Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Court » Justice required of
He appointed judges throughout the land and in each of the fortified cities of Judah. He told the judges, "Be careful what you do, for you are not judging for men, but for the Lord, who will be with you when you make judicial decisions. Respect the Lord and make careful decisions, for the Lord our God disapproves of injustice, partiality, and bribery." read more.
In Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed some Levites, priests, and Israelite family leaders to judge on behalf of the Lord and to settle disputes among the residents of Jerusalem. He commanded them: "Carry out your duties with respect for the Lord, with honesty, and with pure motives. Whenever your countrymen who live in the cities bring a case before you (whether it involves a violent crime or other matters related to the law, commandments, rules, and regulations), warn them that they must not sin against the Lord. If you fail to do so, God will be angry with you and your colleagues; but if you obey, you will be free of guilt.
In Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed some Levites, priests, and Israelite family leaders to judge on behalf of the Lord and to settle disputes among the residents of Jerusalem. He commanded them: "Carry out your duties with respect for the Lord, with honesty, and with pure motives. Whenever your countrymen who live in the cities bring a case before you (whether it involves a violent crime or other matters related to the law, commandments, rules, and regulations), warn them that they must not sin against the Lord. If you fail to do so, God will be angry with you and your colleagues; but if you obey, you will be free of guilt.
"You must not follow a crowd in doing evil things; in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice, and you must not show partiality to a poor man in his lawsuit.
"You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits. Keep your distance from a false charge -- do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not justify the wicked. "You must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and subverts the words of the righteous.
I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens and judge fairly, whether between one citizen and another or a citizen and a resident foreigner. They must not discriminate in judgment, but hear the lowly and the great alike. Nor should they be intimidated by human beings, for judgment belongs to God. If the matter being adjudicated is too difficult for them, they should bring it before me for a hearing.
If controversy arises between people, they should go to court for judgment. When the judges hear the case, they shall exonerate the innocent but condemn the guilty.
Evidence » Laws concerning
"Which ones?" he asked. Jesus replied, "Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,
"'When a person sins in that he hears a public curse against one who fails to testify and he is a witness (he either saw or knew what had happened) and he does not make it known, then he will bear his punishment for iniquity.
"Bring the one who cursed outside the camp, and all who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the whole congregation is to stone him to death.
"Whoever kills any person, the murderer must be put to death by the testimony of witnesses; but one witness cannot testify against any person to cause him to be put to death.
But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established.
Someone who rejected the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your words.
"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
"You must not give a false report. Do not make common cause with the wicked to be a malicious witness.
Keep your distance from a false charge -- do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not justify the wicked.
At the testimony of two or three witnesses they must be executed. They cannot be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. The witnesses must be first to begin the execution, and then all the people are to join in afterward. In this way you will purge evil from among you.
A single witness may not testify against another person for any trespass or sin that he commits. A matter may be legally established only on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If a false witness testifies against another person and accuses him of a crime, then both parties to the controversy must stand before the Lord, that is, before the priests and judges who will be in office in those days. read more.
The judges will thoroughly investigate the matter, and if the witness should prove to be false and to have given false testimony against the accused, you must do to him what he had intended to do to the accused. In this way you will purge evil from among you. The rest of the people will hear and become afraid to keep doing such evil among you. You must not show pity; the principle will be a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, and a foot for a foot.
The judges will thoroughly investigate the matter, and if the witness should prove to be false and to have given false testimony against the accused, you must do to him what he had intended to do to the accused. In this way you will purge evil from among you. The rest of the people will hear and become afraid to keep doing such evil among you. You must not show pity; the principle will be a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, and a foot for a foot.
Execution » Who should not be executed according to the law
Keep your distance from a false charge -- do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not justify the wicked.
"'When a man has sexual intercourse with a woman, although she is a slave woman designated for another man and she has not yet been ransomed, or freedom has not been granted to her, there will be an obligation to pay compensation. They must not be put to death, because she was not free.
But if the man came across the engaged woman in the field and overpowered her and raped her, then only the rapist must die. You must not do anything to the young woman -- she has done nothing deserving of death. This case is the same as when someone attacks another person and murders him, for the man met her in the field and the engaged woman cried out, but there was no one to rescue her.
Fathers must not be put to death for what their children do, nor children for what their fathers do; each must be put to death for his own sin.
