Leviticus 19:35

Lev 19:35 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.

Ver. 35. Mete yard.] Or line, for measuring of ground.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lev_19:35-36

Just balances, Just weights shall ye have.

Business honesty

I. Social life is based upon commercial contracts. Each bringing to the other some product of skill or toil. We cannot supply a fraction of our own wants, we must buy; and we have also in turn something to sell. Business is the outcome of this reciprocal dependence. Each can, each must help the other, or social and civic life would be impossible.

II. Dishonesty is subversive of the very basis of social life. It breaks confidence, alienates intercourse; closes friendly relationships, substitutes roguery for righteousness, and wrecks all goodwill. Pleasant to reflect--

1. How much trade honour there is among men.

2. How surely trickery brings discovery, and therefore penalty, on rogues.

3. How honesty is ever winning respect and reward.

III. Justice sits observant of all deceitful deeds. I am the Lord. He sees all secrecies; weighs all balances; hates all dishonesties; will requite all deceits. (W. H. Jellie.)

Honesty in small things

A young American aspirant for office in the State of Iowa drove up to an hotel, alighted, and engaged a room. He desired his trunk to be taken to his room, and, seeing a man passing whom he supposed to be the porter, he imperiously ordered him to take it up. The porter charged him twenty-five cents, which he paid with a marked quarter worth only twenty cents. He then said, You know Governor Grimes? Oh, yes, sir. Well, take my card to him, and tell him I wish an interview at his earliest convenience. I am Governor Grimes, at your service, sir. You--I--that is, my dear sir, I beg--a--a thousand pardons! None needed at all, sir, replied Governor Grimes. I was rather favourably impressed with your letter, and had thought you well suited for the office specified; but, sir, any man who would swindle a working man out of a paltry five cents would defraud the public treasury had he an opportunity. Good evening, sir.

An unfair judgment

A judge in New Orleans has recently set aside a jury verdict on somewhat unusual but certainly good grounds. A man was on trial for murder. After the case had been given to the jury they retired for consultation for verdict, and spent the hours in drinking whiskey and playing cards. They found the prisoner guilty; but the next day, in setting aside their verdict, Judge Baker said: Twelve men, supplied with a quart bottle of whiskey and a deck of cards, who played poker from twelve oclock at night till four in the morning, and holding a mans life in their hands, could not possibly give the prisoner a fair trial. As long as I preside over this court I cannot sanction such a thing, and therefore I grant the prisoner a new trial. (S. S. Chronicle.)

Righteous dealing

Rev. John Miller, writing in the New York Independent the reminiscence of an interview with the late A. T. Stewart, the millionaire storekeeper of New York, tells us that on one occasion in reply to his visitors question, What is the secret of this enormous business? Mr. Stewart replied: The only secret I know is that I started with the idea of becoming professionally and actually a merchant. I saw lawyers and doctors become rich by making themselves precious to those they worked for. Hence certain rules. I had only one price. Ladies who come in their cushioned carriages dont want to be fevered by the idea of beating down. Again, perfect goods! I bought and sold nothing damaged. And in a third of a century people got to buying of me with the luxury of an easy mind. I allowed no deceit. A youth who would misrepresent anything I would discharge. I forbade ladies to be allowed to deceive each other in talking of my goods, and salesmen were ordered to correct buyers who were standing by the goods, who said they would wash, for example, if they would not. You have no idea what comfort this would give in shopping through a long course of years and the business would grow, under this entire freedom from complaint, in a way that neither the storekeeper nor the buyer at the time might quite remark or understand. This is my secret, said he, as far as I can conceive. I have demanded full profits, but then I have bought with uniform care, and sold correctly and with absolute truth all my time. Poor humanity may have only one good side, adds Mr. Miller, but, certainly, that is worthy of a record.

