These are the words which Moses spake unto all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the {That is, the deep valley running north and south of the Dead Sea.}Arabah over against Suph, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Di-zahab.
It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadesh-barnea.
And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that Jehovah had given him in commandment unto them;
after he had smitten Sihon the king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who dwelt in Ashtaroth, at Edrei.
Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,
Jehovah our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mountain:
turn you, and take your journey, and go to the hill-country of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the Arabah, in the hill-country, and in the lowland, and in the South, and by the sea-shore, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.
Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which Jehovah sware unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.
And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone:
Jehovah your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.
Jehovah, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!
How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?
Take you wise men, and understanding, and known, according to your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.
And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do.
So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens, and officers, according to your tribes.
And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the sojourner that is with him.
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.
And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do.
And we journeyed from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which ye saw, by the way to the hill-country of the Amorites, as Jehovah our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.
And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the hill-country of the Amorites, which Jehovah our God giveth unto us.
Behold, Jehovah thy God hath set the land before thee: go up, take possession, as Jehovah, the God of thy fathers, hath spoken unto thee; fear not, neither be dismayed.
And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, Let us send men before us, that they may search the land for us, and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up, and the cities unto which we shall come.
And the thing pleased me well; and I took twelve men of you, one man for every tribe:
and they turned and went up into the hill-country, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and spied it out.
And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which Jehovah our God giveth unto us.
Yet ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of Jehovah your God:
and ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because Jehovah hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.
Whither are we going up? our brethren have made our heart to melt, saying, The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.
Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.
Jehovah your God who goeth before you, he will fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes,
and in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that Jehovah thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came unto this place.
Yet {Or, for all this thing}in this thing ye did not believe Jehovah your God,
who went before you in the way, to seek you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way ye should go, and in the cloud by day.
And Jehovah heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying,
Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see the good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers,
save Caleb the son of Jephunneh: he shall see it; and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed Jehovah.
Also Jehovah was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither:
Joshua the son of Nun, who standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage thou him; for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.
Moreover your little ones, that ye said should be a prey, and your children, that this day have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.
But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.
Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against Jehovah, we will go up and fight, according to all that Jehovah our God commanded us. And ye girded on every man his weapons of war, and {Or, deemed it a light thing}were forward to go up into the hill-country.
And Jehovah said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.
So I spake unto you, and ye hearkened not; but ye rebelled against the commandment of Jehovah, and were presumptuous, and went up into the hill-country.
And the Amorites, that dwelt in that hill-country, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and beat you down in Seir, even unto Hormah.
And ye returned and wept before Jehovah; but Jehovah hearkened not to your voice, nor gave ear unto you.
So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there.
Querverweise zu 5. Mose 1,17 5Mo 1,17
For Jehovah your God, he is God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great God, the mighty, and the terrible, who regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward.
neither shalt thou favor a poor man in his cause.
So she wrote {Or, a letter}letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, and that dwelt with Naboth.
And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth {Or, at the head of}on high among the people:
and set two men, base fellows, before him, and let them bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst {Or, renounce}curse God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him to death.
And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who dwelt in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, according as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.
They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth {Or, at the head of}on high among the people.
And the two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him: and the base fellows bare witness against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did {Or, renounce}curse God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him to death with stones.
Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.
and said to the judges, Consider what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for Jehovah; and he is with you {Or, in giving judgement Hebrew: in the matter of judgement.}in the judgment.
If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates; then shalt thou arise, and get thee up unto the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose;
and thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days: and thou shalt inquire; and they shall show thee the sentence of judgment.
And thou shalt do according to the tenor of the sentence which they shall show thee from that place which Jehovah shall choose; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they shall teach thee:
Thou shalt not wrest justice: thou shalt not respect persons; neither shalt thou take a bribe; for a bribe doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the {Or, cause}words of the righteous.
Thou shalt not wrest the justice due to thy poor in his cause.
Because I feared the great multitude,And the contempt of families terrified me,So that I kept silence, and went not out of the door—
Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for the thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor.
Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
The fear of man bringeth a snare;But whoso putteth his trust in Jehovah {Hebrew: shall be set on high.}shall be safe.
and let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge themselves: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.
But Jehovah said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him: for Jehovah seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but Jehovah looketh on the heart.
Here I am: witness against me before Jehovah, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I taken a {Or, bribe}ransom {Or, that I should hide mine eyes at him}to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.
Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at them, lest I dismay thee before them.
And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God take away life, but deviseth means, that he that is banished be not an outcast from him.
And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken aught of any man's hand.
And they send to him their disciples, with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, and carest not for any one: for thou regardest not the person of men.
These also are sayings of the wise.To have respect of persons in judgment is not good.
For thou hast taken pledges of thy brother for nought,And stripped the naked of their clothing.
Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink,And thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
But as for the {Hebrew: the man of arm.}mighty man, he had the {Or, land}earth;And {Hebrew: he whose person is accepted.}the honorable man, he dwelt in it.
Thou hast sent widows away empty,And the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
And when they were come, they say unto him, Teacher, we know that thou art true, and carest not for any one; for thou regardest not the person of men, but of a truth teachest the way of God: Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cæsar, or not?
And they asked him, saying, Teacher, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, and acceptest not the person of any, but of a truth teachest the way of God:
For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me;And when the eye saw me, it gave witness unto me:
Because I delivered the poor that cried,The fatherless also, {Or, and him that had &c.}that had none to help him.
The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me;And I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
I put on righteousness, and it {Or, clothed itself with me}clothed me:My justice was as a robe and a {Or, turban.}diadem.
I was eyes to the blind,And feet was I to the lame.
I was a father to the needy:And {Or, the cause which i knew not}the cause of him that I knew not I searched out.
And I brake the {Hebrew: great teeth.}jaws of the unrighteous,And plucked the prey out of his teeth.
but even as we have been approved of God to be intrusted with the {Greek: good tidings: and so elsewhere; see marginal note on Matthew 4:23.}gospel, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God who proveth our hearts.
And Peter opened his mouth and said,Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
If I have despised the cause of my man-servant or of my maid-servant,When they contended with me;
What then shall I do when God riseth up?And when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?
Did not he that made me in the womb make him?And did not one fashion us in the womb?
If I have withheld {Or, aught that the poor desired}the poor from their desire,Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to him.
Judge the {Or, weak}poor and fatherless:Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.
for there is no respect of persons with God.
Rescue the {Or, weak}poor and needy:Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.
And, ye {Greek: lords.}masters, do the same things unto them, and forbear threatening: knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no respect of persons with him.
Rob not the poor, {Or, for}because he is poor;Neither {Or, crush}oppress the afflicted in the gate:
For he that doeth wrong shall {Greek: receive again the wrong}receive again for the wrong that he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
For Jehovah will plead their cause,And despoil of life those that despoil them.
My brethren, {Or, do ye, in accepting persons, hold the faith glory?}hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
They are waxed fat, they shine: yea, they overpass in deeds of wickedness; they plead not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, that they may prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
and ye have regard to him that weareth the fine clothing, and say, Sit thou here in a good place; and ye say to the poor man, Stand thou there, or sit under my footstool;
Shall I not visit for these things? saith Jehovah; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
but if ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors.
Forasmuch therefore as ye trample upon the poor, and take exactions from him of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink the wine thereof.
And if ye call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to each man's work, pass the time of your sojourning in fear:
For I know how manifold are your transgressions, and how mighty are your sins— ye that afflict the just, that take a bribe, and that turn aside the needy in the gate from their right.
Woe to them that devise iniquity and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.
And they covet fields, and seize them; and houses, and take them away: and they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks, neither shall ye walk haughtily; for it is an evil time.
And I said, Hear, I pray you, ye heads of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel: is it not for you to know justice?
ye who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;
who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them, and break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.
Then shall they cry unto Jehovah, but he will not answer them; yea, he will hide his face from them at that time, according as they have wrought evil in their doings.
{Or, Both hands are put forth for evil to do it &c.}Their hands are upon that which is evil to do it diligently; the prince asketh, and the judge is ready for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth the evil desire of his soul: thus they weave it together.
The best of them is as a brier; {Or, the straightest is as it were taken from &c.}the most upright is worse than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen, even thy visitation, is come; now shall be their perplexity.
For if there come into your {Or, assembly Compare Hebrews 10:25 (Greek)}synagogue a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, and there come in also a poor man in vile clothing;
and ye have regard to him that weareth the fine clothing, and say, Sit thou here in a good place; and ye say to the poor man, Stand thou there, or sit under my footstool;
{Or, are ye not divided}do ye not make distinctions {Or, in your own mind}among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him?