But he did not execute the sons of the assassins. He obeyed the Lord's commandment as recorded in the law scroll of Moses, "Fathers must not be put to death for what their sons do, and sons must not be put to death for what their fathers do. A man must be put to death only for his own sin."
However, he did not execute their sons. He obeyed the Lord's commandment as recorded in the law scroll of Moses, "Fathers must not be executed for what their sons do, and sons must not be executed for what their fathers do. A man must be executed only for his own sin."
The word of the Lord came to me: "What do you mean by quoting this proverb concerning the land of Israel, "'The fathers eat sour grapes And the children's teeth become numb?' "As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, you will not quote this proverb in Israel anymore! read more.
Indeed! All lives are mine -- the life of the father as well as the life of the son is mine. The one who sins will die. "Suppose a man is righteous. He practices what is just and right, does not eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains or pray to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife, does not have sexual relations with a woman during her period, does not oppress anyone, but gives the debtor back whatever was given in pledge, does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and clothes the naked, does not engage in usury or charge interest, but refrains from wrongdoing, promotes true justice between men, and follows my statutes and observes my regulations by carrying them out. That man is righteous; he will certainly live, declares the sovereign Lord. "Suppose such a man has a violent son who sheds blood and does any of these things mentioned previously (though the father did not do any of them). He eats pagan sacrifices on the mountains, defiles his neighbor's wife, oppresses the poor and the needy, commits robbery, does not give back what was given in pledge, prays to idols, performs abominable acts, engages in usury and charges interest. Will he live? He will not! Because he has done all these abominable deeds he will certainly die. He will bear the responsibility for his own death. "But suppose he in turn has a son who notices all the sins his father commits, considers them, and does not follow his father's example. He does not eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains, does not pray to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife, does not oppress anyone or keep what has been given in pledge, does not commit robbery, gives his food to the hungry, and clothes the naked, refrains from wrongdoing, does not engage in usury or charge interest, carries out my regulations and follows my statutes. He will not die for his father's iniquity; he will surely live. As for his father, because he practices extortion, robs his brother, and does what is not good among his people, he will die for his iniquity. "Yet you say, 'Why should the son not suffer for his father's iniquity?' When the son does what is just and right, and observes all my statutes and carries them out, he will surely live. The person who sins is the one who will die. A son will not suffer for his father's iniquity, and a father will not suffer for his son's iniquity; the righteous person will be judged according to his righteousness, and the wicked person according to his wickedness.
Indeed! All lives are mine -- the life of the father as well as the life of the son is mine. The one who sins will die. "Suppose a man is righteous. He practices what is just and right, does not eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains or pray to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife, does not have sexual relations with a woman during her period, does not oppress anyone, but gives the debtor back whatever was given in pledge, does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and clothes the naked, does not engage in usury or charge interest, but refrains from wrongdoing, promotes true justice between men, and follows my statutes and observes my regulations by carrying them out. That man is righteous; he will certainly live, declares the sovereign Lord. "Suppose such a man has a violent son who sheds blood and does any of these things mentioned previously (though the father did not do any of them). He eats pagan sacrifices on the mountains, defiles his neighbor's wife, oppresses the poor and the needy, commits robbery, does not give back what was given in pledge, prays to idols, performs abominable acts, engages in usury and charges interest. Will he live? He will not! Because he has done all these abominable deeds he will certainly die. He will bear the responsibility for his own death. "But suppose he in turn has a son who notices all the sins his father commits, considers them, and does not follow his father's example. He does not eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains, does not pray to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife, does not oppress anyone or keep what has been given in pledge, does not commit robbery, gives his food to the hungry, and clothes the naked, refrains from wrongdoing, does not engage in usury or charge interest, carries out my regulations and follows my statutes. He will not die for his father's iniquity; he will surely live. As for his father, because he practices extortion, robs his brother, and does what is not good among his people, he will die for his iniquity. "Yet you say, 'Why should the son not suffer for his father's iniquity?' When the son does what is just and right, and observes all my statutes and carries them out, he will surely live. The person who sins is the one who will die. A son will not suffer for his father's iniquity, and a father will not suffer for his son's iniquity; the righteous person will be judged according to his righteousness, and the wicked person according to his wickedness.
Justification » Who shall not be justified
Keep your distance from a false charge -- do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not justify the wicked.
For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be declared righteous.
Justification before God » The wicked shall not attain to
Keep your distance from a false charge -- do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not justify the wicked.