹהִ֣ים | lelohim | [belongs] to God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| ה֑וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וְהַדָּבָר֙ | vehadavar | and the matter | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִקְשֶׁ֣ה | yiksheh | it will be [too] hard | H7185 → | 28 times |
| מִכֶּ֔ם | mikem | for you | ||
| תַּקְרִב֥וּן | takrivun | you will bring near ! | H7126 → | 280 times |
| אֵלַ֖י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וּשְׁמַעְתִּֽיו׃ | ushema'tiv | and I will hear it | H8085 → | 1159 times |
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תַכִּ֨ירוּyou will pay regard to
takiruH5234 →49 times
פָנִ֜יםfaces
fanimH6440 →2123 times
בַּמִּשְׁפָּ֗טin <the> judgment
bamishpatH4941 →422 times
כַּקָּטֹ֤ןas the small
kakatonH6996 →101 times
כַּגָּדֹל֙as the great
kagadolH1419 →526 times
תִּשְׁמָע֔וּןyou will listen !
tishmaunH8085 →1159 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תָג֙וּרוּ֙you will be afraid
taguruH1481 →97 times
מִפְּנֵי־of <the face of>
mipenei-H6440 →2123 times
אִ֔ישׁanyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
הַמִּשְׁפָּ֖טthe judgment
hamishpatH4941 →422 times
לֵאלֹהִ֣ים[belongs] to God
lelohimH430 →2601 times
ה֑וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
וְהַדָּבָר֙and the matter
vehadavarH1697 →1440 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יִקְשֶׁ֣הit will be [too] hard
yikshehH7185 →28 times
מִכֶּ֔םfor you
mikem
תַּקְרִב֥וּןyou will bring near !
takrivunH7126 →280 times
אֵלַ֖יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
וּשְׁמַעְתִּֽיו׃and I will hear it
ushema'tivH8085 →1159 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
James 2:9But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:15
You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 19:15
Through
Leviticus 19:15You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 27:19
‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- Proverbs 24:23
These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.
- Exodus 23:2–3
You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.
- Exodus 23:6–8
You shall not deny justice to the poor in their lawsuits.
- Leviticus 19:35
You must not use dishonest measures of length, weight, or volume.
- Deuteronomy 27:19
Through
Proverbs 24:23These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:21
To show partiality is not good, yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread.
- Proverbs 28:21
Through
Deuteronomy 16:19Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
it leads to
- Exodus 23:2
You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.
- Exodus 23:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Didache, The Didache, Chapter 4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.