Moses — "Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue."
Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue.
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Details
From a commandment on righteousness (Deuteronomy 16:20).
Date: c. 13th Century BCE (Traditional)
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Understanding this quote
What it means
This command insists that the pursuit of fairness must be relentless and uncompromising, never bent for personal gain, favoritism, or convenience. Repeating the word 'justice' stresses that the means matter as much as the end: you cannot reach a just outcome through unjust methods. It tells judges, leaders, and ordinary people alike that doing right is a continuous obligation, not a one-time act, and not something to trade away when pressure or self-interest arises.
Relevance to Moses
Moses delivered this charge while shaping the legal backbone of the Israelite nation after leading them out of Egyptian bondage. Having witnessed firsthand the cruelty of arbitrary power under Pharaoh, he built a covenant code where impartial courts, honest weights, and protection for widows, orphans, and strangers were non-negotiable. As lawgiver, his identity hinged on transmitting divine standards, so this twin-word command captures his lifelong insistence that holiness and equitable treatment of neighbors are inseparable.
The era
In the ancient Near East around the 13th century BCE, justice was usually whatever the king or local strongman declared, with bribery, clan loyalty, and brute force routinely shaping verdicts. Codes like Hammurabi's existed but enforced steep class hierarchies. Against that backdrop, demanding evenhanded justice for citizen, foreigner, rich, and poor alike was radical. Tribal Israel was forming its identity in the wilderness and Canaan, so embedding impartial law into its founding charter marked a significant moral departure from surrounding cultures.
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