31:9
This verse is similar to 31:8. Both verses advise the king to defend the rights of people who are poor and unable to defend themselves. Verse 31:9 adds the information that the king is judging the case. The second line specifies the people whom the king is judging.
9a Open your mouth, judge righteously,
9b and defend the cause of the poor and needy.
31:9a
Open your mouth: See the notes on the identical phrase in 31:8a.
judge righteously: This phrase is literally “judge righteousness.” It advises the king to give a just/righteous verdict when he judges a court case. Some other ways to translate this command are:
be a righteous judge (Good News Translation)
-or-
judge fairly (New International Version)
-or-
give a just/fair verdict
31:9b
defend the cause: The phrase defend the cause is a verb form of the noun “cause” in 31:8b.
the poor: For the word poor, see the note on “oppressed” in 31:5b. This word has the same meaning. See the footnote on “the poor” in 14:21b for a list of other verses where this word occurs.
needy: In Hebrew, the word needy emphasizes people who have material needs. They need things like food, clothing, or protection from people who oppress them. See the footnote on “the needy” in 14:31b for a list of other verses where this word occurs.
Another way to translate this line is:
and defend the rights of oppressed and needy people (God’s Word)
General Comment on 31:8–9
In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts in these two verses. See the meaning lines for 31:8–9 (combined/reordered) in the Display for an example.
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