Honesty in common dealing

The idea running through this passage is manifestly that of an inward, solid, living truthfulness of mind, as opposed to all surface-virtue or sham, or to any mere keeping up of appearances or putting on of an outside for the avoiding of scandal or damage or disrepute. It is that of a heart entire and direct with itself: a heart without any doubleness or intricacy or prevarication; a heart that keeps itself clean of the dust and cobwebs that gather in the darkness of close designs, oblique arts, and snaky thoughts; and that rejoices to have its chambers all open, its passages clear, and full of light, and fresh and sweet with Heavens own breath. (Norman Hudson.)

Just dealings

In whatever we do or say let us by all means be faithful and true: deceiving no man; beguiling no man to his damage; punctual to our word and promise; firm and constant to our just engagements; honest and fair in all our dealings. Last, not least, let us be sure that we not only propose to ourselves good and laudable ends but that we also pursue them by no means but what are just and pure; remembering that--

Him, only him, the shield of Heaven defends

Whose means are fair and spotless as his ends.

Trade immoralities

A popular pastor preached once on the immoralities of trade. At the close of the service two of the prominent members of his church, both successful business men, came to him. Said the first: Dominie, there is no use in preaching such a sermon. That sort of thing is never practised by honourable houses or by such men as compose this congregation. The other called the preacher aside and said, Dominie, there is no use in preaching such sermons. The practices you speak of are so universal that they have ceased to merit your characterisation of them. Every business house in this city does just that thing, my own amongst the rest. It is not worth while to preach against it. (Hom. Review.)

Everyday religion

It is not Israel alone which has needed, and still needs, to hear iterated this command, for the sin is found in every people, even in every city, one might say in every town, in Christendom; and--we have to say it--often with men who make a certain profession of regard for religion. All such, however religious in certain ways, have special need to remember that without holiness no man shall see the Lord; and that holiness is now exactly what it was when the Levitical law was given out. As, on the one side, it is inspired by reverence and fear toward God, so, on the other hand, it requires love to the neighbour as to ones self, and such conduct as that will secure. It is of no account, therefore, to keep the Sabbath--in a way--and reverence--outwardly--the sanctuary, and then on the week-day water milk, adulterate medicines, sugars, and other foods, slip the yard-stick in measuring, tip the balance in weighing, and buy with one weight or measure and sell with another, water stocks and gamble in margins, as the manner of many is. God hates, and even honest atheists despise, religion of this kind. Strange notions, truly, of religion have men who have not yet discovered that it has to do with just such commonplace, everyday matters as these, and have never yet understood how certain it is that a religion which is only used on Sundays has no holiness in it; and therefore, when the day comes, as it is coming, that shall try every mans work as by fire, it will, in the fierce heat of Jehovahs judgment, be shrivelled into ashes as a spiders web in a flame, and the man and his work shall perish together. (S. H. Kellogg, D. D.)

Commercial justice in other nations

The Hindoo law imposes the highest fines not only upon those who falsify scales or measures, but upon official examiners of coins who pronounce a good piece bad or a bad piece good; it inflicts heavy penalties, and partially corporeal chastisement, upon those who overreach customers, give short measure or light weight, adulterate goods, or try to give them a deceptive appearance; and with respect to a trader in counterfeited gold, it enacts that by order of the king he must be cut in pieces with razors, or that he must at least lose three limbs of his body and pay the highest fine. In Egypt, false coiners and the manufacturers of false weights were condemned to have both their hands cut off; and fraudulent practices of this kind were held in equal detestation by other nations, and were visited with similar punishments. (M. M. Kalisch, Ph. D.)

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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lev 19:35. In mete-yard — In the measuring of lands, or dry things, as cloth, riband. In measure — In the measuring liquid or such dry things as are only contiguous, as corn or wine.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19:35-36 dishonest standards: Merchants would sometimes use two different sets of weights, one heavy and one light (Deut 25:13-15), in order to cheat customers. The Bible makes it clear that this practice was abhorrent to God (Prov 11:1; 16:11; 20:10, 23; Mic 6:11).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

As in measuring the ground.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 35. Ye shall do no unrighteousness] Ye shall not act contrary to the strictest justice in any case, and especially in the four following, which properly understood, comprise all that can occur between a man and his fellow.

