Exodus 23:6

These actually are opposites. What it means is that if the poor man is innocent, rule him innocent. But if the poor man is guilty, rule him guilty. You are not supposed to take the side of the rich against the poor, nor the poor against the rich. Remember, the whole idea here is to find the truth and to be just, and there is equity in the land. The poor man has just as much right to fair justice as the rich man.

The judge is told not to show partiality to a poor man, to feel all kind and merciful because the poor man is in a pitiful condition. But, on the other hand, he should not be taking what the rich man says that he is going to give him, or say: “Well, maybe I can have the rich man’s favor if I rule in his favor, whether he gives me anything or not.”

The principle here is, once again (and it is basically what it comes down to in a lot of these principles), that a judge has to find the truth and rule on the truth or act on the truth, no matter what—no matter who is before him, no matter who are the parties in the case.

So, in this case, what we are seeing here is that there is to be equity in terms of social station. The poor are in the lowest stratum of society and the rich are in the highest stratum; and it does not matter, they are supposed to get the same justice before the law. There is equity in terms of social status.

Exodus 23:6-9

Every one of these principles has to do with equity—judging impartially. Even a person who was not even a citizen, a stranger, was supposed to be dealt with in a fair manner—an equitable manner—because Israel had known much oppression in Egypt.