^19:15“ ‘You²² must not deal unjustly in judgment:²³ you must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich.²⁴ You must judge your fellow citizen fairly.²⁵^19:16You must not go about as a slanderer among your people.²⁶ You must not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake.²⁷ I am the Lord.

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Footnotes

22 has the singular rather than the plural “you” of the , which brings this verb form into line with the ones surrounding it.
23 Heb “You shall not do injustice in judgment” ( similar); cf. “do not pervert justice.”
24 Heb “You shall not lift up faces of poor [people] and you shall not honor faces of great.”
25 Heb “In righteousness you shall judge your fellow citizen.”
26 The term רָכִיל (rakhil) is traditionally rendered “slanderer” here (so , , ; see also J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [], , ), but the exact meaning is uncertain (see the discussion in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [], ). It is sometimes related to I רָכַל (“to go about as a trader [or “merchant”]”; 940 רָכַל), and taken to refer to cutthroat business dealings, but there may be a II רָכַל, the meaning of which is dubious ( II *רכל). Some would render it “to go about as a spy.”
27 Heb “You shall not stand on the blood of your neighbor.” This part of the verse is also difficult to interpret. The rendering here suggests that one will not allow a neighbor to be victimized, whether in court (cf. v. 15) or in any other situation (see the discussion in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [], ).

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“ ‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.

“ ‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people.

“ ‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“Do not act unjustly when deciding a case. Do not be partial to the poor or give preference to the rich; judge your neighbor fairly. Do not go about spreading slander among your people; do not jeopardize your neighbor’s life; I am the Lord.

NLTNew Living Translation

“Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly.

“Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.

“Do not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is threatened. I am the Lord.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“ ‘You shall not do injustice in judgment; you shall not show partiality to the powerless; you shall not give preference to the powerful; you shall judge your fellow citizen with justice. You shall not go about with slander among your people; you shall not endanger your neighbor’s life; I am Yahweh.

KJV 1900King James Version

Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour. Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the Lord.

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