Commentary - Leviticus 19:15-16

Bird's-eye view

In this brief but potent passage from the Holiness Code, Yahweh lays down foundational principles for the life of His covenant people. These are not arbitrary rules for an ancient tribal society; they are concrete expressions of what it means to be holy as God is holy. The commands here move from the formal court of law to the informal court of public opinion, demonstrating that God's justice must reign in every sphere of life. The central thrust is the demand for absolute impartiality. Justice is not a respecter of persons, social status, or financial condition. It is to be blind. Following this, the Lord prohibits the kind of character assassination that destroys a community from within. Slander and malicious gossip are presented not as minor social foibles but as life-threatening assaults on a neighbor. The passage is anchored by the declaration, "I am Yahweh," reminding Israel that these laws are not based on human sentiment or pragmatism, but on the very character of their covenant God.

This is applied theology at its most basic. It is about how a redeemed people are to live together. Righteous judgment and truthful speech are the twin pillars of a healthy society. When they crumble, everything else follows. For the Christian, these commands are fulfilled and deepened in Christ, who is our perfect righteousness and truth. We are called to a radical integrity in our dealings, one that refuses to bend the rules for the sentimental favorite or the powerful bully, and one that guards our neighbor's reputation as fiercely as we would guard his life.

Outline

Context In Leviticus

Leviticus 19 is often called the heart of the book, a chapter that summarizes how the holiness of God is to be reflected in the daily life of His people. The chapter begins with the ringing declaration, "You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy" (Lev. 19:2). What follows is a series of laws that apply this principle to worship, family life, economics, and social relationships. Our passage, verses 15-16, sits squarely in a section dealing with love for one's neighbor (cf. Lev. 19:18). This is crucial. The commands for just courts and truthful speech are not presented as abstract legal principles but as practical applications of covenant love. They show what "love your neighbor as yourself" looks like when it puts on its work clothes. It is not a sentimental feeling, but a rugged commitment to treating others with the righteousness and integrity that God Himself embodies.

Key Issues

The Scales and the Serpent's Tongue

God is a God of order, and central to that order is justice. Justice is not, as our modern world would have it, a form of social engineering to achieve equal outcomes. Biblical justice is about rendering to each person his due according to a fixed, righteous standard: the law of God. It requires scales that are perfectly balanced, not tipped by sentiment or power. The first part of our text deals with the scales. The second part deals with the tongue. And we must see that these two are intimately related. A lying tongue in the marketplace of gossip will inevitably lead to tilted scales in the courtroom. A society that tolerates slander will not long maintain justice. God commands His people to be holy in both their formal judgments and their informal conversations, because both reveal the heart, and both have the power to build up or tear down the covenant community.

Verse by Verse Commentary

15 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness.

The command begins with a sweeping negative: do no injustice. This is a baseline requirement for any society that would honor God. But then the Lord gets specific, because He knows where our temptations lie. He addresses two opposite, but equally corrupting, forms of partiality. First, you shall not be partial to the poor. This strikes at the root of all modern "social justice." Our natural inclination, especially in a democratic age, can be to sentimentalize the poor and assume they are always the victim. We want to give the underdog a leg up. But God says that justice cannot be based on pity. A man's poverty does not make his cause righteous. To favor him in a dispute simply because he is poor is to commit an injustice against his neighbor and to violate the law of God. It is a corruption of judgment. Second, and more obviously, nor defer to the great. This is the temptation of bowing to power, wealth, and influence. The rich man can hire better lawyers, he can apply social pressure, he can offer bribes. The temptation is to curry his favor or fear his wrath. God forbids it. The judge's eye is to be on the facts and the law, not on the bank account or social standing of the litigants. The verse concludes with the positive command that summarizes the whole duty: you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness. Not in pity, not in fear, but in righteousness. This is the only standard.

16 You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand against the life of your neighbor; I am Yahweh.

This verse moves the principle of righteousness from the courthouse to the backyard fence. A slanderer is a tale-bearer, a peddler of malicious reports. The Hebrew word has the sense of someone who "goes about," indicating this is a habitual practice. He is a merchant of ruin, trafficking in reputations. Slander can be outright lies, or it can be the malicious spreading of a damaging truth to those who have no need to know it. It is the opposite of covenant love, which "covers all offenses" (Prov. 10:12). Then the command is intensified: and you shall not stand against the life of your neighbor. Literally, it means "you shall not stand upon the blood of your neighbor." This has a double meaning. In one sense, it clearly prohibits giving false testimony in a capital case that would endanger a man's life. Slander in court can be literal murder. But in a broader sense, it forbids standing idly by when your neighbor's life is in danger. It is a sin of omission. If you can save him, whether from a false accusation or a physical threat, you must act. To fail to do so is to be complicit in his destruction. The verse ends with the ultimate ground for these commands: I am Yahweh. I am the Lord. This is my character. This is what I require. Your relationships with one another are a reflection of your relationship with Me.

Application

We live in an age that has thoroughly rejected these principles. Our culture is defined by partiality. We are told constantly to judge people not by the content of their character or the facts of their case, but by their group identity, their race, their class, their victim status. This is the very thing Leviticus condemns. The church must be a bulwark against this, a place where justice is blind and righteousness is the only standard. In our church courts and in our personal dealings, we must refuse to favor the poor over the rich, or the rich over the poor. We must render true judgment.

And what of slander? The internet and social media have created the most powerful slander-delivery system in human history. Reputations can be destroyed in an afternoon by a digital mob that cares nothing for due process, evidence, or righteousness. Christians must be the people who refuse to participate. We must not pass along the juicy rumor. We must not "like" the unsubstantiated accusation. We must be the people who speak well of our neighbors, or who, when sin requires it, go to them directly instead of about them to others. We must guard our tongues as though they hold the power of life and death, because they do. These are not small things. A just and truthful people is a holy people. And our God is holy.