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Judges for the People

18 Appoint judges and officers for your tribes in every ·town [L gate] the Lord your God is giving you; they must judge the people fairly. 19 Do not ·judge unfairly [distort justice] or ·take sides [show partiality/favoritism]. Do not ·let people pay you to make wrong decisions [take bribes], because ·that kind of payment [bribes] makes wise people seem blind, and it ·changes the words of good people [undermines the cause of the innocent; Ex. 23:8; Ps. 5:5; Prov. 6:35; 17:8, 23; 21:14; Eccl. 7:7]. 20 Do [pursue] what is ·right [righteous] so that you will live and ·always have [possess] the land the Lord your God is giving you.

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18 “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your cities (gates) which the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 You shall not distort justice; you shall not be partial, and you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous. 20 You shall pursue justice, and only justice [that which is uncompromisingly righteous], so that you may live and take possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

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