22:23
This verse gives two parallel reasons for not taking advantage of poor people in court:
23a for the LORD will take up their case
23b and will plunder those who rob them.
The reasons are that the LORD will defend them and will severely punish those who take their possessions. The verse does not specify when the LORD will do this.
22:23a
for: In Hebrew, the word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for introduces the parallel reasons that follow. Some versions do not use a specific conjunction to introduce the reasons. See the Good News Translation (quoted below).
the LORD will take up their case: This clause means that the LORD will defend them as their lawyer. He will speak on their behalf. It also means that he will act as a judge and give a verdict against their oppressors. Some other ways to translate this clause are:
The Lord will argue their case for them (Good News Translation)
-or-
The Lord will defend them in court (New Century Version)
In some languages, it may be preferable to leave the legal context implied. For example:
For the Lord is their defender (New Living Translation (2004))
22:23b
and will plunder those who rob them: In Hebrew, this clause is more literally “and he will rob [those who] rob them life.” The clause probably means that the LORD will take away the life of those who take away the rights of the poor. Some other ways to express this meaning are:
and will plunder the lives of those who plunder them (New American Bible)
-or-
and will take the life of those who take away their rights (New Century Version)
rob: The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as rob here is a different Hebrew verb than the one the Berean Standard Bible translates as “rob” in 22:22a, but they are synonyms. The point here is that the LORD will appropriately avenge poor people for the crime that was committed against them.
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