Ulangan 16:19-22

16:19 You must not pervert justice or show favor. Do not take a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and distort ¹  the words of the righteous. ²  16:20 You must pursue justice alone ³  so that you may live and inherit the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Examples of Legal Cases

16:21 You must not plant any kind of tree as a sacred Asherah pole ⁴  near the altar of the Lord your God which you build for yourself. 16:22 You must not erect a sacred pillar, ⁵  a thing the Lord your God detests.

[16:19]  ¹ tn Heb “twist, overturn”; NRSV “subverts the cause.”

[16:19]  ² tn Or “innocent”; NRSV “those who are in the right”; NLT “the godly.”

[16:20]  ³ tn Heb “justice, justice.” The repetition is emphatic; one might translate as “pure justice” or “unadulterated justice” (cf. NLT “true justice”).

[16:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “an Asherah, any tree.”

[16:21]  sn Sacred Asherah pole. This refers to a tree (or wooden pole) dedicated to the worship of Asherah, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. See also Deut 7:5.

[16:22]  ⁵ sn Sacred pillar. This refers to the stelae (stone pillars; the Hebrew term is מַצֵּבֹת, matsevot) associated with Baal worship, perhaps to mark a spot hallowed by an alleged visitation of the gods. See also Deut 7:5.