You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.”
ExplanationCommentary
Verse 17. Respect. Hebrew “fear.” Menochius.—Those who judge ought to be quite impartial, and never suffer their sentence to be dictated either by love or by fear. Bible. Sirach 7:6.—Of God, to whom you must give an account of your conduct. Wisd. 6:4. Speak therefore in his name, and imitate his justice and other perfections. See Psalms 81:1. Calmet.—If any one absolve an oppressor because he is rich, that judge is guilty of partiality. D. Isaiah 1:23.—Hear it, as the supreme judge. Menochius.—The people selected such as might be most proper, out of whom Moses made his choice. Salien.—An appeal might be made to himself. Abulensis, q. 11.