25:1 If controversy arises between people, 1 they should go to court for judgment. When the judges 2 hear the case, they shall exonerate 3 the innocent but condemn 4 the guilty.
1 tn Heb “men.”
2 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the judges) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “declare to be just”; KJV, NASB “justify the righteous”; NAB, NIV “acquitting the innocent.”
4 tn Heb “declare to be evil”; NIV “condemning the guilty (+ party NAB).”
5 tn Heb “take up the name of the Lord your God to emptiness”; KJV “take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” The idea here is not cursing or profanity in the modern sense of these terms but rather the use of the divine Name for unholy, mundane purposes, that is, for meaningless (the Hebrew term is שָׁוְא) and empty ends. In ancient Israel this would include using the Lord’s name as a witness in vows one did not intend to keep.
6 tn Heb “who takes up his name to emptiness.”