John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 25:1
If there be a controversy between men ,.... Between two or more: and they come unto judgment ; into a court of judicature, bring their cause thither: that the judges may judge them ; who were never less than three; the great sanhedrim at Jerusalem consisted of seventy one, the lesser court was of twenty three, and the least of all three only: then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked : acquit the one, whose cause is good, and condemn the other to punishment,... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 25:1-4
Here is, I. A direction to the judges in scourging malefactors, Deut. 25:1-3. 1. It is here supposed that, if a man be charged with a crime, the accuser and the accused (Actor and Reus) should be brought face to face before the judges, that the controversy may be determined. 2. If a man were accused of a crime, and the proof fell short, so that the charge could not be made out against him by the evidence, then he was to be acquitted: ?Thou shalt justify the righteous,? that is, ?him that... read more