2 Chronicles 19:6

And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(6) Ye judge not for man, but for the Lord.—’Tis not for man that ye will judge, but for Jehovah, as His vicegerents, and ministers of His will. (Comp. Romans 13:1-4.)

Who is with you in the judgment.—This rightly gives the sense of the brief words: “and with you in word of doom.” i.e., Jehovah will be present with you at the time of your giving sentence. (See on 2Chronicles 20:17, and comp. Psalm 82:1-4 : “God standeth in God’s Assembly; in the midst of gods (i.e., judges) He judgeth.”) The LXX. and Vulgate misunderstand the passage; but the Syriac renders: “Be strong, and judge true judgment, and the Lord will be with you for ever.” (Comp. also Deuteronomy 1:17 : “The decision belongeth to God”; and Exodus 21:6.) The name “Jehoshaphat” denotes Jehovah judgeth.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

19:1-11 Jehoshaphat visits his kingdom. - Whenever we return in peace to our houses, we ought to acknowledge God's providence in preserving our going out and coming in. And if we have been kept through more than common dangers, we are, in a special manner, bound to be thankful. Distinguishing mercies lay us under strong obligations. The prophet tells Jehoshaphat he had done very ill in joining Ahab. He took the reproof well. See the effect the reproof had upon him. He strictly searched his own kingdom. By what the prophet said, Jehoshaphat perceived that his former attempts for reformation were well-pleasing to God; therefore he did what was then left undone. It is good when commendations quicken us to our duty. There are diversities of gifts and operations, but all from the same Spirit, and for the public good; and as every one has received the gift, so let him minister the same. Blessed be God for magistrates and ministers, scribes and statesmen, men of books, and men of business. Observe the charge the king gave. They must do all in the fear of the Lord, with a perfect, upright heart. And they must make it their constant care to prevent sin, as an offence to God, and what would bring wrath on the people.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

What exact change Jehoshaphat made in the judicial system of Judah Deuteronomy 16:18; 1 Chronicles 23:4, it is impossible to determine. Probably he found corruption widely spread 2 Chronicles 19:7, and the magistrates in some places tainted with the prevailing idolatry. He therefore made a fresh appointment of judges throughout the whole country; concentrating judicial authority in the hands of a few, or creating superior courts in the chief towns ("fenced cities"), with a right of appeal to such courts from the village judge.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

2Ch 19:5-7. His Instructions to the Judges.

5-7. he set judges in the land—There had been judicial courts established at an early period. But Jehoshaphat was the first king who modified these institutions according to the circumstances of the now fragmentary kingdom of Judah. He fixed local courts in each of the fortified cities, these being the provincial capitals of every district (see on [443]De 16:18).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

You represent God’s person, to whom judgement belongeth, and you have your commission and power from God, and not from man only; and your administration of justice is not only for man’s good, but also for God’s honour and service.

Who is with you; both to observe your carriage, and to defend you against all those enemies whom the impartial exercise of justice may provoke.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And said to the judges, take heed what you do,.... In judgment, that they judged righteous judgment according to the law of God, without partiality and respect of persons:

for ye judge not for man, but for the Lord; not for man only, but for the Lord; and not so much for man as for the Lord, whom they represented in judgment; whose law was the rule of their judgment, and whose glory their end, and to whom they were accountable:

who is with you in the judgment: as to guide and direct you, so to observe how they behaved, and be a witness for or against them; the Targum is,"ye judge not before men, but before the Word of the Lord, whose Shechinah dwells with you in the affair of judgment.''

Geneva Study Bible

And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is {c} with you in the judgment.

(c) Both to preserve you if you do justly or to punish you, if you do the contrary.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

6. Take heed] R.V. Consider.

who is with you in the judgment] Render, and He is with you in giving judgment (cp. R.V. and mg.). The judges in deciding cases against the rich and powerful were to strengthen themselves with the thought “God is with us” (“Immanuel”).

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 6, 7. - The statement of the Divine principles laid down in these verses for the foundations of the "kingdom of heaven" on earth, and the doing of God's "will on earth, even as it is in heaven," stretch from Moses and Job (Leviticus 19:15; Deuteronomy 1:17; Deuteronomy 10:17; Deuteronomy 16:19; Job 34:19) to SS. Paul and Peter (Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11; 1 Peter 1:17). 2 Chronicles 19:6

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

He set judges in the land, in all the fenced cities of Judah; they, as larger cities, being centres of communication for their respective neighbourhoods, and so best suited to be the seats of judges. ועיר לעיר, in reference to every city, as the law (Deuteronomy 16:18) prescribed. He laid it upon the consciences of these judges to administer justice conscientiously. "Not for men are ye to judge, but for Jahve;" i.e., not on the appointment and according to the will of men, but in the name and according to the will of the Lord (cf. Proverbs 16:11). In the last clause of 2 Chronicles 19:6, Jahve is to be supplied from the preceding context: "and Jahve is with you in judgment," i.e., in giving your decisions (cf. the conclusion of 2 Chronicles 19:11); whence this clause, of course, only serves to strengthen the foregoing, only contains the thoughts already expressed in the law, that judgment belongs to God (cf. Deuteronomy 1:17 with Exodus 21:6; Exodus 22:7.). Therefore the fear of the Lord should keep the judges from unrighteousness, so that they should neither allow themselves to be influenced by respect of persons, nor to be bribed by gifts, against which Deuteronomy 16:19 and Deuteronomy 1:17 also warns. ועשׂוּ שׁמרוּ is rightly paraphrased by the Vulgate, cum diligentia cuncta facite. The clause, "With God there is no respect of persons," etc., recalls Deuteronomy 10:17.