Proverbs 22:22

Do not exploit ¹  a poor person because he is poor and do not crush the needy in court, ² 

Ex 23:6; Job 29:12-16; Job 31:16,21; Pr 22:16; Pr 23:10,11; Eze 22:29; Zec 7:10; Mal 3:5

¹ tn Two negated jussives form the instruction here: אַל־תִּגְזָל (’al-tigzal, “do not exploit”) and וְאַל־תְּדַכֵּא (ve’al-tÿdakke’, “do not crush”).

sn Robbing or oppressing the poor is easy because they are defenseless. But this makes the crime tempting as well as contemptible. What is envisioned may be in bounds legally (just) but out of bounds morally.

² tn Heb “in the gate” (so KJV); NAB, NASB, NRSV “at the gate.” The “gate” of the city was the center of activity, the place of business as well as the place for settling legal disputes. The language of the next verse suggests a legal setting, so “court” is an appropriate translation here.