9254. Verses 4-9. When thou shalt meet thine enemy’s ox, or his ass, going astray, bringing back thou shall bring it back to him. When thou shalt see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to remove it for him, removing thou shalt remove it with him. Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy needy in his cause. Keep thee far from the word of a lie; and the innocent and the righteous slay thou not; for I will not justify the wicked. And thou shalt not take a present, because a present blindeth those who have their eyes open, and perverteth the words of the righteous. And a sojourner shalt thou not oppress; for ye know the soul of a sojourner, seeing that ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt. “When thou shalt meet thine enemy’s ox, or his ass, going astray,” signifies good not genuine and truth not genuine, with those who are outside the church; “bringing back thou shalt bring it back to him,” signifies instruction and amendment; “when thou shalt see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden,” signifies falsity not agreeing with the good of the church, by reason of which they are about to perish; “and wouldest forbear to remove it for him,” signifies no reception of truth; “removing thou shalt remove it with him,” signifies nevertheless encouragement, and effort toward amendment; “thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy needy in his cause,” signifies no destruction of the scanty truth with those who are in ignorance; “keep thee far from the word of a lie,” signifies an aversion for the falsity of evil; “and the innocent and the righteous slay thou not,” signifies an aversion for destroying interior and exterior good; “for I will not justify the wicked,” signifies that such malignity is contrary to the Divine righteousness; “and thou shalt not take a present,” signifies an aversion for any self-advantage whatever; “because a present blindeth those who have their eyes open,” signifies that matters of self-advantage cause truths not to appear; “and perverteth the words of the righteous,” signifies so that [matters of self-advantage] appear like truths of good; “and a sojourner shalt thou not oppress,” signifies that those who long to be instructed in the truths of the church must not be infested with evils of life; “for ye know the soul of a sojourner,” signifies their longing and their life; “seeing that ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt,” signifies that they were protected from falsities and evils when infested by the infernals.