Deuteronomy 16:20-22

16:20 You must pursue justice alone ¹  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 ²  near the altar of the Lord your God which you build for yourself. 16:22 You must not erect a sacred pillar, ³  a thing the Lord your God detests.

[16:20]  ¹ tn Heb “justice, justice.” The repetition is emphatic; one might translate as “pure justice” or “unadulterated justice” (cf. NLT “true justice”).

[16:21]  ² tn Heb “an Asherah, any tree.”

[16:22]  ³ 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.