(1) Overview
(BKC) These admonitions, which expand the ninth commandment (20:16), deal with the need for impartial justice in lawsuits.
Reflection: Do we follow the crowd and have unfair prejudice against other people? Do we condemn others without any evidence?
(NET) People who claim to worship and serve the righteous judge of the universe must preserve equity and justice in their dealings with others. These verses teach that God’s people must be honest witnesses (1–3); God’s people must be righteous even with enemies (4–5); and God’s people must be fair in dispensing justice (6–9).
(2) Repeated words
v.1b Do not make common cause with the wicked to be a malicious witness.
(NAC) This part of the law envisions as one option the possibility of two or more people in collusion making a false charge against someone or falsely denying an accusation that was in fact correct. Because the law so strictly honored the testimony of two witnesses against anyone accused of a crime (lest the case be based insufficiently merely on one person’s word against another’s), absolute honesty in giving testimony was essential to the correct functioning of the legal system.
Reflection: Man's justice system requires righteousness of individuals who will not give false testimony. Therefore we may or may not have real justice in this world. However, when we stand in the judgement of the Lord He knows everything very well and true justice will be done.
v.2 “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,
(NAC) the temptation warned against here is that of being swayed in any action that would be wrong by the fear of looking foolish, incorrect, odd, or dishonest because of taking a position different from that taken by everyone—or virtually everyone—else...An example would be the temptation—in a court case against a person who already has a long record of improper behavior and whom virtually everyone would like to see punished—to join the majority in accusing that person of some sort of impropriety even when one has no actual direct knowledge the person is guilty
Audrey
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