Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 1:17
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.
17. respect persons) Heb. recognise or regard, pay undue attention to, faces or presences, whence our idiom ‘respect of persons’ in a bad sense. In Pent. only here and Deu 16:19. A Heb. synonym is to lift the face or person, Deu 10:17, LXX, , N.T. , to accept the person of, Gal 2:6; Luk 20:21. The command not to respect persons is next explained as hearing alike, or equally, small and great, not fearing (a poetical term, in prose only here, Deu 18:22, Num 22:3, E, and 1Sa 18:15), the face of any man. Cp. Deu 16:19, not to wrest judgement, nor respect persons, nor take bribes. ‘Justice is administered immaculate, unspotted, and unsuspected. There is no human being whose smile or favour can start the pulse of an English judge upon the Bench, or move by one hair’s breadth the even equipoise of the scales of justice,’ Lord Bowen’s Life, 175 f. In Exo 23:3 (JE) the phrase is neither shall thou favour (lit. adorn).
for the judgement is God’s ] In early Israel as among the nomad Arabs to-day, there was a final appeal from the tribal or local judge to some immediate representative of the Deity; with the Arabs the greater awe of this religious appeal brings out the truth distorted or veiled before the inferior tribunal. But Moses would have the lower judges feel that they also are God’s representatives: at every stage judgement is His. This emphasis is not given in E except in connection with the decrees of Moses himself, Exo 18:15 f. The expression of it here is an instance of the more thorough penetration of religion in D to every department of the national life.
the cause that is too hard for you ] E, Exo 18:26. In Deu 17:8 the same is expressed differently; and from Deu 19:16 ff. we see that the hardness of a case might arise from the character of the evidence, as well as from the principle involved in it.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 17. 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 favour 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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Not respect persons, Heb. not know or acknowledge faces, i.e. 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 merits of the cause. For which reason some of the Grecian lawgivers ordered that the judges should give sentence in the dark, where they could not see mens faces. See the same or the like phrase Deu 10:17; 2Ch 19:6,7; Job 13:8; Jam 2:1,9.
The small; persons of the meanest rank.
The judgment is Gods, i.e. it is passed in the name of God, and by commission from him, by you as representing his person, and doing his work, who therefore will own and defend you therein against all your enemies, and to whom you must give an exact account.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Ye shall not respect persons in judgment,…. Or pass judgment, and give sentence according to the outward appearances, circumstances, and relations of men; as whether they be friends or foes, rich or poor, old or young, men or women, learned or unlearned; truth and justice should always take place, without any regard to what persons are:
but you shall hear the small as well as the great; persons in low, life, and in mean circumstances, as well as great and noble personages; or little causes and of no great moment, as well as those of the utmost importance; all must be attended to, a cause about a “prutah” or a farthing, as well as one about a hundred pounds, in which Jarchi instances, and if that came first it was not to be postponed:
ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; of the frowns and threatenings of rich men, and of such as are in power and authority; not be awed or intimidated by them from doing justice; see Job 31:34,
for the judgment [is] God’s; judges stand in the place of God, are put into their office by him, and act under him, and for him, and are accountable to him; and therefore should be careful what judgment they make, or sentence they pass, lest they bring discredit to him, and destruction on themselves:
and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it; which is said for their encouragement, as well as was an instruction to them not to undertake a cause too difficult for them; see Ex 18:22.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(17) The judgment is Gods.Comp. St. Paul in Rom. 13:1-4, which is, again, only an expansion of this sentence. For the latter part of this verse comp. Exo. 18:22-26.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
17. The judgment is God’s It is to be administered in the name of God, who is the source of all justice, and who, by implication, is supposed to so aid that the judgment is essentially his.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Deu 1:17 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.
Ver. 17. Ye shall not respect persons. ] God will surely reprove you, saith Job, if you secretly accept persons. Job 13:10 Aequum me utrique parti tam in disceptandis controversiis, quam in tuenda disciplina, praebebo, said Justinian: I will hear causes without prejudicate impiety, judiciously examine them without sinister obliquity, and sincerely judge them without unjust partiality. It was the oath of the heathen judges, as the orator relates, Audiam accusatorem et reum sine affectibus et personarum respectione: I will hear the plaintiff and defendant with an equal mind, without affection and respect of persons. And agreeable hereunto is the oath taken by our circuit judge, as it is recorded in the Statute of the 18 of Edward III.
You shall not be afraid.
For the judgment is God’s.] Whose person ye bear, and in whose seat ye sit; and should therefore sit in as great, though not so slavish a fear of offending, as Olanes, in the history, sat upon the flayed skin of his father Silannes, nailed by Cambyses on the tribunal; or, as a Russian judge that fears the boiling caldron; or the Turkish senate, when they think the great Turk to stand behind the Arras, at the dangerous door. Cave, spectat Cato; take heed, Cato seeth you, – was an ancient watchword among the Romans, and a great retentive from evil. How much more amongst us should Cave, spectat Dominus; Take heed, the Lord looks on.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
respect = recognise.
persons. Hebrew faces. Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Part), App-6, put for persons. Compare Lev 19:15.
judgment. Hebrew the judgment: i.e. suited to each case. Compare Exo 18:26.
is God’s = it [is] God’s.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
shall not: Deu 10:17, Deu 16:19, Lev 19:15, 1Sa 16:7, 2Sa 14:14, Pro 24:23, Luk 20:21, Act 10:34, Act 10:35, Rom 2:11, Eph 6:9, Col 3:25, Jam 2:1, Jam 2:3, Jam 2:9, 1Pe 1:17
respect persons: Heb. acknowledge faces, That is, let not the bold, daring countenances 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 favour him in an unrighteous cause, or to give judgment against him at the demand of the oppressor.
ye shall hear: Exo 23:3, Exo 23:6, Exo 23:7, 1Sa 12:3, 1Sa 12:4, Job 22:6-9, Job 29:11-17, Job 31:13-16, Psa 82:3, Psa 82:4, Pro 22:22, Pro 22:23, Jer 5:28, Jer 5:29, Amo 5:11, Amo 5:12, Mic 2:1-3, Mic 3:1-4, Mic 7:3, Mic 7:4, Jam 2:2-4, Jam 2:5
ye shall not: 1Ki 21:8-14, Job 31:34, Pro 29:25, Jer 1:17, Mat 22:16, Mar 12:14, 1Th 2:4
the judgment: 2Ch 19:6
the cause: Deu 17:8-10, Exo 18:18, Exo 18:22, Exo 18:26
Reciprocal: Exo 23:2 – to decline 2Ch 18:30 – small or great 2Ch 19:9 – in the fear 2Ch 34:30 – great and small Job 32:21 – accept Psa 82:2 – accept Pro 18:5 – not Eze 18:8 – hath executed Mal 2:9 – have been partial in Joh 7:19 – not Joh 7:24 – General Joh 7:51 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Deu 1:17. 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. For which reason some of the Grecian lawgivers ordered that the judges should give sentence in the dark, where they could not see mens faces. The judgment is Gods It is passed in the name of God, and by commission from him, by you, as representing his person, and doing his work; who therefore will defend you therein against all your enemies, and to whom you must give an exact account.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1:17 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] {m} God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring [it] unto me, and I will hear it.
(m) You are his Lieutenants.