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He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to Yahweh.
Verse Takeaways
1
The Meaning of 'Justify'
All commentators agree that this verse condemns the perversion of legal justice. Scholars like Albert Barnes and John Gill highlight that the word “justify” is used in a forensic or legal sense, meaning “to acquit” or “declare righteous.” Therefore, wrongly acquitting a guilty person is just as abominable to God as wrongly condemning an innocent one.
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4
18th Century
Presbyterian
People need to be warned against an unjust acquittal, no less than against unjust condemnation. The word “justifieth” has its forensic sense, “to d…
19th Century
Anglican
He that justifieth the wicked—that is, acquits. The perversion of justice was a fruitful source of evil in Israel, and a …
17th Century
Reformed Baptist
He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth thejustThat absolves and clears…
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It is an offence to God to acquit the guilty, or to condemn those who are not guilty.
