What Does Exodus 23:3 Mean in the King James?
Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The Hebrew calls favoritism an act of conferring honor, exposing how sympathy can quietly become a verdict.
THE MEANING
Poverty is visible, but it does not prove that a claim is right. The verse holds care for a person apart from judgment of their case, so neither hardship nor status decides the truth.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that fairness means tilting judgment toward whoever seems most vulnerable. Compassion can recognize hardship without making that person’s case automatically right.
THE ROOT
תֶהְדַּר
tehadar
GROWS FROM
הדר
H-D-R
To honor or adorn; the root evokes splendor and dignity, while this verb can mean showing favor.
“countenance” in this verse is tehadar. The verb belongs to the same root that names splendor and honor: the issue is not merely noticing the poor litigant, but granting their case special standing. Here, compassion cannot become a crown for one side.
ALSO GROWS
hadar: Splendor, majesty, honor
הָדָר
This noun appears in Psalm 8:5 as “honour,” showing the dignity carried by the root behind “countenance.”
tehadar: Show honor or favor
תֶהְדַּר
Leviticus 19:15 uses this same verb when forbidding honor toward the powerful, making clear that neither poverty nor power should tilt judgment.
THE PATTERN
A fair judgment does not let poverty or power buy a favorable ruling.
Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.THE THREAD
Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.Leviticus uses תֶהְדַּר (tehadar, “show honor or favor”) while forbidding partiality toward both the poor and the powerful. The shared root reveals the measure here: status does not decide whose claim is right.
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