Deuteronomy 16:18-22

Deuteronomy 16:18-22

[18] Judges  and officers  shalt thou make  thee in all thy gates,  which the LORD  thy God  giveth  thee, throughout thy tribes:  and they shall judge  the people  with just  judgment.  [19] Thou shalt not wrest  judgment;  thou shalt not respect  persons,  neither take  a gift:  doth blind  the eyes  of the wise,  and pervert  the words  of the righteous.  [20] That which is altogether  shalt thou follow,  that thou mayest live,  and inherit  the land  which the LORD  thy God  giveth  thee. [21] Thou shalt not plant  thee a grove  of any trees  near unto  the altar  of the LORD  thy God,  which thou shalt make  thee. [22] Neither shalt thou set thee up  any image;  which the LORD  thy God  hateth. 

What does Deuteronomy 16:18-22 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The fifth commandment Isaiah , "Honor your father and your mother" ( Deuteronomy 5:16). What follows is legislation that advocates respecting authority figures in the nation, which was an extended family.
"With the regency of Yahweh and the proper protocol by which He had to be approached having been established, the covenant text then addresses the human leaders who serve Him and exercise authority over the nation at large." [1]
"Just as in its religious worship the Israelitish nation was to show itself to be the holy nation of Jehovah, so was it in its political relations also. This thought forms the link between the laws already given and those which follow." [2]