1. JUDGMENT in all cases that come before the civil magistrate; he is to judge and decide according to the law.

2. METE-YARD, במדה bammiddah, in measures of length and surface, such as the reed, cubit, foot, span, hand's breadth, among the Jews; or ell, yard, foot, and inch, among us.

3. WEIGHT, במשכל bammishkal, in any thing that is weighed, the weights being all according to the standards kept for the purpose of trying the rest in the sanctuary, as appears from Ex 30:13; 1Ch 23:29; these weights were the talent, shekel, barleycorn, &c.

4. MEASURE, במשורה bammesurah, from which we derive our term. This refers to all measures of capacity, such as the homer, ephah, seah, hin, omer, kab, and log. See all these explained, Clarke "Ex 16:16".

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(35) Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment.—It will be seen that the Lawgiver uses here exactly the same phrase with regard to meting out right measure which he used in connection with the administration of justice in Lev_19:15. He, therefore, who declares that a false measure is a legal measure is, according to this law, as much a corrupt judge, and defrauds the people by false judgment, as he who in the court of justice wilfully passes a wrong sentence. Owing to the fact that men who would otherwise disdain the idea of imposition often discard their scruples in the matter of weights and measures, the Bible frequently brands these dealings as wicked, and an abomination to the Lord, whilst it designates the right measure as coming from God himself (Deu_25:13; Deu_25:15; Eze_45:10; Eze_45:12; Hos_12:8; Amo_8:5; Mic_6:10-11; Pro_11:1; Pro_16:11; Pro_20:10; Pro_20:23). According to the authorities during the second Temple, he who gives false weight or measure, like the corrupt judge, is guilty of the following five things. He (1) defiles the land; (2) profanes the name of God; (3) causes the Shechinah to depart; (4) makes Israel perish by the sword, and (5) to go into captivity. Hence they declared that “the sin of illegal weights and measures is greater than that of incest, and is equivalent to the sin of denying that God redeemed Israel out of Egypt.” They appointed public overseers to inspect the weights and measures all over the country; they prohibited weights to be made of iron, lead, or other metal liable to become lighter by wear or rust, and ordered them to be made of polished rock, of glass, &c, and enacted the severest punishment for fraud.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

35, 36. Uprightness enjoined in judgement and in commercial dealings. Cp. Deu_25:13-16; Eze_45:9 ff.

meteyard] lit. (Anglo-Saxon met-geard) a measuring rod. For the word see Taming of the Shrew, iv. 3. 153.

ephah … hin] The former was about a bushel, the latter about 1 1/2 gallons of our measure.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment,.... This is repeated from Lev 19:15; and in order to lead on to some other laws and instructions; though Aben Ezra thinks this is said in connection with the preceding words, and in reference to the stranger, agreeably to Deu 1:16; but Jarchi refers it to what follows concerning weights and measures, and observes, that a measurer is a judge; and if he acts deceitfully, he perverts judgment, and does that which is detestable and abominable, and is the cause of the five following things said of a judge; he defiles the land, and profanes the name of God, and causes the Shechinah or divine Majesty to remove, or causes Israel to fall by the sword, or carries them captive out of their land:

in meteyard, in weight, or in measure; the first of these, according to Jarchi, signifies the measure of land, of fields, &c. and so likewise of anything that is measured, not only by the rod or line, but by the yard or ell, as cloth and other things, whether broad or narrow, that are measured in their length; and the second may respect the weight of all sorts of things that are weighed in scales, as money in former times, as well as various sorts of goods; and the last has respect to the measure of both dry and liquid things, by the bushel, peck, quart, pint, &c.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The ephah is here taken as the standard of dry measure, and the bin (see Exo 29:40 note) as the standard of liquid measure. Of the two very different estimates of the capacities of these measures, the more probable is that the ephah did not hold quite four gallons and a half, and the hin not quite six pints. The log was a twelfth part of the hin Lev 14:10.

