You must treat everyone the same when you judge. You must listen carefully to everyone—whether they are important or not. Don’t be afraid of anyone, because your decision is from God. But if there is a case too hard for you to judge, bring it to me and I will judge it.’
Those men who were considered to be important did not change the Good News message I tell people. (It doesn’t matter to me if they were “important” or not. To God everyone is the same.)
You must fear the Lord. Protect justice and do what is right because the Lord our God is fair. He does not treat some people as if they are more important than others, and he does not accept bribes to change his judgments.”
Elijah came to all the people and said, “You must decide what you are going to do. How long will you keep jumping from one side to the other? If the Lord is the true God, follow him. But if Baal is the true God, then follow him!” The people said nothing.
“You must be fair in judgment. You must not show special favor to the poor. And you must not show special favor to important people. You must be fair when you judge your neighbor.
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They told him, “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘How long will you refuse to obey me? Let my people go to worship me!
Jesus answered, “You people today have no faith. Your lives are so wrong! How long must I stay with you? How long must I continue to be patient with you? Bring the boy here.”
This is what the Lord GOD said: “Enough, you rulers of Israel! Stop being cruel and stealing things from people! Be fair and do what is right! Stop forcing my people out from their homes!” This is what the Lord GOD said.