Exodus 23:5

Gereviseerde Lutherse Vertaling

Wanneer gij den ezel desgenen, die u haat, onder zijnen last ziet liggen, wacht u, dat gij hem niet verlaat, maar verzuim gaarne het uwe om zijnentwil.

Parallel Translations

Gereviseerde Leidse Vertaling
Wanneer gij den ezel van uw hater ziet bezwijken onder zijn last, zo moogt gij hem niet aan zijn lot overlaten; gij moet hem zeker helpen.

Staten Vertaling
Wanneer gij uws haters ezel onder zijn last ziet liggen, zult gij dan nalatig zijn, om het uwe te verlaten voor hem? Gij zult het in alle manier met hem verlaten.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

If thou see: Deuteronomy 22:4

and wouldest forbear to help him: or, Wilt thou cease to help him? or, wouldest cease to leave thy business for him; thou shalt surely leave it to join with him.

Reciprocal: Leviticus 19:18 - not avenge Job 31:30 - have Proverbs 25:21 - General Lamentations 5:13 - fell Matthew 5:44 - General Matthew 12:11 - and if Luke 5:7 - that they should Luke 6:27 - Love Luke 10:34 - went Luke 14:5 - Which Romans 12:20 - if thine Galatians 6:2 - Bear 1 Thessalonians 5:15 - none

Gill's Notes on the Bible

If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden,.... Fallen down, and such a burden upon him that he cannot rise up again, but lies under it, and the owner of it is not able of himself to raise it up again:

and wouldst forbear to help him; show an inclination to pass on without giving him any assistance to get up his beast again; or "wouldst thou forbear to help him?" w as Jarchi, and others, read with an interrogation, could it be in thine heart to forbear helping him? couldest thou go on, and take no notice of him and his case, and not join him in endeavouring to get up his beast again, that he may proceed its his journey? canst thou be so cruel and hardhearted, though he is thine enemy? but if thou art, know this,

thou shalt surely help with him; to get up his ass again: hence the Jewish canon runs thus x,

"if an ass is unloaded and loaded four or five times, a man is bound, i.e. to help, as it is said, "in helping thou shalt help"; if he (the owner) goes away, and sets himself down, seeing the command is upon thee, if it is thy will and pleasure to unload, unload, he is free; for it is said, with him; if he is an old man, or sick, he is bound, the command of the law is to unload, but not to load.''

The words may be rendered, "in leaving thou shalt leave with him" y; either leave or forsake thine enmity to help him, as Onkelos; or leave thy business, thou art about, to lend him an hand to raise up his beast again.

w וחדלת מעזב "num desines sublevare eum?" some in Vatablus; "cessabis auxitiari ei?" Drusius; "desines auxiliari ei?" Pagninus. x Misn. Bava Metzia, c. 2. sect. 10. y "Deserendo deseres cum eo", Montanus; so Ainsworth.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

So far was the spirit of the law from encouraging personal revenge that it would not allow a man to neglect an opportunity of saving his enemy from loss.

Exodus 23:5

The sense appears to be: “If thou see the ass of thine enemy lying down under his burden, thou shalt forbear to pass by him; thou shalt help him in loosening the girths of the ass.”