Lev 19:36

I am the Lord your God ... - A full stop should precede these words. They intraduce the formal conclusion to the whole string of precepts in this chapter, which are all enforced upon the ground of the election of the nation by Yahweh who had delivered them from the bondage of Egypt.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Rule; Hebrew, "taking dimensions" with a yard, tape, &c.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

In meteyard; in the measuring of lands, or any dry and continued things, as cloth, ribband, &c.

In measure; in the measuring of liquid or such dry things as are not continued, only contiguous, as of corn or wine, &c. Or, the former may note greater, the latter, less measures.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

35. Meteyard — Measuring line or rod.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 35, 36. These verses, beginning with the same words as verse 15, Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, contain another and wider application of that principle. Verse 15 prohibited unrighteousness in the judge, or in one who was in the position of a judge; these verses forbid it in merchants and tradesmen. It is the more necessary to condemn dishonesty, in unmistakable terms, as men who make a profession of religion, and therefore would be shocked at stealing, have often less scruple in cheating. Here and in Deuteronomy, where the Law is repeated, a religious sanction is given to the command; "For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the Lord thy God". (Deu_25:16) Cf. Pro_11:1, "A false balance is abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is his delight;" and Pro_20:10, "Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the Lord;" see also Mic_6:10, 11 and Eze_45:10.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In mete-yard - In the measuring of lands, or dry things, as cloth, ribband. In measure - In the measuring liquid or such dry things as are only contigious, as corn or wine.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

As a universal rule, they were to do no wrong in judgment (the administration of justice, Lev 19:15), or in social intercourse and trade with weights and measures of length and capacity; but to keep just scales, weights, and measures. On ephah and hin, see at Exo 16:36 and Exo 29:40. In the renewal of this command in Deu 25:13-16, it is forbidden to carry "stone and stone" in the bag, i.e., two kinds of stones (namely, for weights), large and small; or to keep two kinds of measures, a large one for buying and a small one for selling; and full (unadulterated) and just weight and measure are laid down as an obligation. This was a command, the breach of which was frequently condemned (Pro 16:11; Pro 20:10, Pro 20:23; Amo 8:5; Mic 6:10, cf. Eze 45:10).

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

Do not use false measures

This prohibits the practice of intentionally using instruments that give inaccurate readings when measuring things.

ephah

This was a measurement for grain. (See: Biblical Volume)

hin

This was a measurement for liquids. (See: Biblical Volume)

must obey ... and do them

These phrases mean the same thing and emphasize the command for obedience. (See: Doublet)

translationWords

just

Yahweh

God

obey

decree

law, laws

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

לא תעשו עול במשפט YE SHALL NOT DO UNRIGHTEOUSNESS IN משפט — If this has a reference to the execution of justice it would be redundant, for it has already been stated (v. 15) “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment”. What, then is the meaning of משפט mentioned here? It refers to what is right in respect to measure of length, to weight and to measure of capacity. The use of the word משפט here teaches us, therefore, that one who has to do with measuring (in trade or commerce) is termed (is regarded as) “a judge” so that if he gives false measure he is like the judge who perverts justice and he is therefore called "an unjust person” (עַוָּל), hateful, detested, doomed to destruction, and an abomination (cf. Rashi v. 15). He brings about those five things which are mentioned in connection with the judge who perverts justice: he defiles the land, profanes the Name of the Lord, causes the Shechinah to depart from Israel's midst, Israel to fall by the sword and to be exiled from their land (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 8 5).

במדה — This denotes land measure (linear and square measure);

במשקל is what the word literally implies (“in weight", from שקל, to weigh);

ובמשורה — This denotes liquid and dry measure (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 8 6; Bava Metzia 61b).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.