Proverbs 24:23

These things also belong to the wise ,.... Both what is said before concerning fearing God and the king; these belong to the wise and unwise, rich and poor, great and small; particularly judges and civil magistrates, and all subordinate governors, who have, or ought to have, a competency of wisdom; these ought to fear God and the king, as well as private subjects; and also what follows after, especially in this verse and Proverbs 24:24 . Some render the words, "these things also are the sayings of wise men" F21 גם אלה לחכמים "haec quoqne sapientum sunt", Tigurine version; "etiam haec sapientibus profecta sunt", Piscator; "etiam haecce sapientum", Cocceius, Schultens, so Grotius. ; not of Solomon, but of other wise men in his time, or who lived after him, and before the men of Hezekiah copied out the proverbs in the following chapters; see Proverbs 25:1 ; but it seems more than probable that what follows to the end of the chapter are the words of Solomon, as Proverbs 24:33 most clearly are, compared with Proverbs 6:10 ;

it is not good to have respect of persons in judgment ; in trying causes in a court of judicature, no regard should be had to the persons of men by the judge on the bench, as the rich more than to the poor; or to a relation, a friend, an intimate acquaintance, more than to a stranger; but the justice of the cause ought to be attended to, and sentence given according to it, let it fall as it will: God does not accept persons, nor regard the rich more than the poor; nor should they that stand in his stead, and who in some sense represent him, Leviticus 19:15 , Deuteronomy 1:17 ; nor should Christians in their communities act such a partial part, James 2:1 .