Proverbs 18:5

It is terrible ¹  to show partiality ²  to the wicked, ³  by depriving ⁴  a righteous man of justice.

It is not good to be partial to the wicked or to deprive the innocent of justice.

To show partiality to the wicked is not good, Nor to thrust aside the righteous in judgment.

It is wrong for a judge to favor the guilty or condemn the innocent.

It's not right to go easy on the guilty, or come down hard on the innocent.

To have respect for the person of the evil-doer is not good, or to give a wrong decision against the upright.

It is not right to be partial to the guilty, or to subvert the innocent in judgment.

It is not good to show partiality to the wicked, Or to overthrow the righteous in judgment.

It is terrible ¹  to show partiality ²  to the wicked, ³  by depriving ⁴  a righteous man of justice.

¹ tn Heb “not good.” This is a figure known as tapeinosis, a deliberate understatement to emphasize a worst-case scenario: “it is terrible!”

² tn The idiom “lifting up the face of” (שְׂאֵת פְּנֵי, sÿ’et pÿne) means “to show partiality” in decisions (e.g., Deut 10:17; Mal 2:9); cf. CEV, NLT “to favor.” The verbal form is the Qal infinitive construct from נָשָׂא (nasa’), which functions as the subject of the clause.

³ tn Or “the guilty,” since in the second colon “righteous” can also be understood in contrast as “innocent” (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT).

⁴ tn Heb “to turn aside” (so ASV); NASB “to thrust aside.” The second half of the verse may illustrate this reprehensible action. The Hiphil infinitive construct לְהַטּוֹת (lÿhatot) may serve either (1) as result, “showing partiality…so that the righteous are turned away,” or (2) as epexegetical infinitive, “showing partiality…by turning the righteous away.” The second is preferred in the translation. Depriving the innocent of their rights is a perversion of justice.